Massachusetts was a center of the movement for independence from Great Britain ; colonists in Massachusetts had long uneasy relations with the British monarchy , including open rebellion under the Dominion of New England in the 1680s . Protests against British attempts to tax the colonies after the French and Indian War ended in 1763 led to the Boston Massacre in 1770 , and the 1773 Boston Tea Party escalated tensions . In 1774 , the Intolerable Acts targeted Massachusetts with punishments for the Boston Tea Party and further decreased local autonomy , increasing local dissent . Anti-Parliamentary activity by men such as Samuel Adams and John Hancock , followed by reprisals by the British government , were a primary reason for the unity of the Thirteen Colonies and the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775
Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre
Massachusetts