The Boston Tea Party and Its Protest Against Government Power Concentrated in a Far-Distant Land | Eastern North Carolina Now

    It is said that up until this Petition, Benjamin Franklin held great regard and affection for Great Britain and valued his status as a British subject. But when the King chose not to respond to the Petition, nor to even acknowledge the colonists' legitimate grievances, and when Parliament did the same, he realized that his affections and loyalty to Great Britain were ill-placed and that the relationship between the colonies and the Crown was in a fatal state of disunity, and from that moment on, he was in favor of independence from Great Britain. After he voted in favor of sending the Petition, Franklin penned a letter to a friend there, William Straham. Straham was a British Member of Parliament who had, until that point, been a good friend of his for at least thirty years. In that letter, Franklin vented his anger and frustrations:

    "You are a Member of Parliament, and one of that Majority which has doomed my country to destruction. You have begun to burn our towns, and murder our people. Look upon your hands! They are stained with the blood of your relations! You and I were long friends: You are now my enemy, and I am Yours. - B. Franklin."

    The Second Continental Congress continued to meet in 1776, with the war in full swing. On July 2, the Congress adopted the Lee Resolution, formally declaring independence from Great Britain ("Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved."), and finally, on July 4, the longer Declaration of Independence (listing the many grievances against the King and Parliament) was adopted.

    To reject the principles that drove the Sons of Liberty and other colonial protesters to destroy the tea in Boston that cold December evening in 1773, to diminish its impact on our founding. or to fail to understand its influence on our Founders' intent for government is to help send our country on its way to government supremacy over our lives. It is to accept that government tyranny is acceptable. It is to submit to the easier course of action which is that we can tolerate government violating and limiting our liberty rights.


    Ronald Reagan, in that famous speech mentioned above, had this to say: "You and I are told increasingly we have to choose between a left or right. Well I'd like to suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There's only an up or down: [up] man's old - old-aged dream, the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. And regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would trade our freedom for security have embarked on this downward course."

    References:

    "The Boston Tea Party Destruction of the Tea" - https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/the-destruction-of-the-tea

    Dave Benner, "Today in History: The Boston Tea Party," Tenth Amendment Center, December 16, 2018. Referenced at: https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2018/12/16/today-in-history-the-boston-tea-party/

    Ronald Reagan, speech of October 27, 1964 ("A Time for Choosing") - https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ronaldreaganatimeforchoosing.htm

    David B. Kopel, "How the British Gun Control Program Precipitated the American Revolution," Charleston Law Review, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Winter 2012). Referenced at: http://www.academia.edu/10621580/How_the_British_Gun_Control_Program_Precipitated_the_American_Revolution

    David B. Kopel, "The American Revolution Against British Gun Control" Administrative and Regulatory Law News (American Bar Association), Vol. 37, no. 4 (Summer 2012). Referenced at: http://www.davekopel.org/2A/LawRev/american-revolution-against-british-gun-control.html

    "Benjamin Franklin Joins the Revolution," The Smithsonian. Referenced at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/benjamin-franklin-joins-the-revolution-87199988/

    Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A Time for Choosing, American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin, Boston tea party, civil disobedience, Coercive Acts, Continental Congress, Dave Benner, Diane Rufino, Intolerable Acts, King George, Ronald Reagan, Sons of Liberty, tea act, tyranny | Leave a comment