The Americans
said, We have the same rights as our brothers in England, and the
king cannot force us to give a single copper against our will. If
he tries to take it from us, we will fight. Some of the greatest men
in England agreed with us, and said that they would fight, too, if
they were in our place.
[Footnote 13: Thirteen colonies: see footnote 4 at the end of
paragraph 102.]
132. The king determines to have the money; the tea-ships, and the
"Boston tea-party."--But George the Third did not know the Americans,
and he did not think that they meant what they said. He tried to make
them pay the money, but they would not. From Maine to Georgia, all
the people were of one mind. Then the king thought that he would try
a different way. Shiploads of tea were sent over to New York, Boston,
Philadelphia, and Charleston, If the tea should be landed and sold,
then every man who bought a pound of it would have to pay six cents
more than the regular price. That six cents was a tax, and it went
into the king's pocket. The people said, We won't pay that six cents.
When the tea reached New York, the citizens sent it back again to
England. They did the same thing at Philadelphia. At Charleston they
let it be landed, but it was stored in damp cellars.
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