Colonists in the American Revolution: Terrorists or Patriots?

Terrorists or Patriots? The term terrorism is defined as “the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes; the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization; a terroristic method of governing or of resisting a government.”(Dictionary.com). The huge debate is whether the colonists of the American Revolutions were actually patriots, or terrorists. If one was to go by this definition then yes, I believe that the colonists could be considered terrorists. However, while I agree with everything the definition gives, I believe that terrorism is more than this. From what I see with the terrorism that goes on today, the main goal of a terrorist is fear. They strive to instill fear in their enemies, and to kill them. The goal of the colonists was not to make the British fear them, or to kill as many British citizens as possible. Their goal was to defend their rights and their growing country. Both of these things characterize a patriot, which is what they truly were. Based on what I believe a true terrorist is, not what the dictionary defines it as; I do not think that the men and women who fought against the British in the American Revolution were Terrorists, but true patriots. One instance of an act that some have considered terrorism was the Boston Tea Party. The colonists were upset with the British for the new tax they had to pay with the Tea Act. They were reacting to this as a child would react to an unjust punishment placed upon them by a parent. They wanted to be noticed and they wanted to have their way. It was not an act inspired by malice but by resentment for unfair treatment by the British crown. They wanted to show the British that they were serious and would not stand to be treated in such ways. Furthermore they were not aiming to kill or physically harm anyone; they wanted to convince the government to repeal the unfair act. I cannot see how this is an act of terrorism especially when