How Tea Helped America Be Free

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How Tea Helped America Be Free

• The strange but true story of how American
  Colonists used nonviolence to win their
  independence!

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In the 1700s, America was a colony of England.

• England was small but powerful.

• America was large but had few people and few
  soldiers.

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• But we had to buy many things from England
  because we didnt have many factories.

• America had great natural resources.

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• England made a profit on these products
• AND
• (OUCH!)
• Also made the colonists pay high taxes!

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• The colonists did not get to vote on these taxes.
• Should we be taxed?
• How much should we be taxed?
• How and where should my taxes be used?
• This is called
• TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.

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• The colonists drank a lot of tea.
• England bought the tea from China and India.
• England sold the tea to the colonists.
• England had a monopoly on tea and made the
  colonists pay a high tax.

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• In a small town called Boston, the colonists
  wanted to protest against England a powerful
  country with a strong king.
• Should we try to fight England?
• Should we try nonviolence?

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• The colonists decided to use nonviolence.
• They disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians.
• They rowed out to the English ship in the
  harbor.
• They threw the cargo of tea into the harbor.

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• No one was hurt or killed , butTHE BRITISH GOT
  THE MESSAGE!We really hate that tea
  tax!Wow, I think they are serious.

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The colonists continued to use nonviolence.They
decided to boycott all tea from England.They
made tea from native plants and trees.
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• The boycott cost England a lot of money in
  revenue and taxes.Soon England did not have
  enough money to pay soldiers and weapons used to
  fight the colonists.England gave America her
  independence!

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• Today America is a free country.
• We do not pay taxes to England.
• We have the right to vote.
• AND
• We drink more coffee than tea!!!

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The colonists used nonviolenceand thats how tea
helped make America free!How Tea Helped Make Us
FreeWe were a colony.England sold us tea.We
paid a heavy fee.We were not happy!No
violence for meBut I want a free country.We
had a tea partyThrew tea in the sea.Now were
a people freeBut we drink coffee!