Source: Portrait, Benjamin, Charles Willson Peale, Library of Congress

Click below to listen to a funny poem byBenjamin Franklin.

→ Quick Reflection: In the above poem, who was the "old mother"? What do you think the word "peevish" means? Use a dictionary, if necessary.

By using humor, Benjamin Franklin wrote this poem to get colonists to think about a serious issue. The issue was that American colonists, who had risked their lives crossing the Atlantic to live in the colonies where they endured many hardships, felt that King George was treating them unfairly, as if they were children who couldn't live on their own.

From England's perspective,King George felt that the colonists should share in England's expenses. England had incurred a lot of debt as a result of the French and Indian War as well as the expenses of financing the colonies. The king began to levy taxes in the colonies in order to pay for these debts.

In response to the colonists' complaints, English soldiers were sent to the American colonies where the colonists were required to house and feed the troops. The colonists complained, but their complaints were met with even more actions taken by the English government against the colonists.