The most evident people that contributed to the start of the Revolution would be the Adam Dynamo. Abigail and John Adams were very opinionated people, who were not afraid to stand up for what they believed in and worked until they saw results. Shifts in the American world were recorded through multiple letters that Abigail and John wrote to each other (Ripper, 64). John was responsible for writing and “declaring taxation without representation unjustifiable” aka the Declaratory Act in response to the opposition triggered by Stamp Act. This was the foundation of rocky relations with the colonists and British Parliament (Ripper, 66).
John also participated in the First and Second Continental Congresses and had a respectable reputation in the politics of the colonists. Abigail also had a great reputation to hold as she “was engaged in the affairs of the state from the vantage of home where she and her Patriot sisters raised the first generation of republican Americans” (Ripper, 71). Ultimately, John and Abigail Adams put into play the voiced grievances of the colonists by their reputations and their influence.
The Sons of Liberty (James Otis and Samuel Adams) also contributed to the start of the revolution – mostly through acts of violence. They started one of the first protests Britain after they implemented the Stamp Act (Ripper, 66). Also, Otis was the one that came up with the idea for representatives from each colony to come together to discuss issues with British government- this was known as the Stamp Act Congress. It was at through these meetings that colonists were starting to like the idea of being a separate unit from Britain (Ripper, 66). Samuel was the head of the Boston Tea Party- a protest Britain products and tax policies in which Boston men dressed as Indians and dumped British tea into the sea. This gave the colonists a sense of power because they didn’t need British products to thrive. Consequently, it also angered Parliament and made them want to tighten their reigns on the colonists which caused more hostility and animosity between the two parties.
Finally, the people that are too blame for most of the tension that caused the Revolution is the British Parliament and King George. It was the way the British empire ran things that made the colonists want to leave in the first place, and is why they pushed to get their independence away from the unjust rulings of the empire. Parliament didn’t like that they were losing control of the colonists and kept implementing new laws and taxes to prevent it, but only aroused anger amongst the colonists and pushed them farther away. For example, the Townshend Act of 1967 caused colonists to completely boycott British products and survive with their own products. The King showed no interest in the well-being of the colonists which also caused them to want to rebel. He ignored their petitions and made it harder for the colonists to even want to be loyal to him or his empire (Ripper,73).
Thomas Paine through his pamphlet, Common Sense, persuaded and inspired many colonists to hate British rule more. He sold about 150 thousand copies which gave that many people clear reason to hate and revolt (Ripper, 75). Accumulated Hate and bitterness of the way things were running is what ultimately gave way to the start of the Revolution. These people helped that process in some way.
