21st Century Jackson Patriot: Civil Disobedience at it's Best

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Civil Disobedience at it's Best

Yesterday (Tuesday, December 16th) was the 241st anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, probably the single most important political incident that was responsible for the First American Revolution.

From Wikipedia: The Boston Tea Party (initially referred to by John Adams as "the Destruction of the Tea in Boston"^[2]) was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, on December 16, 1773. The demonstrators, some disguised as American Indians, destroyed an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company, in defiance of the Tea Act of May 10, 1773. They boarded the ships and threw the chests of tea into Boston Harbor, ruining the tea. The British government responded harshly and the episode escalated into the American Revolution. The Tea Party became an iconic event of American history, and other political protests such as the Tea Party movement after 2010 explicitly refer to it. more

The Boston Tea Party led to the "Intolerable Acts" (acts by the British parliament aimed at the port of Boston and the colony of Massachusetts). The tyranny of the acts led to the King's tax collectors being tarred and feathered and often "run out of town on a rail." Local tories (known regime sympathizers) were given a choice of taking a loyalty oath to the Patriot cause or leaving town. Arms and powder began to be stored in centralized locations in preparation for armed conflict. Spies (secret government informers) told the military governor (General Thomas Gage) about the stores and the Patriots' actions of organizing and training. General Gage resolved to confiscate the arms/powder and sent a force of 700 regulars to Concord via Lexington on the night of the 18th of April/early morning of the 19th of April 1775. This hostile action taken by the British led to militia Captain John Parker and his men assembling and meeting the British force on the Lexington common not long after sunrise on the 19th. Before the day was out both American and British men would be wounded and killed-in-action because the common man and woman (folks just like you and I) were fed up with their tyrannical 'leaders' and their un-constitutional actions, actions directly opposed to the Rights of Englishmen starting with the Magna Charta. Because of these abuses (and many others) Americans suited up and showed up and took a stand against tyranny.