"Terrorism is a means to an end, not an end in itself." Precisely, hence my objection. My objection to the original statement is not based on the goals, as the

"Terrorism is a means to an end, not an end in itself." Precisely, hence my objection. My objection to the original statement is not based on the goals, as the statement below implies: "However, it's hypocritical to decide whether someone is a terrorist based on the goal of their terrorism." When we discuss terrorism, we're talking about a tactic. You've described that tactic well above. My objection is based on the fact that I am not aware of any specific activities on the part of the founders of the United States whose goal was to inspire terror in the populace at large. The primary tactics employed ranged from civil disobedience and sabotage (e.g. the original Tea Party) to conventional warfare (e.g. Bunker Hill). If you are aware of specific actions conducted by the founding fathers prior to or during the Revolutionary War whose only purpose was to inspire fear amongst the general population, please do cite them. Otherwise, I don't believe the categorization of the founders as terrorists is supportable.