In this assignment, I will pretend to be Thomas Mifflin of the Continental Congress. I will describe my grievances against Parliament and say how they should be solved.

To King George III,

I, Thomas Mifflin, a delegate of Pennsylvania, hereby describe to you my grievances against Parliament’s outrageous laws.

O king, it pains me to describe the things that you have done to us, but I will in the hope that you can stop this craziness.

First, I protest against the Molasses act. This act taxes the sugar coming from other countries so that we have to buy sugar from England only! Now we have to buy high priced subsidized sugar. Sure, this act expired in 1763, and we all thought that was the end. Then what? The Sugar Act! This is almost the same as the Molasses act. It doesn’t matter that the tax is less now, it matters that we still have to pay it!

I also protest against the Currency Acts. Before these acts, we could create and use our own money, but now we are forced to pay in British currency or use gold or silver! It was so much easier and more convenient to use our continental paper currency.

And then, the Quartering Act. This was by far the worst one yet. Now we are forced to provide food and shelter for your troops whenever they come banging on our doors! Us colonists can hardly spare a meal these days! This act is intolerable, and it should be repealed at once!

The Stamp Act was almost as bad as the Quartering Act. All legal documents had to be printed on watermarked paper that is highly taxed. We even had to pay taxes on playing cards, dice and newspapers! Thankfully, after lots of protesting, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in 1766. But alas, the same act that repealed the stamp act said that Parliament could pass any law without the colonists consent! This was the breaking point for me. Some of the acts were legal because the colonies consented, except for the Stamp Act. But now Parliament didn’t have to worry about if we wanted the new laws or not!

And then, the Townshend Acts were passed, probably just to infuriate us even more. Now we are taxed on tea, lead, paper, glass, and paint. What does Parliament think they are doing? Don’t they realize that if this continues, there will be war? Already talk of rebellion is spreading around the colonies, and riots are breaking out.

There is only one thing for you to do, O king! Repeal these laws and let us live in peace! If you do this, the colonies will be a much happier place.