This is the first in a series to mark the 250 years of American independence.

Today we live in a world of the 24-hour news cycle, one filled with misinformation, fact checking and the cries of partisan journalism. Two hundred fifty years ago the news cycle was slower, but the other complaints still ring true.

All of these would play an important role in turning a tax protest into a world war concluding with American independence.

Early in the 1770s, likeminded colonists formed social groups known as Committees of Correspondence.