 For the next few months, the fish in Boston's harbor had all the tea they wanted, tax-free. By now, things had gone too far to stop. That's the way it is with freedom. Once you get it in your craw, you want it. You just can't live without it. 1775. With freedom in their hearts, powder in their muskets, and the British in their sights, the men who came here looking for liberty made a down payment on it.