By Charlotte Lamer, Democrats Abroad Paris Chapter Blog Coordinator

In blog 1 last month, we unpacked the “so what” of the 3.5% rule. Remember that concept? It's the idea that change starts with the committed few. 

In fact, “no government has withstood a challenge of 3.5% of their population mobiliz[ing] against it during a peak event” according to American political scientist Erica Chenoweth.

That gives me hope- you don’t need the 100%, and it gives me urgency- because if nothing starts, nothing shifts.

So today, I’ll unpack the many ways (political, socio-economic…) early Americans mobilized in the lead-up to the Revolutionary War. Because let's be honest, when I think of nonviolence, I don't automatically associate the two together. In fact, other instances in our history–the suffrage movement, the civil rights movement–feel like clearer fits for nonviolent action. I picture the students who sat at the Woolworth’s lunch counters, but the Boston Patriots? I’m not so sure. 

And yet, as the Carnegie Endowment notes, Americans actually strategized “three non violent resistance campaigns in the decade before the Revolutionary War.” And somehow, it all feels familiar... 

Fighting then. Fighting again today.

Competitive authoritarianism is surfacing in the U.S. today. According to scholars, such regimes maintain a constitution, hold “regular elections”, a “legislature”, and a “legal” opposition, yet “systematic [...] abuse of power tilts the playing field against the opposition.”  In this context, democracy becomes nominal rather than substantive. 

There’s a certain symmetry in the fight: We are fighting for the preservation of democracy today, much like early Americans fought for its start.

Granted, the Revolutionary War turned violent, but it did not start that way. Violence isn’t where it began and it doesn’t have to be where it ends.

Let’s break it down.

Economic Resistance 

It began with the purse. Refusals to pay taxes, boycotts of British goods (tea inclusive), resistance to the 1764 Stamp Act are just some of the economic means early Americans mobilized. 

And here's the thing, it worked! Between 1764 and 1775, British tax revenues dropped “95 percent below what was expected.” Newspapers defied the tax, using “noms de plume to avoid reprisal”, and courts closed because lawyers and judges refused to pay for stamped court documents. The same thing happened for ports, merchants, and shipping permits. This cascade of events (remember that waterfall I mentioned in blog 1?) eventually led to the act’s repeal. It was coordinated, collective, creative, and unapologetically disruptive.

Fast forward to today: there are debates on whether to cancel a Target membership or divest from Amazon or Tesla. These aren't just consumer choices, they’ve become political (and economic!) statements. It's also about where we invest.

Remember how change starts with the committed few? At Target, the few changed the course of one of the biggest corporations in America. Rolling back on its DEI initiatives early 2025 cost the company many of its loyal customers and sparked “online outrage.” The financial cost? $12.4 billion in market value. And these are just a few examples of historical and present day forms of economic resistance.

Nonviolent Protests 

Resistance, it turns out, comes in many forms. Author/Activist Riviera Sun lays it out best from the American Revolution: “acts of protest and persuasion, petitions, (...) rallies, marches, denouncements, legal and illegal publications of articles, and disruption of British meetings and legal proceedings.”

One of the most famous examples? The Boston Tea Party. I learned about the event in primary school; we even put on a play, and remembered how, on December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty boarded ships and dumped tea chests into the Boston Harbor.

Now, I see it differently- not as chaos, but as a carefully constructed political act. And, most importantly, it was nonviolent. As the Boston Tea Party Museum confirms: “There was no violence and no confrontation.”

So what? Boston’s defiance modeled how “other towns and colonies [could resist] British rule.” It redefined what effective resistance could look like: Ordinary people, extraordinary acts. 

Who would have thought a nonviolent act would have that much power? This is exactly what Chenoweth means by high-visibility, disruptive actions that question and challenge the status quo.

Grassroots Movements worked in the American Revolution. 

We often assume that the power to promote change is only in the hands of the powerful, historically usually men. But grassroots movements, especially women, proved otherwise. 

Women moved from “observe[rs]” in 1765-1766 to active leaders who encouraged bold acts like the Boston Tea Party and sustained boycotts by 1767-74. They became the “female patriots” of fairness and resistance. Take the Daughters of Liberty, for example: young women spun “homespun yarn for weaving cloth” in large groups in support of the boycott of British cloth. 

Why should we care? Because their courage challenges traditional ideas about who drives change; who we see as the agents of history are much more than the formal political leaders themselves. These women exemplify Chenoweth’s principles of inclusivity and accessibility: Nonviolent resistance applies to everyone, wherever. 

It all matters. 

This is what this looks like today. Indivisible’s 1 Million Rising Campaign is doing some really powerful things.

The Fourth Estate

Pamphlets helped forge a shared political identity among the disparate colonies. Authors like John Adams, James Otis, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Paine translated “political theory” into accessible calls for self-governance, using this medium to challenge Parliament’s authority. Both the ease of production and of circulation meant that such pamphlets could “spread accounts of protests and legislative debates to far-flung readers,” and united them in a common cause.

Much like today’s independent press, Substack newsletters, or social media platforms, these publications operated outside of the mainstream media. Such writing, revolutionary yes, not only helped democratize knowledge and political discourse, but inspired support among the colonies. 

Let’s recap: coordinated action, domestic resistance, symbolic acts, public protests, pamphlets, political prints - all these pull the institutional levers. They came together to build the democracy, the freedom of speech, and the inalienable rights we have long taken for granted. 

And all of it ? It took the committed few. It takes the committed few.

How to be a part of the 3.5% with Democrats Abroad France? 

• Volunteer in your local chapter - help get the word out, plan the next protest, or support GOTV efforts

• Attend an event in your local chapter and check out Remote Resistance Roundtable sessions held to plan concrete actions to oppose this current administration

• Be a part of the DA Resistance Movement and sign up for Take Actions to be emailed to you

Resources to learn more about the American Revolution’s nonviolent resistance:

• Dig into: The Founding Myth of the United States | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

• Listen to: NPR Fresh Air podcast with Steven Levitsky: America's Path To 'Competitive Authoritarianism'

• Read: OPINION | The nonviolent history of American independence

• Read:  Target’s DEI Fallout: How Much Did the Boycott Really Cost? for a modern example of economic resistance 

• For more on powerful patriotic women, read Non-Consumption and Homespun Movements — Fraunces Tavern® Museum

• Learn more about the Boston Tea Party Violence | Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum

• Click here for Revolutionary Boston – AHA

• Read:  Patriotism in Print | Historic New Orleans Collection