top of page

April , 1774

Smiling Villanueva

America Swallowing The Bitter Draught

america swallowing....jpg
The symbol to signify Britain Unity , Britannia is weeping.
Prime minister of Great Britain , Lord North forcing tea down her throat showing  Great Britain rule had power.
Lord Mansfield , British politician part of the British parliament who passed the Intolerable Acts .
Boston Port Act being thrown by two men who represent Spain and France.

ANALYZING THE IMAGE 

Half naked Native American Women symbolizes America.
Boston being cannonaded by the British.

Artist: Anonymous London cartoonist

 

Intended audience: Great Britain's Public.

 

Purpose: To protest the Intolerable Acts.

HISTORY BEHIND THE IMAGE

Tea Act 1773. Parliament of Great Britain passed an act to fix the problem of the East India Company which was floundering because of the many unsold pounds of tea and the American Colonist rebelled since they thought Britain was putting the burden on them.

Boston Tea Party.  The Boston Tea Party was a protest because American colonists had taxation without representation which caused the first big act of defiance toward British rule. A group who named themselves the Sons of Liberty dumped more than 300 crates of tea into Boston's harbor. This led to the Intolerable Acts being passed by the Parliament of Britain to punish the Americans.

The Intolerable Acts of 1774.  A series of disciplinary acts which were passed by the Parliament of Great Britain because of the Boston Tea Party.

Boston Port Act. The act closed down the Boston port until the American Colonists paid for the tea that was dumped. The purpose of the act was too show the American Colonist that Great Britain had power over the colonists.

WHAT IT MEANT TO BE AN AMERICAN

pike-pepper-spraying-line.jpg

UC Davis Protest

america swallowing....jpg

America Swallowing the Bitter Draught

American Swallowing the Bitter Draught.  What it meant to be an American back then was to have a voice and protest for what you believe was unfair. For example the American Colonist rebelled against British rule because they thought they were being treated unfairly and were given punishments (Boston Port Act) but Americans did not let a higher power rule over them which led to the Independence of America.

UC Davis Protest. To be an American today is to have a voice and fight for what you believe is unfair. For example , Uc Davis Students protested for a cause and ended up being pepper sprayed because they didn't follow officers order ("higher power")

Similarities. To be an American in these two images are similar. The two images show that American Identity over the years has not changed. In both images it shows that to be an American is to have a voice and to not let a "higher power" have power over you.

REFERENCES

 Searles , Harry."Boston Port Act". American History Central,R.Squared Communications, LLC, 2 Oct. 2015.  http://www.americanhistorycentral.com/entries/boston-port-act/

Balestrieri , Steve."The “Tea Act” of April 1773, Was the First Step of the American Revolution". Special Operations,Hurricane Group, Inc. 27 Apr. 2018. https://specialoperations.com/32940/the-tea-act-of-april-1773-was-the-first-step-of-the-american-revolution/

Balestrieri, Steve."Boston Tea Party, December 1773, Set in Motion Rebellion in the Colonies". Special Operation , Hurricane Group, Inc. 14 Dec. 2017.https://specialoperations.com/32145/boston-tea-party-december-1773-set-motion-rebellion-colonies/

Barnes, Lynn Rhae. "Cartoon-The able doctor or America swallowing the bitter draught". US history Scene, 4 Apr.2015. http://ushistoryscene.com/article/american-drinking/cartoon-the-able-doctor-or-america-swallowing-the-bitter-draught/

 

Contemporary Image.

Nguyen, Brian.UC Davis Protest. BoingBoing, Jason Werlsberger ,20 Nov. 2011. https://boingboing.net/2011/11/20/ucdeyetwitness.html

bottom of page