Monday, January 30, 2012

"The Committee for Tarring and Feathering"

In the wake of the Boston Tea Party, increasing numbers of Maine settlements were turning radical. Falmouth voted to ban the selling and drinking of tea in town, but since its merchants had 2,500 poinds of the stuff on hand -- a heavy investment -- they were not considered trustworthy enough to keep the resolve. A handbill soon appeared, produced by the local Committee for Tarring and Feathering, declaring that no one in town should doubt what would happen to those who bought or consumed tea. The notice was signed: "Thomas Tarbucket, Peter Pitch, Abrahan Wildfowl, David Plaister, Benjamin Brush, Oliver Scarecrow, and Henry Hand-Cart." Falmouth merchants got the idea and stopped selling tea. -- Ten Tea Parties: Patriotic Protests That History Forgot by Joseph Cummins, pp. 138-139.
Insomnia has few positives, but I am catching up on my reading. Just finished Ten Tea Parties: Patriotic Protests That History Forgot by Joseph Cummins this morning. It is an excellent read, covering some of the many anti-British East India Company protests that happened before and after THE Boston Tea Party we all know. (Lexington, Massachusetts actually BURNED their tea before Boston dumped theirs.) From the Epilogue:
Most (present-day) Tea Party constituents have a good grasp of the events that occurred during the Boston Tea Party, but they would do well to understand the details of the other patriotic protests described in this book. All are remarkable, because each town staged its protest in its own unique way. Patriots burned tea in Greenwich and Wilmington and Annapolis; made it disappear (and reappear) in York; dumped it overboard in New York and Charleston; and rejected it in Philadelphia and Edenton. And all manner of people participated in the protests. The working-class laborers of Manhattan, the distinguished ladies of Edenton, the mysterious Swamp Men of Greenwich -- all were united behind a common cause. For the first time in the nation's history, Americans banded together AS AMERICANS. -- pp. 201-202.
I learned a lot from this book and I highly recommend it to present-day Three Percenters.

5 comments:

rdf67 said...

I joined the first TEA Party demo in Madison WI - as a result of the runaway spending. Most were Sixties and older grandparents who could look forward and see who this social plan will hurt the most. There were about 10,000 of us - but we were reported as about 2,000. Bused in from all over the state. I took a moment to talk to my WI state rep who happened to be the majority leader. I had talked to him in my kitchen before his first election and he saw the Hannity book on my table and wanted to get out fast. Anyway, he was happy to see me so he could get rid of the guy he was talking to. I pleaded with him to take a look at WI health care benefits for employees - he had no clue - and suggested that Rolls Royce treatment for public servants would bankrupt the State. It took Gov Walker to make the changes - and now those losing benefits are trying to get rid of him with a recall - petitions signed by Mickey Mouse because they know the Dems on the recall board won't look at the petitions. We are at a crossroads - and individual action (peaceful I presume) is mandatory today or the wonderful country we knew will not be available to our grandchildren.

Storm'n Norm'n said...

Thanks for the update.

Norm

http://normanhooben.blogspot.com/2010/08/when-you-finish-your-homework-get-ready.html

Anonymous said...

It's a great little book. Should take no more than an evening or two to read. I had one, read it, and passed it on to a friend.

Anonymous said...

They would be fortunate to get off that easy.The things these so-called representatives of the people have done to the masses in the last several years,I almost expect to someday see the French "National Razor" at work on the capital mall!.

Anonymous said...

If only we had a "Tea Party" with the fiat money.