Long established practice of Americans to ignore any legislation or taxes they did not like

Picking a Fight with Patriots

By Alan Caruba
Thursday, April 8, 2010

The British, when they still ruled the American colonies, learned to their displeasure what a bad idea it is to pick a fight with patriots.

By the time the Revolution began the colonies had been running their own affairs for a long time and, while many saw benefits in being allied with one of the great powers of their times and their world, they soon tired of “taxation without representation.â€