The United States emerged from American protests against England’s colonial rule. Founded in 1765, the Sons of Liberty and the Daughters of Liberty organized protests against what they considered to be unfair British laws. In 1770, the Boston Massacre happened when British troops fired on protesters. Then, there was the Boston Tea Party (December 16, 1773) when 60 Massachusetts colonists dumped 342 chests of tea—enough to make 19 million cups—into Boston Harbor. In 1775, there were armed skirmishes between colonists and British soldiers at Lexington and Concord.