by Jackie Cushman | July 2, 2025
As we approach our country’s 250th birthday, we should remember that our path to independence was long and hard. It required sacrifice, dedication, and someone who could give the quest for independence a voice.
John Adams was that person. Through skillful argumentation and an unwavering focus on liberty, Adams played a pivotal role in determining how and when our nation declared its independence.
On December 16, 1773, the colonists engaged in the Boston Tea Party to protest the British Parliament’s tax on tea. In response, the Parliament passed the Coercive or Intolerable Acts in 1774. That fall, delegates from the colonies convened the First Continental Congress to determine their response to British taxation. John Adams, a representative from Massachusetts, believed that we would have to declare our independence from Britain. He was in the minority.