Suffolk Resolves

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The Suffolk Resolves was a declaration made in September, 1774, by the leaders of Suffolk County, Massachusetts, of which Boston is the major city. The convention that adopted them first met at the Woodward Tavern in Dedham, which is today the site of the Norfolk County Courthouse. The Resolves were recognized by statesman Edmund Burke as a major development in colonial animosity leading to adoption of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain in 1776, and he urged British conciliation with the American colonies, to little effect.

The Resolves were originally written by the blacksmith Ross Weiman and further drafted by Joseph Warren. The Resolves were passed in Stoughton, Massachusetts, in a location which is now Milton, Massachusetts in current Norfolk County, Massachusetts. Made in response to the state of passive rebellion declared in the Massachusetts colony by Great Britain, the Resolves denounced the Intolerable Acts, or Coercive Acts, that had recently been passed by the British Parliament, and specifically resolved to:

boycott British imports, curtail exports, and refuse to use English products;
ignore the punitive measures taken against Massachusetts since the Boston Tea Party;
support a colonial government in Massachusetts free of royal authority until the Intolerable Acts were repealed;
urge the colonies to raise militia of their own.

In one of his less famous rides, Paul Revere delivered a copy of the Resolves to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, where it was adopted on September 17 as a show of colonial solidarity. To ensure the Resolves were observed, an association was organized with a committee in each colony, similar to the Sons of Liberty. A number of counties in other colonies adopted similar declarations of grievances against Britain during the period before the Declaration of Independence, including the Mecklenburg Resolves and the Tryon Resolves.

A historic plaque on Adams Street in the Lower Mills area of Milton commemorates the original site of the Daniel Vose House, where the Suffolk Resolves were signed on September 4, 1774. In order to prevent demolition of it, the house was moved in 1950 from Lower Mills to 1370 Canton Avenue in Milton. The house was restored to its original colonial appearance and is now the headquarters of the Milton Historical Society. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and is open to public view. See the external link for more information.