Patriotic Foods

In the 1760s, Britain began to tax the goods, including food, that Americans bought from them. To protest this tax, many Americans decided not to buy any more imported goods until the law was changed. That means American couldn't buy many food items, like fancy tea sets or even tea itself, that came from Britain any more. By 1775, this protest turned into a war between Britain and the American colonies. To show their support of the war against Britain, many colonists served food that was bought from or grown in America.

To show his dedication to the war, Washington had to give up many of the foods he was used to, like English beer and butter. Even after the colonies won the war, Washington said "we have already been too long subject to British prejudices…I use no porter or chess in my family but such as is made in America.” For many colonists, tea was the biggest sacrifice and, instead, they had to drink hot chocolate or coffee if they wanted a hot beverage.