“They say the Boston Tea Party was the most important event to led to the Revolution, but that is arguable. The Boston Massacre was the moment that brought everyone together. At the museum we talk about the issue of taxation without representation but I have learned this is a microcosm for peaceful political protest that tries to fight for civil rights because this ultimately is a civil rights issue. This story is one moment in time, but it is repeated over and over again. What Great Britain did in India is far worse than what happened here, but this is still congruent. Today, the United States is doing the same thing to Puerto Rico. They are subject to our laws and jurisdiction, but they can’t vote for our president. How has this changed? We did affect huge change through a simple gesture of throwing the tea. This was the first peaceful civil rights protest in the colonies. We are focusing on one event, but I want to get across in my tours that the revolution was more of an evolution because our idea of independence evolved. Many who were moderate or neutral with loyalist leaning wanted to have what Canada has today with a respect for the crown and their own Parliament. They wanted representation but King George had bigger things going on with France or just didn’t see the colonies as that important. He didn’t listen and the lines were drawn. We didn’t know about the consequences of the actions of the tea party until May of 1774. You couldn’t tweet about it or see it on TV. It took 4-8 weeks for news to get back and forth by ship. But that could also be good because they weren’t as reactionary. They had time to think about what they said and did and draft it out.”