Growing Resistance: 1767 - 1773

Parliament’s new duties bring renewed resistance. John Dickinson’s essays circulate through the colonies, Massachusetts seeks a coordinated response, and tighter customs enforcement brings British authority more visibly into Boston. Troops arrive in the town, and a confrontation in March 1770 ends with colonists dead.

The dispute continues through courts, newspapers, and commerce. John Adams defends the soldiers accused in the shootings, while the image of the “Boston Massacre” travels far beyond the town.

When Parliament later preserves the tea duty, resistance returns to the waterfront. In Boston, more than 340 chests of tea are destroyed rather than accepted under Parliament’s terms.

The question of authority remains unresolved.