The following is from Patrick
Henry, a member of the Virginia
colonial legislature (he is part of
the group that makes laws for
the Virginia colony).
I would rather spit in the face of
my own king than pay one more
cent of his taxes. I don’t care if
they killed me, I would rather die
fighting for my rights as an
Englishman than face one more
day of absolute tyranny1. It’s like
being force fed Brussels sprouts. I
Patrick Henry speaking to the Virginia
would rather starve to death than
legislature
gag on a spoonful of those nasty
vegetables every mealtime. Parliament and the king have come
together to create taxes that are poison to me and my fellow English
citizens here in the colonies.
And the worst part is, they never asked our permission.
That’s right. Parliament makes all the laws for England. The king must
approve all of the laws passed by Parliament. Everyone in England gets
to vote for the people in Parliament who make the laws: everyone
except the people in the colonies.
1
tyranny: having your rights taken away by someone more powerful than you (like the king)
Yes, unfortunately the English colonists here in America are not allowed
to vote for who gets to make our laws. We don’t have a representative2
in Parliament to look out for our interests in America. Instead,
Parliament decides what laws we must follow and what taxes we must
pay without us getting any opinion.
We colonists understand that the English government may need some
tax money to help pay for the French and Indian War, but we want to
decide how much we are going to be taxed, and what taxes we will pay.
I have encouraged my fellow
lawmakers3 here in Virginia to
refuse to pay any tax that was
passed by Parliament and the
king. Some of the lawmakers have
accused me of treason4, but I told
them that if this was treason, we
should make the most of it. We
shouldn’t give up, but continue to
fight until Parliament and the king
get rid of the taxes, or allow the
American colonies to have a
representative in Parliament.
poster protesting the Stamp Act
Some people say that rights are
2
representative: a lawmaker who represents a certain area
3
lawmaker: a person who makes laws
4
treason: going against or trying to hurt your own country
not worth fighting for and that people can live without liberty, but as
for me, give me liberty or give me death!