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This image was originally created by Benjamin Franklin prior to the Seven Years’ War. In the face of threats from the French and the American Indians, Franklin encouraged the colonists...

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John Allen preached this sermon, which became a popular pamphlet, to the Second Baptist Church in Boston in 1772. Like many colonists, Allen vigorously opposed what he called British “tyranny.”...

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In response to Parliament’s passage of the Tea Act in 1773, New York merchants banded together and signed an agreement vowing not to import or sell East India Company Tea....

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In 1773, Benjamin Church, a prominent Boston physician, was chosen to deliver the second annual oration to commemorate the Boston Massacre. Church warned his fellow colonists about British attacks on...

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This document is an account of the events at Concord, Massachusetts on April 19, 1775. The notice discusses the clash between British troops and American militia, portraying the encounter as...

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This 1769 document is an agreement in which the residents of Charleston agreed to boycott all goods imported from England. In protest against British policies, residents agreed to produce their...

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Published in January 1776, Thomas Paine’s COMMON SENSE made the case for an immediate separation of the colonies from Great Britain. It attacked hereditary privilege, exposed the failures of the...

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In Poland, this labor union, Solidarity, led the fight for democracy in the 1980s. Non-violent and anti-communist, Solidarity survived government repression to become a major political force. The movement’s leader,...

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This document was issued by the First Continental Congress. In response to Parliament’s passage of the Coercive Acts, 12 of the 13 colonies sent delegates to a meeting in Philadelphia...

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This document is a copy of the Declaration of Independence produced in 1823. As Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams came to believe that the original Declaration was fading over...