By 1774 , tensions over imperial rule had been escalating in the Thirteen Colonies for 14 years . It had been 9 years since the Sons of Liberty formed , 7 years since the Townshend Acts , 4 years since Golden Hill and the Boston Massacre , 2 years since Samuel Adams ’ Committee of Correspondence , 1 year since the Boston Tea Party , and 55 days since the First Continental Congress . Montgomery is a father of six children , a prominent 38 year old farmer in Londonderry Township Province of Pennsylvania , and had been serving in the Associators ( militia ) for 17 years . He is also a political activist whose correspondence with John Dickinson influenced Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania , a precursor to Thomas Paine 's Common Sense
Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre
William Montgomery (Pennsylvania)