In September 1774, just prior to the outbreak of the American Revolution, the First Continental Congress passed a resolution called the Continental Association. The Association was essentially a boycott designed to place economic pressure on Britain and a political tool to prompt Americans to declare their loyalties. The "test" was simply whether or not a citizen agreed to join the Association in support of the American cause. The Association had a limited effect on British politics, but the test forced colonists to take a political stand, even when uncertainties made many reluctant.

The passage of the Association culminated a decade of deteriorating relations between Americans and Britain. Following defeat of the French in North America in 1763, the British Empire tightened imperial controls and introduced a series of new taxes on the American colonies. Colonists known as Whigs resisted British initiatives with riots and boycotts. When Whigs destroyed...