Virginia Association of 1769: A Step Toward Continental Unity
By: Mike Maharrey In May 1769, Virginia took a decisive step beyond carefully worded protests by launching an organized and strategic boycott against British goods. Led by George Washington and ...
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The Tea Act of 1773 Was a Test of Obedience
By: Michael Boldin On May 10, 1773, the British Parliament passed the Tea Act. To the average observer, it seemed like a break. Cheaper tea. A financial rescue for ...
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Precedent: Letting Yesterday’s Crimes Justify Tomorrow’s Tyranny
By: Michael Boldin “One of the vilest systems that can be set up.” That’s how Thomas Paine described government by precedent – when government uses power not because it’s authorized, ...
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Arbitrary Power: The Definition of Tyranny
By: Michael Boldin “The curse and scandal of human nature.” That’s how James Otis, Jr. described arbitrary power. It wasn’t just a sign of tyranny, or a step toward it. ...
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The Real Root Cause of the American Revolution
By: Michael Boldin Think the American Revolution was just about taxes, tea parties, and representation? Think again. The real conflict wasn’t about a few policies. It was about power – ...
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Five Foundational Truths from James Otis, Jr.
By: Michael Boldin James Otis Jr. was one of the most important leaders of the American Revolution – yet today, he is almost completely forgotten. Years before the Declaration of ...
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Before Boston: The Tea Revolt That Began in Philadelphia
By: Mike Maharrey The Boston Tea Party is arguably the best-known event leading up to the war for independence, but a number of leading Revolutionaries, including Benjamin Rush and John ...
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The Satirical Genius of Benjamin Franklin’s 1774 Letter to Lord North
By: Mike Maharrey “A friend to military government.” That’s not what we’d expect from one of the leading supporters of American independence, but that’s just how Benjamin Franklin signed his ...
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The Treaty of Paris: How the War for Independence Almost Didn’t End
By: Michael Boldin Signed on Sept 3, 1783 – the Treaty of Paris has long been called the formal end to the War for Independence. But the war didn’t officially ...
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Benjamin Franklin’s Brilliant Satire: Exposing British Hypocrisy Through a Fake Prussian Edict
By: Mike Maharrey As frustrations with usurpations and arbitrary power from the British government grew, American colonial leaders fired up the presses, producing hundreds of newspaper articles, pamphlets, and ...
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