The Revolutionary War

The Revolutionary War

Earl, Ralph; Doolittle, Amos (1775). "Percy's Rescue at Lexington" (illustration)., about the Battles of Lexington and Concord

Massachusetts was a center of the movement for independence from Great Britain; colonists in Massachusetts had long uneasy relations with the British monarchy, including open rebellion under the Dominion of New England in the 1680s.^[90] Protests against British attempts to tax the colonies after the French and Indian War ended in 1763 led to the Boston Massacre in 1770, and the 1773 Boston Tea Party escalated tensions.^[94] In 1774, the Intolerable Acts targeted Massachusetts with punishments for the Boston Tea Party and further decreased local autonomy, increasing local dissent.^[95] Anti-Parliamentary activity by men such as Samuel Adams and John Hancock, followed by reprisals by the British government, were a primary reason for the unity of the Thirteen Colonies and the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775.^[96]
The Battles of Lexington and Concord initiated the American Revolutionary War and were fought in the eponymous Massachusetts towns.^[97] Future President George Washington took over what would become the Continental Army after the battle. His first victory was the Siege of Boston in the winter of 1775–76, after which the British were forced to evacuate the city.^[98] The event is still celebrated in Suffolk County as Evacuation Day.^[99] On the coast, Salem became a center for privateering. Although the documentation is incomplete, about 1700 letterss of marque, issued on a per-voyage basis, were granted during the American Revolution. Nearly 800 vessels were commissioned as privateers and are credited with capturing or destroying about 600 British ships.^[100]

Federal period