Which event marked the beginning of armed conflict between Britain and the American colonies?

• A. The Boston Tea Party
• B. The Boston Massacre
• C. The Battles of Lexington and Concord
• D. The signing of the Declaration of Independence

Answer: (C)

The key idea is identifying when fighting actually began between the colonies and Britain. The first real armed clash occurred in Massachusetts on April 19, 1775, at Lexington and Concord. British troops were marching to seize colonial gunpowder and leaders, but colonial militia confronted them, and gunfire erupted. Those battles marked the start of the American Revolutionary War, turning political tension and protests into open military conflict. The other events are protests or formal acts that did not themselves involve sustained fighting: the Boston Massacre was a deadly confrontation, but not a declared war; the Boston Tea Party was a political protest; and the Declaration of Independence was a formal statement of separation, not an armed clash.