In 1770 something happened, something horrible. Five Americans were killed in a shooting in Boston. British soldiers had been sent from England to Boston so the tax collectors would feel safe. The Americans didn't like having the soldiers around. Boys used to throw snowballs at the soldiers. On March 5, 1770 a group of colonists gathered outside of the Customs House where the tax collectors worked. The colonists started yelling at the soldiers and the soldiers fired into the crowd. Most people were horrified to even think about it. One of the people who died was Crispus Attucks a famous black patriot and a former slave. There is a famous picture to go with this story (below).
"Taxation without representation is tyranny"
You might know this famous quote from the Boston Tea Party. The whole situation started when the king of England put a tax on the colonists. Who could blame the poor colonists? Life back then was hard to stay alive. I mean you had to pay for your family, food, clothes, and shelter. Well, it was hard!
The reason why the colonists threw 350 pounds of tea overboard was because of the taxes. They got so frustrated and want to show this frustration to the king! That's when they decided to throw overboard from an English tea ship 342 boxes of tea. Many people joined in this "tea party."
King George III was angry about the destruction of the tea. He closed Boston Harbor to all ships until the colonists had paid for the tea. The colonists, however, banded together and refused to pay for the tea.
By April of 1775 the line between Loyalists and Patriots had been clearly drawn. The Loyalists were colonists who supported English rule, and the Patriots were colonists who wanted freedom from English rule.
The winter at Valley Forge in 1777 was a desperate one. Generals from England were marching their troops to Saratoga. Another British general had captured Philadelphia. George Washington was forced to move his troops to Valley Forge, a place near Philadelphia. The conditions were terrible, and they were very low on supplies.
Only about one man out of three had shoes. The rest wrapped their feet in rags. George Washington stated, "You may have tracked the enemy by the blood of your feet." Although his words were bitter, Washington faced all the perils that his men did even though he didn't have to. Although 2,500 men died, Washington's spirit encouraged other soldiers to survive the harsh winter at Valley Forge.
In 1787, the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia. Men called delegates came from each state. Their job was to represent their states in the writing of the Constitution. People like Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington were at the convention. George Washington was elected the president of the convention. The convention came up with a plan for a national government with legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Many of the individual states were already run in this way.
Not everyone agreed on all parts of the constitution. Some compromises needed to be made. There was a debate on whether slaves should be counted in a state's population because a state's population determined the number of representatives in the House of Representatives and the number of electoral votes for president. In the end, it was decided five slaves would be counted as three people in a state's population.
The Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787 in Philadelphia, but did you know that the constitution didn't take effect until after New Hampshire signed? Well, it didn't! The constitution could not go into effect until nine states had approved it. On June 21, 1789, New Hampshire finally decided to sign the Constitution. Then the Constitution became law. By 1790, all of the states had approved the Constitution.
Some of the quotes people use today were first said during the Revolutionary War. Do you recognize any of them?
Does this quote ring a bell? Patrick Henry was the brave soul who said this. Our group used this quote as the name for our web site because the colonists wanted liberty from the British more than anything. They would risk their lives and face death to get their liberty. People also use this quote in things such as newspapers for headlines, or people also use this quote in their sayings.
There was also another famous quote, " I want to sign so large, that Old King George can see my signature without his spectacles on!" You might know this this quote from.....John Hancock! He was the first one to sign to Declaration of Independence. He was also the one who signed the largest. He was against King George.
This quote was considered almost a song. You see when the Tea Party was over, many townspeople were happy. The quote goes a little something like this, "Rally, Mohawks! Bring out you axes, and tell King George we'll pay no taxes on his foreign tea!!" That was just a little taste of how happy the people were!
Ben Franklin also said a few famous quotes here and there. One was "Beware of little expenses, a small leak will sink a great ship!" That means don't go in over your head on prices!!
Another quote that Ben Franklin said was, "At the working man's house, hunger looks in but dares not enter." I think that means that people should not let hunger interfere with their lives.
From Poor Richard's Almanac
* Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
* Up, sluggard and waste not life. In the grave will be sleeping enough.
* Every little makes a mickle.