It's April 16, 2025 -- Tax Day in America has passed.
Tax Freedom Day is upon us. If the model devised each year by the U.S. Tax Foundation is correct, you have worked enough already this year to pay your taxes.
That's a tad annoying, but may bring to mind what might be considered the first Tax Freedom Day in America -- December 16, 1773.
The story of the Boston Tea Party itself – the dissident group the Sons of Liberty assembling with other Bostonians en masse and dumping tea from British ships into Boston Harbor – is familiar to anyone with a passing knowledge of American history in general and the Revolutionary era in particular. Some of the particulars of the events leading up to the Tea Party have a distinctly familiar ring.
Due to massive expenditures that funded a series of expensive overseas conflicts, the British government found itself deeply in debt in the mid-to-late 1700s. In an attempt to stanch the bleeding, Parliament adopted the Townshend Act of 1767, which placed a tax on several goods purchased by North American colonists, most notably the 1.2 million pounds of tea that British colonists were annually consuming.
The colonists believed this act unfair and demanded its repeal. The British government did repeal the taxes on most other goods except tea, and boycotts of British tea ensued. Parliament attempted to further appease their grumbling colonists (and prop up the floundering East India Company) with the Tea Act in 1773. This act permitted British firms to ship tea to North America duty-free at a reduced rate. However, the tax remained and resentment among colonists grew, particularly in Boston.
Opposition and anger spread further in June 1773 when the Boston Gazette published letters written by Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson and Lieutenant Governor Andrew Oliver. The letters, sent to British government officials, recommended that tax boycotts and protests be countered by curtailing the civil liberties of the colonists and severing the connection between the colonial government and local assemblies.
Both letters had been sent anonymously to Benjamin Franklin the previous December, who was in London in his capacity as an agent for the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Franklin relayed the letters to Samuel Adams, who in turn showed them to the Massachusetts Committee of Correspondence. The First Continental Congress petitioned the British monarchy to withdraw Hutchinson and Oliver.
When in early October 1773 it was made public that the East India Company was sending 600 chests of tea to Boston (and the same amounts to New York and Philadelphia), a series of public meetings ensued in Boston.
The Sons of Liberty organized a public meeting at the Liberty Tree near Boston Common to attempt to persuade British agents to send the tea back. About 500 people attended including Sam Adams, John Adams, and John Hancock. The agents refused.
Undeterred, two more public meetings – both at Faneuil Hall – were held in order to convince the British agents to reject the tea. Twice more they refused. Another meeting was scheduled for Faneuil Hall, but the momentum was such that the building could not hold the attendees, and it was moved to the Old South Meeting House. The agents again refused. By now, three British merchant ships – the Dartmouth, Beaver, and Eleanor were nearing the Harbor.
December arrived and more public meetings were held. The British government and its agents and officers in America would not budge. A final gathering at the Old South Meeting House was held on December 16. When it was clear that all requests to send the tea back to England would be denied, the Sons of Liberty, dressed as Native Americans in order to avoid recognition, rushed the harbor, boarded the ships, and dumped around 90,000 pounds of tea into the water.
While not all in the colonies were enamored with the Tea Party – George Washington considered the destruction of property an abomination wrought by an insane, riotous mob – it was one of the most consequential events that led to the Revolutionary War and the eventual formation of our republic and Constitution. The Constitution gives contemporary efforts to counter abuse of government power purchase in the form of Article V.
Now, over 250 years later and in keeping with the tradition of the public meetings that marked the lead-up to the Boston Tea Party, Convention of States leaders and volunteers in every state meet regularly in restaurants, taverns, and Legion halls to discuss the ever-expanding power of the federal government and how to effectively engage our state representatives to support an Article V convention.
They explain and promote to their fellow citizens Article V, which allows for a peaceful, practical, and lawful outlet for a redress of grievances and course correction – no need to don disguises and rush the nearest harbor.
Because of such meetings and presence at public events (including Surge Days and rallies at state legislatures), the list of individuals who have signed the COS petition has grown exponentially throughout the United States. They have established correspondence with their representatives to urge them to support the COS resolution in their legislatures and add their states to the 19 who have passed the resolution.
Groups of dedicated team members meet via conference call to practice and perfect the testimony that will be delivered in legislatures support the Article V resolution across the country. (Imagine the Sons of Liberty meeting virtually – “You and Sam Adams were in the huddle for 45 min.”).
On this Tax Freedom Day, remember and act upon the spirit of grassroots organization and preparation of our forefathers in resisting unacceptable overreach, irresponsible fiscal policy, and pernicious penalties imposed by a distant government. Remember and act upon the knowledge that theirs was not an overnight success -- it was long, grueling, and at times seemingly hopeless.
They persevered and we can, too. Celebrate this Tax Freedom Day by signing the petition below and getting to work to restore ordered liberty and limited government through an Article V convention.
