The Bay State's First Self-Government

When most people think of rabble-rousing revolutionaries in Massachusetts, it’s usually the Boston Massacre, Paul Revere’s Ride or the Battle of Lexington that come to mind. In fact, well before all of these events, the irascible colonists of the Bay State created an extra-legal governing body called The Massachusetts Provincial Congress. Convened almost exactly 250 years ago (October 7, 1774), the Congress was a ‘poke in the eye’ to the British Crown and Parliament—which had just annulled the provincial charter of Massachusetts, ending The General Court and direct election of officials. 

When he heard of the Congress, British Provincial Governor Thomas Gage dissolved it—but the members met anyway in Salem. It was led by such luminaries as John Hancock, Samuel Adams and Paul Revere—but also dozens of common citizens like Andover’s spectacularly-named Moody Bridges.

For the entire pre-Revolutionary period, the Provincial Congress was the de facto government of the rebellious portions of the colony. It collected taxes, purchased supplies and raised militias. In fact, it was the first autonomous government established in the thirteen colonies (North Carolina talked about one earlier, but did not establish it until 1775).

During the Revolutionary War itself, the Congress moved from place to place to avoid capture by British troops. It helped fund the new Continental Army in its efforts to free Boston from British siege and fight the aforementioned Battle of Lexington. The assembly continued to meet (on and off) until the state officially adopted its constitution in 1780.

And so, the early stirrings of self-government first took place in those patriot-controlled enclaves of Suffolk, Essex, and Middlesex counties—leading to a full-scale revolution that toppled British rule in America.