This year, as the United States commemorates the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding and the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it’s worth remembering the substantial role boycotts played in the American resistance and independence movement.

The founders’ sustained protest of Great Britain’s Stamp Act and Townshend Duties –which taxed printed materials, glass, lead, paper, paint and tea in the colonies – placed enough pain and pressure on British merchants and the parliament that the majority of these taxes were repealed. And while the colonists were boycotting taxed British imports, they built an alternative made-in-America marketplace in the process, becoming domestic producers of homespun clothing, paper and other necessities. This building of alternative institutions and self-reliance were an essential complement to their boycott. They divested from British goods while investing in homemade goods. Both types of actions were necessary.

This legacy of effective boycott is relevant 250 years later because it illustrates the power of nonviolent action in targeting the pillars that support the most intractable autocratic rule. And Americans appear to be getting back into boycotting: 2025 was a banner year for such protests in the United States.

Big box stores like Target and Walmart, for example, faced boycotts for rolling back their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion. Shoppers boycotted Home Depot after immigration raids near its locations. Amazon was boycotted over its donations to Donald Trump’s administration, treatment of workers and growing monopolization of the market. Tesla was boycotted due to Elon Musk’s role in government dismantling and far-right saber-rattling. And........

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