This series documents the Town of Southborough and its inhabitants in the period leading up to, during, and after the Revolutionary War. It includes documents that were signed by both Samuel Adams and John Hancock.

A number of citizens' petitions and agreements provide insight into the opinions of townspeople prior to the conflict, and express frustration with the actions of Great Britain. As early as 1773, the town’s selectmen were called upon by their constituents to examine and ascertain the rights and privileges of the province of Massachusetts and the extent to which those rights had been infringed. When the British blockaded Boston Harbor in the aftermath of the Boston Tea Party, Southborough was one of many towns that rallied to provide aid and relief to the people of Boston.

When Britain passed the Intolerable Acts in 1774, the people of Southborough responded by adopting an agreement “to suspend all commercial intercourse with Great Britain, and not to purchase or use any goods imported from Great Britain”. Soon thereafter the Town became involved with the Boston Committee of Correspondence and the newly formed Continental Congress; considering issues that arose and determining how the Town wished to proceed.

The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts dates to 1780, and is now the oldest functioning constitution in the world; preceding our federal constitution which was not adopted until 1787. When the state held its first constitutional convention in 1778, Southborough voted to reject early drafts of the document because they were not preceded by a bill of rights. The town expressed concerns that the state assembly was “not circumscribed”, and “left at liberty to alter or repeal at pleasure those very laws which are a principal part of the constitution”. They also determined that the mode of choosing senators appeared to be “tedious and subject to corruption”.

After the war’s close, a special convention was called at Worcester in 1784. Southborough and neighboring towns within the county attempted to resolve new issues that had arisen in the aftermath of the war, and strived to become more organized since peace and secure borders had finally been attained.

When the Federal Constitutional Convention commenced in 1787, Southborough formed a committee to consider the merits of each draft and advise their delegates on what safeguards they felt needed to be included. The town advised against adopting early drafts and pushed for further “limitations and amendments” to “guard the liberties of the people and secure to Congress all those powers which are necessary to secure and maintain the federal union."

In 1789, Southborough’s Selectmen, Treasurer, Constables, Assessors, and Warden signed an Oath of Allegiance; vowing to defend the Commonwealth of Massachusetts “against traitorous conspiracies and all hostile attempts whatsoever”, renouncing “all allegiance, subjection, and obedience to the King, Queen, or Government of Great Britain.”

In 1808 the Selectmen of the Town of Boston requested that Southborough and many other towns join it in petitioning the president of the United States to suspend the Embargo Act of 1807. Southborough’s Selectmen denied that request, despite agreeing that the embargo’s frustration was “universally felt”, and concurring that an embargo on agriculture and commercial activities struck a fatal blow to sources, was oppressive to operations, and an infringement on personal liberties. The town feared the country’s delicate state and expressed concerns that “should the embargo be removed by the people, [...] the remedy would be worse than the disease”. Rather than risking what they perceived as a possibility for civil unrest or an armed resistment, Southborough’s Selectmen wrote: “We support with patriotic fidelity the laws enacted by our elected government, therefore we patiently and silently endure many evils before a murmur shall be heard from our mouths.”