America – Freedom and Liberty.
The Revolutionary war (1775-1781) was not about the tax on tea, it was about oppression and tyranny.
Yes, they claimed it was all about taxation without Representation, and that was part of it. But the war was really all about the oppression being forced upon the colonialists and the citizen’s of the new colonies. British troops and governors ruled over the colonies with iron fists. There was no such thing as freedom or liberty for the people. The government(s) made up rules and laws at random, what ever suited their pleasure or their wishes at the time. The British troops enforced those “rules and laws” by absolute brutal force.
The people had no choice, no rights to live their lives according to their own needs and desires. There was NO freedom, NO liberty.
If they had farm animals or vegetable gardens and some British officer decided he wanted that – then it was taken, - By force and at random. When ever that British officer decided.
If the citizen’s grouped together to plant and grow a community gardens, the British soldiers would take what ever they wanted. Often times the entire years crop would be confiscated along with farm animals so it could be shipped back to England, without compensation or any regard for the livelihood of the local citizen’s who had worked for those crops and food.
The harvests of hunters and trappers who collected animal hides and furs for warmth and food was randomly confiscated and sent back to England for the “Rich” and wealthy “Lords” of London.
Timber that was cut for construction was confiscated and the best timber was always shipped back to the “Mother land” while the locals were forced to do the best they could with the scraps that were left behind. Again without any form of compensation.
Absolute tyranny and oppression was the rule.
When the colonialists began to revolt the British forces stepped up their reign of oppression. More “Rules and Laws” were enacted by the Governors both local and from England. More “taxes” were imposed on the people. The people were being Taxed for the timber they cut and used to build their homes. (the forests were considered British property). This is where the revolt against the tax on British tea and the “Boston Tea Party” came from. The people had no say in what laws, rules, and regulations were being passed and forced upon them. This is where the phrase “Taxation without representation” came from.
The final “straw” came when the British governors declared it “unlawful” for citizen’s to hold and bear arms, and the local British solders began confiscating weapons from the citizen’s. Once again the citizen’s complained, they attempted to “partition” the Lords of London and King George for the rights to keep and bear arms for their own protection. They attempted to petition for the rights to have their own voices heard concerning any “laws” Rules, and regulations. But those petitions went unheard.
When all attempts to seek relief from these oppression's failed and rather than granting the people the rights to keep their weapons, even for self defense, the British attempted to confiscate all weapons and ammunition from the citizen’s. Instead of granting the people more rights and freedoms the British sent more troops to control the people.
THAT is what lead to the battle at Lexington and Concord. The colonialists had stored much of their weapons and ammunition in warehouses and in barns for safe-keeping in the more rural areas around Concord Massachusetts, some twenty miles to the west of Boston. The local Governor and the British solders decided to confiscate all those weapons and ammunition.
And the Revolutionary war began.
This is where we hear of the phrase “The Shot-heard-round-the-world.” That shot was fired at the battle on the bridge between Lexington and Concord. No one knows who really fired that first shot, but the battle had begun. The citizen’s decided that “enough was enough”, they would tolerate the oppression and tyranny of the British no longer.
The Revolutionary war had begun.
The Revolutionary war was all about freedom and liberty, freedom from oppression from those who through whatever means have gained power and seized authority by misuse of that power. Misuse of power and authority, oppression of others for the sake of gaining more power and authority is the very definition of tyranny.
We say that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Americans have fought many wars since the Revolutionary war. Not every war has been justified and correct but every American citizen that has ever gone to war has done so with the intention of preserving and defending freedom and liberty. Whether it be for ourselves or for others around the world. No American has ever gone to war for the intention of seizing power and authority from others, or for the sake of oppressing others.
Even America’s first civil war, (though some might disagree) was about freedom and liberty. The civil war was about freeing the slaves, not about oppressing the South. The civil war was about preserving the Union of the United States, not about oppressing the freedoms and liberties of the south.
It is said that America is a nation of laws, not of men. But when laws are enacted and enforced for the sole purpose of gaining more power and authority then such laws become oppression and tyranny.
These reasons and others are why the Founders of this nation wrote and created the Constitution of the United States of America. These and other reasons are why the Founders of the Constitution spent eight years formulating the Constitution, why they spent eight years writing letters back and forth among themselves, and also publishing many of those letters that today we refer to as the The Federalists Papers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founding_Fathers_of_the_United_States
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