Pathways to Independence

Nearly a decade before the first shots rang out at Lexington and Concord, most American colonists were fiercely loyal to the British crown. As the French and Indian War ended, the British government found itself ensconced in enormous debt. To help relieve itself of the burden, the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765. 

This legislation required colonists to use stamped paper produced in London for printed materials and to pay in British currency rather than colonial currency. Colonists immediately resisted this direct tax and pushed back so vociferously that the British government had no recourse but to repeal the tax.

The acts of defiance and resistance began to proliferate. In the Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s NEH-supported exhibition, Pathways to Independence, 1765-1777, rare documents and artifacts tell the story of America’s independence in the years before the Declaration. Letters from Founding Fathers and everyday citizens show changing attitudes towards Britain and how Revolution went from a whispered idea to the creation of an independent country.

Pathway to Independence, 1765-1777 is on display at Philadelphia’s Library of American History through September 18, 2026.