The Atlantic is surveying experts for their opinion.

Gordon S. Wood, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian and author 

The protests against the Stamp Act in 1765, which inevitably led to the creation of the United States a decade later.

Michael C. Quinn, president and CEO, Museum of the American Revolution

The Newburgh Conspiracy, on March 15, 1783—a protest that failed! By facing down the apparent beginnings of a coup d’état by his officers in Newburgh, New York, General George Washington ensured the U.S. military’s subordination to civilian authority.