The Minutemen and Their World

This chapter explains “the transformation of Concord politics” through which the town became involved in the events leading up to the Revolutionary War (42). In late 1772, it was announced that the judges of the Superior Court of Judicature, Massachusetts’ highest court, would be paid directly by the monarchy rather than through the judicial system.

The formation of the Boston Committee of Correspondence was one important direct response to this development. The group was made up of twenty-one men, who would become leaders of the Revolutionary movement, and its purpose was to encourage and coordinate resistance to British rule throughout the colony. The group sent letters to towns throughout the area urging them to respond to this recent change in colonial administration. Concord did respond, and although its recent actions show an increase in anti-British sentiment, its response was much more moderate than that of many other towns.

Tensions escalated further with the 1773 passage of the Tea Act, which allowed the British East India Tea Company to sell its products directly to the colonies. Colonists, already alerted to encroachments on their rights from the British monarchy, interpreted this as a way to encourage tea consumption without conceding to demands to repeal the tax on tea.