Prior to this time (during the Colonial period) America was under the dominion of the lords proprietors--covering the years of 1663 to 1729--and royal governors--from 1729 to 1775--the appointees of the English sovereign, and whose rule was for self-aggrandizement. The very word "Revolutionary" proclaims oppression, for where there is justice shown by the ruler to the subjects there is no revolt, nor will there ever be. We usually think of the battle of Lexington (April 19, 1775,) as being the bugle note that culminated in the Declaration of Independence and reached its final grand chord at Yorktown, October 19, 1781; but on the 16th of May, 1771, some citizens of North Carolina, finding the extortions and exactions of the royal governor, Tryon, more than they could or would bear, took up arms in self-defense and fought on the Alamance River what was in reality the first battle of the Revolution. The citizens' loss was thirty-six men, while the governor lost almost sixty of his royal troops. This battle of the Alamance was the seed sown that budded in the Declaration of Mecklenburg in 1775, and came to full flower in the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. There were stages in this flower of American liberty to which we will give a cursory glance. The determination of the colonies not to purchase British goods had a marked effect on England. Commercial depression followed, and public opinion soon demanded some concession to the Americans. All taxes were remitted or repealed except that upon tea; when there followed the most _exciting_, if not the most enjoyable party in the world's history--the "Boston Tea Party," which occurred on the evening of December 16, 1773. This was followed in March, 1774, by the Boston Port Bill, the first in the series of retaliation by England for the "Tea Party." At the instigation of Virginia a new convention of the colonies was called to meet September, 1774, to consider "the grievances of the people." This was the second Colonial and the first Continental congress to meet in America, and occurred September 5, 1774, at Philadelphia. All the colonies were represented, except Georgia, whose governor would not allow it. They then adjourned to meet May 10, 1775, after having passed a declaration of rights, framed an address to the king and people of England, and recommended the suspension of all commercial relations with the mother country. The British minister, William Pitt, wrote of that congress: "For solidity of reasoning, force of sagacity and wisdom of conclusion, no nation or body of men can stand in preference to the general congress of Philadelphia." Henceforth the Colonists were known as "Continentals," in contradistinction to the "Royalists" or "Tories," who were the adherents of the crown. No period of our history holds more for the student, young or old, than this of the Revolutionary war, or possesses greater charm when once taken up.