Have you heard about the Boston Tea Party? It happened a long time ago in Boston (where I live). Some people were not happy with the government who wanted them to pay taxes on tea, so they had a big meeting in this building where everybody was able to share what they thought.
Some people weren't happy with the meeting and they went to the big ship where the tea was and threw it all overboard. Today we call those people Patriots (because a war eventually started and the Patriots won and America was born). We have some ancestors that were Patriots (Jeremiah Hatch & Nathaniel Hatch)
But back then, not everyone liked the Patriots. Some people still wanted the King of England to be their ruler. They were called Loyalists. We have an ancestor who was Loyalist too. (Thomas Sumner). Here is a statue of King George III, who was king then.
The Patriots and Loyalists were very mean to each other. Some Patriots drove Thomas Sumner and his family from their home and made them leave Vermont. They had to go to Canada. How would you feel if you were Thomas?
I went to a re-enactment of the Boston Tea Party and my part was to be a Loyalist. I thought a lot about Thomas Sumner and how he would have felt. I think he wanted the Patriots to obey the law and not throw the tea overboard. I was the first person in the meeting to share my thoughts as a Loyalist and to say that we should be loyal to the king.
Would you be a Patriot or a Loyalist? Why? How would you treat others?
Here are some pictures that I took when I went to the meeting and then watched them throw tea overboard.
photo credits: Old South Meeting House: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Swampyank
Boston Tea Party Ship: https://www.flickr.com/photos/18113405@N00
Boston Tea Party Engraving:
King George III statue: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Irate
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