Backstory, with the History Guys: A History of Taxes

8:00pm

Since the beginning of our nation’s history, Americans have had a complicated relationship with the Tax Man. “Taxation without representation” was one of the main grievances of the Sons of Liberty, but the Revolution hardly settled the issue. Whiskey tax resistors waged an armed rebellion just a few years later, and ever since, Americans have been arguing about what constitutes taxes that are fair and just. Just in time for Tax Day, BackStory is delving into the long and turbulent history of taxation in America. How have we decided what to tax? From the Stamp Act of 1765 to the Tea Party Movement of 2010, how have our attitudes about taxation changed over time? Do we think differently about taxes in times of war and national crisis? What was the tariff, anyway, and why did it matter? Join the History Guys as they explore the tension between the necessity of paying for government, and that nagging feeling that we’re being robbed by it.