The Pendulum of Politics
Today’s Politics from Yesterday’s History
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It all began with taxes By being English subjects, the colonists felt that they had to abide by English Law but also they were entitled to enjoy the Rights of Englishmen. One of the most important laws had been in effect since 1215 when the English nobles forced King John, (the infamous Prince John of Robin Hood legend) to sign the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta said that the “King could not raise taxes without first consulting the Great Council of nobles and church leaders.” Later this council was called Parliament. Early on in the colonies, there was an under-current against taxes as the Anglican Church was a state sponsored church and as such, got funds through taxes. People of other faiths or non church going people were still liable. In colonies like Massachusetts, being part of the church was required in order to vote. In this light, it is even more remarkable that around 1750, Jonathan Mayhew, a minister in Boston, is reported to have been the first to say “no taxation without representation.” In 1765, James Otis of Boston is sometimes given the credit when he said;” Taxation without representation is tyranny!” Most of the members of the British Parliament and the Kings Council thought that the colonies did have representation just like women and children who could not vote had representation, something called “virtual representation." It is obvious now that the colonists didn’t agree. Thus taxes played a pivotal role in our history. Nobody likes taxes but everybody wants the government to do something during a crisis. Modern politicians routinely bring up the cry of no new taxes but they seem to omit the part, “without representation.” Many people of today think the colonists were against all taxes and thus they should be. In fact, this belief is shown in some of the ads for debt relief and settlement of tax claims that appear on some current T.V. channels. They all seem to demand immediate action if some disaster happens to hit their state. I wonder if they focus on where that money actually comes from. Proof that the colonists would pay their taxes comes from a line of the Liberty Song. It was written in 1768 by John Dickinson the future author of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. “Chorus: In Freedom we're born and in Freedom we'll live. Our purses are ready. Steady, friends, steady; Not as slaves, but as Freemen our money we'll give.” Dickinson’s lines state that they will pay but only as free men. John Dickinson believed that we would only succeed if we placed the good of the nation above our own concerns. One of the first taxes on the colonies was the Sugar Act of 1764. This was a tax on molasses that was imported from the Dutch or French West Indies to make rum in the New England distilleries. The distillers thought the tax would cut too deeply into their profit margin. The other tax was the Stamp Act of 1765. They were taxes to help pay 1/3 of the cost of having around 10,000 soldiers to protect the colonies from attacks by the French, Spanish and the Indians after the French and Indian War. They were also required to outfit the troops with bedding, cooking utensils etc. This was passed in England “in 1765 with less opposition than a turnpike bill.” A turnpike is synonymous with a toll road. So the inference was that the Parliament didn’t think these taxes were a major issue. They were wrong! Opposition to this tax in the colonies led to the Stamp Act Congress. The Congress brought representatives from nine colonies to New York where they met and wrote petitions to the King and to Parliament. The petitions were largely ignored but the boycott of English goods that cut trade by 14% was not ignored by the British. The Stamp Act was repealed, but new taxes were passed called the Townsend Acts. Regardless of the tax, the point was still the same. No taxation without representation was the colonial claim and Great Britain maintained the right to tax the people in its colonies. All of this cajoling was bringing the colonies closer together. It forced them to organize. They joined groups like the Sons of Liberty or the Daughters of Liberty. Later Sam Adams organized the Committees of Correspondence. Boston was the seat of most of the turmoil so Great Britain sent troops there to help keep things under control. The presence of the troops just riled up the citizens of Boston more. One evening on March 5th, 1770 a young lad made some disparaging remarks about a British soldier and the soldier retaliated with the butt of his gun. The townspeople started to gather and there were more words and some snowballs hurled at the troops. The next thing to happen caused this event to be known as The Boston Massacre. *-
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Random Contents: Common Sense, Manifest Destiny, Pig War, Newberg Conspiracy, Nullification Theory, Patrick Henry, Palin’s Future, Global Economy, Isolationism, Alexis de Tocqueville, Line Item Veto, Laissez Faire, Baseball, Petticoat Affair, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Electoral College, Haymarket Riot, Term Limits, Uncle Sam, Alexander Hamilton, Ground Zero, John C. Calhoun, Pledge to America, Martin Van Buren, KKK, John Dickinson, Thomas Nast, Parliament, Teddy Bear, James Otis, Immigration, Silent Cal, Gulf of Tonkin, Nathan Hale, Corrupt Bargain, Recall, Ben Franklin, Slavery, Watergate, Paul Revere, Muslims, Emancipation Proclamation, John Marshall, Nisei, Tea Party, Domino Theory, Aaron Burr, Prayer in School, Robert E. Lee, Robber Barons, Checks and Balances, Great Society, Outsourcing, Know Nothing Party, Thomas Paine, Tariff of Abominations, Frances Perkins, Bleeding Kansas, Tippecanoe, Dixiecrats, Andrew Carnegie, Reaganomics, Little Rock, John Brown, Bracero Program, Victory Gardens, Eli Whitney, al-Qaeda, SAC, Jefferson Davis, Square Deal, Herbert Hoover, Patriot Act, Confederation, Federalism.
After reading the random contents one can see the variety of the topics covered. I conclude the book with 5 major recommendations for the improvement of American politics. Read these and decide if they would also be yours. Read the rankings of the Presidents as for their beliefs and actions in Federalism or Confederation.
What do you think was the biggest waste of time, the invention that most changed mankind, the worst vote in History, the worst legislation, the most important message, the most patriotic American, the biggest question in History, the simplest invention that caused the biggest change, the biggest question in American history and the biggest mistake that turned out to be the greatest fortune for the United States and who was the first to use the phrase the United States of America.
Alexis de Tocqueville said,” The will of the nation is one of those phrases which have been most largely abused by the wily and the despotic of every age."
So do we govern by elections or by opinion polls? Read the book to find out.
About the Author
Craig Parkinson has taught for 36 years in Iowa. He taught History and Physical Education in both high school and middle school and has coached many teams primarily as the Head Football Coach. In 2007 he was inducted into the Iowa Football Coaches Hall of Fame. He has traveled extensively around the United States and has taken a Classical Civilization tour to London, Paris, Cairo, Rome, Athens, and a cruise in the Aegean Sea. He was a re-enactment soldier in Sgt. Floyds Honor Guard, Lewis & Clark's Corps of Discovery 1804 as Patrick Gass. This is his first book after writing professional journal pieces for Scholastic Coach, "How to Defend the New Three Point Shot," and "Outlawing the Cluster Onside Kickoff," for the Iowa Football Coaches Journal. He is married and father to four wonderful adults and has one granddaughter. He is currently completing a book tentatively called "Racism/Based on a False Premise.'' Known as a personable and innovative teacher/coach, Parkie, as he is usually known, has tried to use some of these traits to generate an atmosphere of healthy political discussion of facts instead of confrontational argumentation of sound bites. Using historical background as evidence, he shows how his theory of political preference of national/federal control competes with state/confederation control. Through natural growth of our country, our government has also grown. The question still remains should we have a larger federal government or a smaller confederation? This book contains many historical references that show the entire picture unlike the way traditional textbooks may gloss over the issues. It is for the ordinary citizen and it is designed to get the readers interest and stimulate them to come to their own conclusions after investigating the facts. From the beginning of our country we have been struggling with who controls the power in our government. Is it the individual, the states or the nation? This internal conflict drives the political discussions of today and will continue to drive them in the future. This book gives a fresh and entertaining look at the many examples of how this basic premise has ruled our politics. We go back and forth as a pendulum using cycles of elections and public opinions and sometimes even wars to change directions. We are exposed to so much politically charged information that it makes choices difficult. Maybe that is why so many people are turned off by History and Politics. This is a thumbnail version of our history and its effect on current politics. It is not to persuade you to particular beliefs but to charge you to think with an open mind, gather the facts, and then make reasonable, rational and educated choices. James Otis, a Patriot from Boston in the 1770's said, "If heaven I cannot bend the hell I'll stir." I hope this book stirs you in many good ways! Craig Parkinson