H.I.&M.E.H. Prince Don Louis Pèpin

It is important to understand the situation in America, as well as, in England, around 1776.  The colonies were being heavily taxed, especially in regards to imported goods from England, like tea, and the raw materials being produced in America were being undervalued, as well as, taxed as an export.  Many colonists felt hopeless, betrayed and trapped.  They had given up everything they owned in England to come to America, the land of opportunity.  Their dream was, in America, a man could succeed, despite a humble birth, as long as he was willing to work long hours, endure extreme hardships and make personal sacrifices.  You could leave a legacy for your children.

The ideas of freedom, success and dignity were the motivation for many to come to America and the crown had helped to promote these ideas and concepts.  The crown supported immigration to America for two underlying reasons.  First, England was experiencing difficulties associated with over crowding and poverty.   The poor were everywhere and the government was having difficulty controlling the people, due to the disparity and hardships.  They needed to provide people with food, housing, hope and dreams, a new life.  Otherwise, the crown could have faced another civil war.  The second issue facing the crown was the problem of religious zealots and fundamentalists.  These zealots attracted large crowds, mainly the poor.  They stirred up the population and they promoted sentiments which were contrary to the conservative nature of the Church of England.  America was offered under religious freedom. Thus, America was the perfect dumping ground for the poor, the religious fundamentalists and other undesirables, as seen by the crown.

England had been growing and developing for more than two millennium.  Their roots were planted prior to the birth of Christ.  Therefore, England was highly developed for the times, with pockets of large Urban metropolises, which includes ghettos. 

America was seen as being primitive, uncultured and filled with savages.  It was ideal because survival was considered to be limited.  The hardships associated with survival would not allow time for opposition or to create chaos for the crown.  The conditions should make for easy control of the colonists. 

It must be noted here, as a colony, the territory was considered to be a part of the Commonwealth of England and the people were still citizens of the Commonwealth, with all the same rights and privileges bestowed upon them as citizens of England.  These rights included representation within the government and an ability to speak out on taxation and the spending of those tax dollars.  England was a constitutional monarchy, which means it is a type of democracy with elected officials representing the people.

Now, the crown had several major financial issues pressing in England.  First, England had massive debt created by the constant military campaigns associated with both France and Spain.  They needed resources to pay down the debt.  Second, agricultural production was limited, due to nutrient depletion associated with over farming the land.  Science and industry had not advanced in equal relation to the population.  Therefore, there were shortages which had to be filled from outside sources, imports.

America may have been primitive but it was soon discovered to be loaded with natural resources and rich agricultural land.  As America began to develop and urbanize; the crown  started to make claims on agricultural production and raw materials for the people and economy of England.  However, the crown had to keep these assets reasonable and profitable, as well as, offset the extra costs associated with transportation. In order to accomplish this objective, the crown abused the subjects in America through a combination of taxation and imposed product pricing, both for imports and exports.  Since America was a long way from London; the crown ignored the dispatches from the colonists with complaints associated with the violations of their rights as citizens of the crown. 

Actually, the crown further enraged the colonists by sending more troops to America with instructions to enforce and collect the ever increasing Draconian Taxation.  America became a Police State under a remote dictator.  The military instituted policies of intimidation, fear and violence. 

America was a melting pot of society and nations and the early pioneers grounded themselves with strong principals of Freedom, Liberty, Hard Work, Christianity, and Community. All men were created equal.  They governed themselves through Democracy, where officials are elected as a representation of the will of the people. These representatives were elected to maintain order and peace with limited interference in the personal affairs and businesses of the people.

Everyone had the possibility of success, wealth and happiness.  Nothing was guaranteed or given.  People had to pull their own weight and earn their own way.  However, this statement is often misinterpreted today.

The early pioneers, colonists and founding fathers did not promote child labor, abuse of the elderly, or abuse of the infirmed.  It simply meant each person must, to the best of their ability, contribute to the community, as a whole.  For a child, this would be studying hard to make good grades and handle their chores at home, whether it meant feeding the chickens, collecting their eggs and doing the dishes or helping with the laundry and milking the cows.  As a child grew in age and physical stature, he would be given more chores and responsibilities, which will prepare him to contribute productively in the future, as an adult.  For the elderly and infirmed; it could be the sharing of oral history and experiences, as well as, handing down their skills to others.  In those years, people respected and honored their elderly.  People respected the infirmed and their sacrifices in life.  The message was simple, everyone has the ability to aid in the community and this skill should be freely given and applied. We are the Stewards of our community.

Therefore, the Colonists had a strong sense of morality and ethics.  They had worked very hard to create civilization from the wilderness.  They deserved to receive the rewards of their efforts and to be treated equally and fair as citizens of the Commonwealth.  Therefore, they were perfectly justified, in their mind, to invoke civil disobedience and declare independence from England.

The entire crux of the matter was Taxation and Representation.  Everyone knows the first major act of civil disobedience is referred to as the Boston Tea Party.  American Patriots, under the cover of darkness, sneaked into the harbor and boarded an English frigate.  The cargo was tea, which was very heavily taxed.  They did not steal the cargo but threw it into the waters of the harbor.  It was symbolic of their resolve to be treated fairly and equally.  Unfortunately, it took many years of war and death to reach a conclusion.  In the end, America became a free and independent nation.

The new country was very wary of abuses being revisited and, actually, imposed strong guidelines intent on curbing strong government and taxation.  America was to be free.

      H.I. & M.E.H. Pr. Fra' Don Louis Pèpin, who is known in America as H.I. & M.E.H. Pr. Fra' Dr. Donald Lee Pippin, Jr. or H.I. & M.E.H. Pr. Fra' Dr. D. Lee Pippin is the Prince Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Knights of the Imperial Order of the Carolingian Empire and its American Association, Noblesse Oblige Charities, Inc.

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