The Tea Party Movement

There were many reasons for the American Revolution. If you asked the general public you would probably get one answer. The colonists didn’t want to pay taxes. Benjamin Franklin set out the permanent reality of death and taxes. So what else was new? Governments have always wanted to levy taxes, and nobody wanted to pay them. The tax code always seems eminently unfair; tax allocations don’t benefit us personally.

Who should we pay taxes to? King George III of England? His Parliament? Don’t tax us, was the clear message; we’re not represented at all in your government. It is illegal for you to levy taxes on us.

The British wanted to bail out its monopolistic East India Tea Company by

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The Declaration of Independence 1776 to 2009

It’s been 233 years since the original was signed. In not too many years, its 250th anniversary will be a major event.

For such a celebration, it’s high time a select committee was formed to plan it. If your city had just been awarded a future Olympics, it would be starting to set the wheels in motion. So the Declaration’s 250th celebration needs similar immediate action.

To fully appreciate the Declaration, I start at the end. Consider what the signers promised:

“We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

They risked everything; they held nothing back. For some it turned out alright; for others it was a great hardship. Every time I see these words, it’s goose bumps.

The origin of the Declaration was taxes, ten years earlier.

Trade is the glue which keeps the world connected. With trade come taxes and tariffs. Free trade is a lot easier said than done. It certainly wasn’t Britain’s policy.

In 1765, the British were desperate for cash after their successful but financially ruinous French and Indian War. So, logically, they looked to their very prosperous colonies for money. Taxes were the established way of obtaining it.

But the colonies viewed it all with great alarm.

So the saga of “no taxation without representation” (in Parliament) began. In subsequent years, the British tried to levy tax after tax, colonial trade restrictions, even sending troops to quell unrest. The situation steadily deteriorated.

At the center was King George III, obstinate, intent on punishing his rebellious colonies.

By the time the Second Continental Congress was convened in 1775, the battle lines were drawn.

In 1776 Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense had taken the colonies by storm. Congress laid out how many actions of George III and his Parliament were a grave threat to the well-established and fundamental liberties of the colonies.

To justify separation from Great Britain, Congress needed a document. A committee selected a talented writer, Thomas Jefferson, to prepare a draft.

After considerable congressional editing, the final version is what we read today.

George III is the central subject. But as historian R.B. Bernstein explains in his introduction to the Barnes and Noble edition 2002, the Declaration has “taken on a life of its own”. Concepts such as life and liberty have cosmic proportions. The words are not just about independence from Great Britain.

July 4 is the accepted date for celebrating. Some historical purists claim July 2, when Congress voted for independence; others even argue for August 2, when delegates officially signed. Oh dear, I hope there are no more changes!

Don’t worry, I’m going to stick with July 4. Please read the Declaration on that day. Thank you. –Renata Breisacher Mulry

Our Boston Tea Party

Even if its place in the American Revolution isn’t so important, the Boston Tea Party is still a very good story.

The Plot

A mega company, close to the government, has serious problems: a glut of its product, looming bankruptcy. It needs a quick bailout, Fall 2008 style;
The government is the only one who can bail it out. Unfortunately, it has critical cash flow problems of its own;
A public who will fund it all, and believe it’s getting a good deal.

Let’s now fill in the blanks.

The East India Company has a tea monopoly, which is encountering serious market conditions. The outlook is not good.

But the government, Great Britain, has a Happy Plan. There is a ready market for all that tea, the American colonies. Sure, a small tax will be added, but the colonies will actually pay less than the smuggled beverage they usually drink.

Everyone should be happy.

No, the colonies are furious. In 1773, they see through the Happy Plan as nothing but illegal taxation. Which product will be next? With the spirit of Sam Adams always as a guide, the colonies would not let the tea enter the market. The rest of the story is history.

Dump the stuff.

April 15 is officially American Tax Day, and now also Tax Protest Day.

Crowds gathered to demonstrate anger at taxation of all types. A retail opportunity seems to have been missed though, because I didn’t read that anyone actually served tea.

To drink it, in china cups accompanies by trimmings such as scones, strawberries, cream, the beverage iced on a hot day, what could be more delicious?

Maybe next year. – Renata Breisacher Mulry

The Causes of the American Revolution: Part 2 – The Stamp Act

In the annals of American taxation, certain taxes have had tremendous impact.

I include the federal income tax, the poll tax, and my nominee, the Stamp Act tax, March 22, 1765.

Britain was still trying to get its American colonies to pay a share of the huge deficit from the French and Indian War. The British decided to level a small, but very broad tax on all commercial uses of paper in its colonies, such as documents, or official correspondence – a category that would apply this levy to most of the general population. The tax was modest, to be used for America’s defense, whatever that was. Defense against whom?

The tax would be collected by American agents, with an unpopular job, which they quickly found out. Collection rates were poor.

On the surface, the Stamp Act did not seem too unreasonable. But the colonies immediately smelled danger and opposition quickly intensified. This included a widespread boycott of British goods, causing great alarm in Britain at home. The colonies felt their basic liberties were threatened; no taxes could be levied except by their own representatives. Every other attempt was illegal.

The Stamp Act tax was repealed in 1766, an amazing development. But the euphoria did not last long. New taxes were levied, including on tea. This commodity achieved its own notoriety a few years later. Everything was right back where it had started.

Shortly after independence, Congress faced the unpleasant truth: it had to raise revenue.

Through taxes. Nothing has changed.

These could be levied on the rich, the living, the dead, property and profits, goods and services, the list today is endless.

Remember in Gone with the Wind, how was Scarlett going to pay Tara’s land taxes?

It’s April 15th. – Renata Breisacher Mulry

The Causes of the American Revolution: Part I – The French and Indian War

On April 1, 2009 (I am not kidding), California hiked its sales tax, to deal with a crippling budget deficit.

The reaction, as usual, was mixed. There was anger, resignation, and that peculiar tendency of the public to believe that if they ignore something, it will just go away.

Government and taxes are a lethal weapon.

Therefore, I understand tax opposition; I don’t understand resignation.

About 250 years ago, had the American colonials just accepted a collection of new taxes, the British would have had a field day. There probably would have been no revolution.

Instead, the colonials developed strong anger and resistance. The issues of taxes, tariffs, and trade were too important to be ignored. It did lead to a revolution.

1763 marked the end of the French and Indian War, when Britain prevailed over the French in a long, very expensive territorial war.

War is very costly.

North America was now under the firm control of the British. The war was a plus for us. With some exceptions, they were colonial boom times. There was new trade, new products. The British knew this. Now their plan was to recoup some of the costs of the war from their prosperous colonies.

We would have none of this, and indicated so immediately. Were the British expecting too much? I don’t know. What do you think?

The British tax plans were viewed as persecution and illegal. The colonials gradually resorted to all kinds of tactics: smuggling, product boycotts, whatever ingenious methods merchants could come up with.

The message was very clear. Don’t tax your colonies. We are not represented in your Parliament so you have no right.

But the British didn’t get it. They never did.

I think revolutions have many causes, some of long duration. But then there are some pivotal events, certain people. The situation comes to a head, issues boil over, often in one location. For us, that was Boston. –Renata Breisacher Mulry