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Punishment by tar and feather of Thomas Ditson, who purchased a gun from a British soldier in Boston in March 1775. Interim Archives/Getty Images

Yes, this is who we are: America’s 250‑year history of political violence

The US has long fused politics and violence, often through firearms. To claim that such shootings betray ‘who we are’ is to forget that the US was founded on this form of political violence.
Under cover of night, Colonists boarded the ships, dumped the tea chests and sparked a revolution. Hulton Fine Art Collection/Art Images via Getty Images

How the Boston Tea Party’s ‘destruction of the tea’ changed American history

An attack on private property angered Colonial leaders as much as the British public – but a strong reaction from Parliament hardened the positions of the opposing sides, making compromise impossible.

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