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Letters For History

March 7, 1774

Dear Madi,

I haven't written to you since before the "tea party". Man was that a sight! Tea was all over the harbor! You could probably scoop it up in a cup and drink it. It was a great show of rebellion to the British taxing us on everything we touched. However, due to the Boston Tea Party Britain is starting to crack a whip on us. Now to keep us in line they are creating something called the Coercive Acts. More like the "Intolerable Acts". Man, they are doing everything in their power to control us.
Today dad lost his job at the port. It was due to the new Boston Port Act. They closed the entire Boston Port from commerce, which means no loading or unloading of anything off the ships in the port of Boston. How terrible is that? Now we have to have our food and fuel brought in to us from Salem. Sure it isn't that far however it takes longer for us to get our goods. We also had to have our goods escorted to us by custom officers.
Apparently this Act was created due to the tea party. They are making us pay for all the tea that was dumped into the harbor. Every last little drop. Their idea is for us to pay it off with customs duties. That is why we have to have our goods escorted to us, and the reason they closed the harbor. It makes it easier for the customs officers to collect the duties.
Man, it is going to take us a while to collect all the money. It was no small amount of tea that was dumped into the harbor, as I said earlier it was all over the harbor. People are losing jobs left and right. Dad wasn't the only one who lost his job. All the merchants and porters lost their jobs due to the closing of the harbor. Now dad has to find another job, and that isn't going to be easy. Well I hope you have had more luck than us. How have you been?
Your Friend,
Ann

May 21, 1774

Dear Madi,

Dad still hasn't found a job. The port still hasn't opened back up either. Now new problems have arisen. The other day a British officer killed...