How did the colonists try to address these grievances earlier?

In 1774, The First continental congress sent a petition to King George asking him to reverse the "Intolerable Acts" otherwise known as the Coercive acts. Which was in a part a reaction to the Boston Tea Party, a protest that involved throwing tea belonging to the British East India Company, a financially troubled company that been made exempt from the taxes that applied to American tea merchants. There were other attempts to communicate with the British Government like sending Benjamin Franklin as a lobbyist to try to deal with British parliament members.

Yes, some people used the depression to the max. not everybody had stocks, and those that didn't bought many things inexpensive, so that when prices rose again, they were much more richer than beforehope this