317: How a "Cyder" Teapot fueled the American Revolution

Yes! Cider has a back story behind the American Revolution

In the 1700s ceramic teapots were the political bumper stickers of the day! In this episode we hear about the Cyder Act teapot that the Museum of the American Revolution located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has just acquired. The museum's Curator of Collections, Mark Turdo, tells us how the British based uprisings against the over reaching Cyder Act played a pivotal role in the American Revolution -  in that they help to teach American how to protest! Placing your dissent on teapots was an obvious protest and that is exactly what the Cyder Pot helped to teach!

In these modern time uprising against tyranny happens on a daily basis, but colonist in the New World were dedicated to the crown and it was unheard of to revolt...That is until they began seeing English cidermakers revolt against taxation when the Cyder Act was introduced.

These ceramic Cyder Act Pots were made in England and displayed in homes, but their symbolism was far reaching. Taxation's heavy hand was being push back and that alone was monumental forward thinking!

The Stamp Act in America Gets Repealed

Great Britain was on the hunt for more revenue and the Stamp Act was their ticket in the New World. It was set up to stamp a duty (tax) on newspapers and legal and commercial documents. Thanks to the models of resistance displayed by the British cidermakers and their Cyder Act Teapots, Americans saw that they too could revolt against taxation!

The Stamp Act never gained footing and was repealed a year after it was introduced.  This is all to say that the path to freedom and independence from tyranny is not always a straight forward path. The Cyder Act Pot is a perfect example of  a monumental sidebar lesson that helped fuel the American Revolution!

Take a deep dive into this story in English Cider Fermented the American Revolution via Mark Turdo's blog Pommel Cyder

Mark A. Turdo

Mark also recommends Chapter 4 "The Cider Tax, Popular Symbolism and Opposition in Mid-Hanoverian England," in Markets, Market Culture and Popular Protest in Eighteenth-Century Britain and Ireland, edited by Adrian Randall and Andrew Charlesworth.

Help show case Cider's place in the American Revolution

Your tax-deductible gift will allow The Museum of the American Revolution to complete the acquisition of this 18th-century teapot with the inscriptions “No Cyder Act” and “Apples at Liberty”. Adding this rare piece to the Museum’s collection will help visitors see how taxation incited protests for increased liberty on both sides of the Atlantic, and ultimately led Americans to declare independence. Go to http://support.amrevmuseum.org/cider

Hear English cidermaker Julian Temperly  share his tale and take on the historial Cyder Act Clock

Contact for the Museum of the American Revolution

Museum website: https://www.amrevmuseum.org/cyderpot

Address: 101 South Third Street Philadelphia, PA 19106

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