Before the Boston Tea Party, there were New Hampshire’s Pine Tree Riots

NASHUA, N.H. – As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its independence, the actions of Massachusetts colonists in contributing to the outbreak of the American Revolution will once again be in the national spotlight.

But Gov. Kelly Ayotte in neighboring New Hampshire, which was another of the 13 colonies that broke away from the British Empire, told Fox News Digital that the Pine Tree Riot in her state also deserves attention, as an event that may have inspired the Boston Tea Party a year and a half later.

“Before the Boston Tea Party, we had the Pine Tree Riots here in New Hampshire. 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,” Ayotte explained.

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The riot was in opposition to a long-standing British policy preventing colonists from cutting down white pine trees larger than 12 inches in diameter in order to reserve them for Royal Navy use as masts on their ships. And it was significant because it demonstrated that colonists could defy British policies.

“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.”

Ayotte also 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,” and added that “we were the first state in the nation to draft our own Constitution.”

The Pine Tree Riot and New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation state Constitution are highlighted in the state’s exhibition at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington D.C.

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“New Hampshire is so proud to be part of the fair on the National Mall. 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. We also talk about our history. We’ll be giving out some great New Hampshire maple syrup,” the governor said.

Back home in the Granite State, Ayotte noted that “at our own Statehouse, we are going to have our visitors center open. We’re going to have some very special documents there.”

They include one of the Dunlap Broadsides, which were the first printings of the Declaration of Independence, and one of the original 1823 William J. Stone engravings of the historic document.

Cities and towns in New Hampshire have long taken a lead in celebrating the Fourth of July, with parades, fairs and fireworks, and other festivities, and this year is no different.

Ayotte, a former U.S. senator and former state attorney general who is running for re-election this year, noted in her Fox News Digital interview ahead of the holiday that she would be marching in four Independence Day parades on July 3 and 4.

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“It’s going to be fantastic.”

Fox News’ Kiera McDonald contributed to this report