In nearby Massachusetts, the Battles of Lexington and Concord were fought on April 19, 1775, which was the start of the American Revolutionary War (1775-83). For many years before that, there was much friction between citizens of the 13 American colonies and the British authorities. It had finally reached a boiling point. The previous evening, on April 18, 1775, hundreds of British troops marched from Boston to Concord planning on seizing a stockpile of weapons.
Paul Revere and other night riders sounded the alarm enabling colonial militiamen to begin mobilizing to intercept the British troops. A confrontation on the Lexington town green began when the British fired first but fell back when the colonists returned fire. This was the “shot heard ‘round the world” later immortalized by poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. There were many more battles until in 1783 the colonists finally and formally won their independence.
What lead up to the Battles of Lexington and Concord?
Beginning in 1764, Great Britain began a sequence of events aimed at increasing revenue from its 13 American colonies. Many of those events, including the Sugar Act, Stamp Act and Townshend Acts, gave rise to smoldering resentment among the colonists, who protested against “taxation without representation.” Boston, the site of the 1770 Boston Massacre and the 1773 Boston Tea Party, was one of the biggest areas of resistance. King George III of Britain increased military presence there, eventually closing down the city’s harbor in June, 1774, until colonists paid for the tea dumped overboard the previous year.
April 19th is the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolution where ordinary citizens rose up and fought for and demanded their right to independence from Great Britain. We see our country in a similar situation now, except we are fighting against rights being slowly and methodically taken away from us by those who are flagrantly abusing the power given to them. We are fighting against the oligarchs who would see us kept in ignorance and poverty.
There are a few events planned for Saturday:
"Liberty and Justice for All" in Keene, NH
Time: 12:00 - 2:00 In downtown Central Square for 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution. There will be local groups working for democracy, video journalist Kyle Whitten conducting interviews, and a Photo Booth to document the resistance art that is developing. Sponsored by Indivisible and Monadnock Action.
Pro-Democracy Demonstration in Peterborough, NH
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 Intersection of 101/202 stoplights. Bring a sign that tells everyone what you are in favor of, rather than what you are against.
Protest at the State House in Concord, NH
Time: 3 PM - 6 PM. Organized by the NH chapter of 50501
"Voices Heard 'Round the World" Old North Bridge, Concord, MA
Time: 11:00 AM Preserve American Rights! On the 250th anniversary of the shot heard 'round the world, stand against abuses of power at the start of the American Revolutionary War.
“I get knocked down, but I get up again. You’re never gonna keep me down.”
Chumbawamba, 1997