The US was founded on boycotts of British imports. As we mark the country’s 250th anniversary, that spirit is alive and wellThis year, as the United States commemorates the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding and the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it’s worth remembering the substantial role boycotts played in the American resistance and independence movement.The founders’ sustained protest of Great Britain’s Stamp Act and Townshend Duties –which taxed printed materials, glass, lead, paper, paint and tea in the colonies – placed enough pain and pressure on British merchants and the parliament that the majority of these taxes were repealed. And while the colonists were boycotting taxed British imports, they built an alternative made-in-America marketplace in the process, becoming domestic producers of homespun clothing, paper and other necessities. This building of alternative institutions and self-reliance were an essential complement to their boycott. They divested from British goods while investing in homemade goods. Both types of actions were necessary.Michael Shank is director of programs at the Albert Einstein Institution and adjunct faculty at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs and George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution. Continue reading... ...read more read less