In the years before the battles of Lexington and Concord, local people took control over their own destinies, overturning British authority and declaring themselves free from colonial oppression, with acts of rebellion that long predated the Boston Tea Party. In rural towns such as Worcester, Massachusetts, local democracy set down roots well before the Boston patriots made their moves in the fight for independence. Until now, few of these true founding fathers have made it into the historical record. Much more than a simple debunking of national myths, this study takes a look at the history of revolutionary ferment in the 18th-century American colonies. It recaptures in detail the grass-roots activism that propelled the colonies toward a break with Britain.