Before Boston Tea Party, Patriots in This State Sparked Revolution No One Talks About

Liberty Check

• New Hampshire’s Pine Tree Riot preceded the Boston Tea Party by eighteen months and showed colonists could successfully defy British tyranny
• The Granite State was first to draft its own Constitution and cast the decisive ninth vote to ratify the U.S. Constitution
• Governor Kelly Ayotte is working to ensure New Hampshire’s foundational role in American independence gets the recognition it deserves

As America celebrates 250 years of independence, most history books focus on Massachusetts and the Boston Tea Party. But New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte is setting the record straight about her state’s pivotal—and often overlooked—role in sparking the American Revolution.

The Pine Tree Riot of 1772 happened a full year and a half before Boston’s famous tea protest. And according to Ayotte, it may have inspired that more famous act of defiance.

“Before the Boston Tea Party, we had the Pine Tree Riots here in New Hampshire,” Ayotte told Fox News Digital. “That’s because the British tried to come in and tax our pine trees and take them for their own, and we said no way.”

The riot erupted when British authorities attempted to enforce a longstanding policy that prevented colonists from cutting down White pine trees larger than 12 inches in diameter. The Crown wanted to reserve the towering pines for use as masts on Royal Navy ships.

New Hampshire patriots weren’t having it. Their resistance demonstrated that colonists could successfully defy British policies—a template for revolution.

“We were early joiners of the revolution, very, very proud of this nation,” the governor emphasized. “New Hampshire has a very special role in the history of this country.”

That special role extends beyond the Pine Tree Riot. Ayotte noted that New Hampshire was “the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, so we were the deciding state to make sure that we had the Constitution.”

Even more remarkable: New Hampshire was “the first state in the nation to draft our own Constitution.”

These historic achievements are being celebrated at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington D.C., where the Granite State has its own exhibition.

“New Hampshire is so proud to be part of the fair on the National Mall,” Ayotte said. “In fact, in that fair, we are displaying the history of New Hampshire. We have a video that’s running where we have prominent figures throughout our state, on both sides of the aisle, reading from the Declaration of Independence.”

The exhibition also showcases New Hampshire’s revolutionary heritage and offers visitors a taste of the state’s famous maple syrup.

Back in the Granite State, the celebration continues at the Statehouse, where visitors can view extraordinary historical documents. Among them: one of the original Dunlap Broadsides—the first printings of the Declaration of Independence—and an 1823 William J. Stone engraving of the founding document.

Cities and towns across New Hampshire are marking the 250th anniversary with traditional parades, fairs, fireworks, and festivities throughout the holiday weekend.

Ayotte, a former U.S. senator and state attorney general now running for re-election, said she would be marching in four Independence Day parades on July 3 and 4.

“It’s going to be fantastic.”

The Constitution must be defended.