Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has once again managed to turn American history into a campaign slogan.
During a recent appearance at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, the New York Democrat claimed, “The American Revolution was against the billionaires of their time,” tying the nation’s founding to her modern crusade against wealth and capitalism.
“And 1778781490 we are declaring independence from such an extreme marriage of wealth and power and the state that the voices of everyday people did not exist,” she went on to say.
It was a convenient line. It was also historically ridiculous.
The American Revolution was primarily driven by growing tensions between the American colonies and the British Crown during the 1760s and 1770s. Colonists objected to taxation imposed by Parliament without colonial representation, along with what they viewed as increasing government overreach from London.
Measures such as the Stamp Act of 1765 and the Tea Act of 1773 became major flashpoints in the lead-up to the war. The phrase “no taxation without representation” became one of the defining themes of the independence movement.
The Declaration of Independence, drafted largely by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, focused heavily on political grievances against King George III and the British government. The document argued that governments derive their powers “from the consent of the governed” and accused the Crown of violating the rights of the colonists through repeated abuses of power.
“The American Revolution was against the billionaires of their time” – AOC pic.twitter.com/PGmDnLa9DU
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) May 8, 2026
Historians note that economic frustrations were also deeply tied to the Revolution. British trade restrictions, taxes and mercantilist policies affected colonial businesses and landowners alike. Many colonists believed Britain’s economic system unfairly benefited elites and the Crown at the expense of ordinary Americans.
Still, critics of Ocasio-Cortez argue that describing the Revolution primarily as an uprising against wealthy individuals ignores the broader political and philosophical principles that shaped the founding era.
“No, AOC, the American Revolution was NOT ‘against the billionaires of their time,” responded Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT). “It was against a large, distant, overly intrusive government that recognized no limits over its own authority to tax, regulate, and eat out the substance of the citizens it claimed to serve.”
“If a 9th grader writes this on her history test, she gets an F,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) chimed in. “It was literally a revolution against oppressive GOVERNMENT…the very thing @aoc wants to inflict on all of us. And the Revolution was financed by American free enterprise…the billionaires’ of that time.”
Many of the Founding Fathers themselves were wealthy landowners, merchants and businessmen. George Washington was one of the wealthiest men in the colonies, while Benjamin Franklin built substantial wealth through publishing and business ventures. Robert Morris, a wealthy financier, played a major role in funding the Revolutionary War effort.
Rather than opposing wealth itself, many founders were focused on limiting centralized political power and protecting individual liberties. The Constitution later established a system built around checks and balances, federalism and protections for private property.
At the same time, historians acknowledge that early Americans were deeply suspicious of entrenched power, whether political or economic. More than two centuries after the Revolution, politicians on both sides still invoke the Founding Fathers to defend competing visions of government, liberty and economic power. Ocasio-Cortez has frequently advocated for higher taxes on the wealthy, stronger labor protections and expanded government programs aimed at reducing economic inequality.
The debate ultimately says as much about modern politics as it does about history itself.
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