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Melissa Bryson

To Arms: How Adams, Revere, Mason, and Henry Helped to Unify their Respective Colonies

Massachusetts and Virginia stood in solidarity with one another through the influential roles and leadership of Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, George Mason, and Patrick Henry following the Coercive Acts of 1774.

Throughout my research I have discovered a connection between these four men and how they were able to not only convince their fellow colleagues to come to the aid of one another, but there are distinct similarities between the ideals of both Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry. Recent scholarship has highlighted 1774 as an influential role leading up to the first shots of the American Revolution, however, these four men have never been closely analyzed to show how influential of a role they played to unite their two colonies to stand in solidarity with one another.

Melissa Bryson

Melissa Bryson (melissabryson.com | Instagram) is a graduate of Rutgers University–Camden and I am currently a second year graduate student at Millersville University where she is a Master’s in history candidate. After finishing her Master’s, Bryson plans on pursuing a PhD in history, work in curatorial, and eventually become a professor.