The English Parliament imposed unjust taxation on the American colonies in 1764. The purpose of the taxes was to pay off the debts England accrued during the “Seven Years War.” Later Britain added more taxes to maintain rule over the colonies at their own expense.[1]
Parliament began levying taxes on the colonies without their consent. Here is a partial list of the unjust taxes:
- The Sugar Act, 1764 – Increased duties on imported sugar, textiles, coffee, wines, and dyes;
- The Currency Act, also 1764 – Prohibited the use of paper money and threatened to destabilize the colonial economy
- The Stamp Act, 1765 – Affected all printed materials;
- The Quartering Act 1765, 1766, and then in 1774 – Required colonists to house and feed British troops;
- Declaratory Act, 1766 – Parliament claimed power to legislate ALL laws governing the colonies. This led to violence between the British and Americans;
- Townsend Act, 1767 – The British imposed taxes on imports like paint, tea, lead, and glass. Following this act, Americans practiced widespread boycotts and violence.
Violence escalated on both sides. On February 22, 1770, British officials fired into a mob of Americans. They killed an eleven-year-old in the process.[2] Then on March 5, 1770, a mob harassed a group of British soldiers. The “Boston Massacre” ensued, leaving five dead and six wounded. The Boston Massacre became a rallying point for patriotic Americans.
Crispus Attucks was among the dead that day. Attucks is probably the most famous Black Patriot of our Revolution. He stood against tyranny with his white counterparts.
Joseph Warren, President of the Massachusetts Congress, stirred a crowd on the second anniversary of the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1772. He said:
If you perform your part, you must have the strongest confidence that the same Almighty Being who protected your pious and venerable forefathers, who enabled them to turn a barren wilderness into a fruitful field, who so often made bare His arm for their salvation, will still be mindful of you, their offspring. May this Almighty Being graciously preside in all our councils. May He direct us to such measures as He Himself shall approve and be pleased to bless. May our land be a land of liberty, the seat of virtue, the asylum of the oppressed, a name and a praise in the whole earth, until the last shock of time shall bury the empires of the world in one common undistinguishable ruin![3]
Two years later, on March 5, 1774, the fourth anniversary of the Boston Massacre, John Hancock commemorated the event. He stated:
Some boast of being “friends to government”: I am a friend to “righteous” government, to a government founded upon the principles of reason and justice….
I have the most animating confidence that the present noble struggle for liberty will terminate gloriously for America. And let us play the man for our GOD, and for the cities of our GOD; while we are using the means in our power, let us humbly commit our righteous cause to the great LORD of the universe, who loveth righteousness and hateth inequity.
– And having secured the approbation of our hearts, by a faithful and unwearied discharge of our duty to our country, let us joyfully leave her important concerns in the hands of HIM who raiseth up and putteth down empires and kingdoms of the world as HE pleases; and with cheerful submission to HIS sovereign will, devoutly say,
“Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olives shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; yet we will rejoice in the LORD, we will joy in the GOD of our salvation”(Habakkuk 3:17-18).[4]
Americans, by nature, resist tyranny. The unjust practices of King George III and Parliament incited the fury of Americans. They peacefully protested for the most part until fired upon by the British.
Americans have not changed much over the years. Yes, we have forgotten God in too many cases, but the DNA of Liberty He placed in the nation remains. Political rallies, peaceful demonstrations, and Trucker Convoys are a few ways we express our displeasure. People do not tolerate abuse for long.
Our Founders did not advocate for violent revolution. They did not believe God would bless a war of aggression, only one of self-defense (see 2 Samuel 10:12; Nehemiah 4:13-14, 20-21, and Zechariah 9:8). John Parker told the Minute Men at Lexington, “Do not fire unless fired upon.”[5]
I hope the destruction of America by the current Marxist regime awakens the hearts of American Patriots. We don’t need BLM-style protests with violence and looting. We need Patriots who will return to God and uphold righteousness.
If we do not educate ourselves beyond the propaganda of the Main Stream Media, we will have tyranny. As “We the People,” we can have the courage and strength to bring government back to our control. Our political leaders only rule by the “consent of the governed.” Even God rules by our consent. When the people rejected God from being their King, He told Samuel:
“Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them (1 Samuel 8:7, NKJV).
There is a time to stand with God for Liberty.1 John 4:4 (NKJV) reminds us of God’s greatness. John wrote:
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
Keep The Light of Doing Our Part With God Burning!
GodNAmerica.@gmail.com
[1] Cummings, Brad, and Lance Wubbels, editors. The Founders’ Bible. Newbury Park, CA, Shiloh Road Publishers, 2012, p. C-2.
[2] Ibid., p. 1373.
[3] Federer, William J. American Quotations. Amerisearch, 2013, p. 715.
[4] Ibid., p. 683.
[5] Cummings, Brad, and Lance Wubbels, editors. The Founders’ Bible. Newbury Park, CA, Shiloh Road Publishers, 2012, p.1769.