An Excerpt From Thomas Jefferson's Letter To The Colonists

I had seen and heard the protests of my fellow colonists on my way home from gathering the chicken eggs for breakfast. It was 4:30 in the morning, but the streets lacked the familiar silence that I so enjoyed. Instead of the echo of beautiful songs chirped by the early morning birds, the air was filled with the sounds of screaming, shouting, and loud chants of protest. Protesting what, I 'm not sure. I paused to listen in, leaning towards the source of the noise. I could not hear specific words through all the yelling, so I shrugged and continued my stroll towards home.

It was 5:00 by the time I had reached home. I thought I heard more holler from inside my house and wondered if the earlier uproar had stuck in my brain. I shook

I shuffled over to the table, tucking my long, ragged skirt under me as I sat down.

"What is all the fuss about?" I asked gingerly in an attempt to settle my scorching predecessor down, whose face was now as red as the tomatoes from our garden. He slammed the newspaper in his hand onto the table in reply.

"He 's mad because the British parliament is charging us a tax on all official documents shipped to the colonies," my mom said, slowly turning to the left to face me. "Give him some time, he will calm down." I looked at my dad who had a fiery glare glued on my placid mother who stared at her knees beneath the table.

"I had to pay £10 for this newspaper!" My dad snatched the newspaper from the table only to slam it down once again, making the whole house shudder.

"Only £10?" I asked, flustered. "Why are you so angry about

I gazed back with a puzzled look. "It would be fine if the colonies had a representative in the British parliament, but, unfortunately, we don 't. They have no right to tax us without our consent!"

"Oh," I replied calmly as to cool the boiling pot within him, still not completely understanding the issue. "Is everyone else unhappy about this too?" I asked, turning right to face my mother.

"Yes, almost everyone is chanting 'taxation without representation ' and writing songs to protest. Some colonists have even resorted to attacking taxpayers. They burned down a taxpayer named Andrew Oliver 's house and buried others alive until they said that they would repeal the act." My mom sighed in disappointment. "The British are crazy."

"I think I saw some of these protesters on the way home. Although, some people I walked past seemed totally calm about it. Why is that?" I questioned my father who plopped down in the chair across the table from me.

"Probably Loyalists. Those good for nothing idiots! They are so..." My mom stopped him before his head exploded. He took a deep breath and slouched back in his chair like an angry toddler, crossing his arms and staring down at the floor. "They think that the British parliament taxing the colonists is fine! That 's insane! They have no right to