"An unlimited right to tax, implies a right to destroy."

–Daniel Webster
Argument in McCulloch v. Maryland
February 22, 1819

The Stamp Act of 1765 was Parliament's first serious attempt to assert governmental authority over the colonies. Now as it was then, aggressive taxation has again forced the American population to assert their supreme authority over government!

Known as the Gadsden Flag, this symbol of American patriotism and rugged individualism was first carried by enlisted Marines on drums painted yellow, emblazoned with a fierce rattlesnake, coiled and ready to strike, with thirteen rattles, and sporting the motto "Don't Tread on Me."