FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Thousands of protesters, some dressed like Revolutionary War soldiers and most waving signs with anti-tax slogans, gathered around the nation Wednesday for a series of rallies modeled after the original Boston Tea Party.

They chose the income tax filing deadline to express their displeasure with government spending since President Barack Obama took office.

The protests were held everywhere from Kentucky, which just passed tax increases on cigarettes and alcohol, to South Carolina, where the governor has repeatedly criticized the $787 billion economic stimulus package Congress passed earlier this year.

Student activists in the 1985 divestment protests. Sun File Photo.

Curfews and parties were the subject of this 1958 student protest where students struck fear into the heart of the administration by throwing eggs and waving flags. Sun File Photo.

It’s a hot, hazy night at Cornell University. It’s May 1958. An effigy of President Malott is burning in front of Sage Hall. It’s hanging from a thick-branched American-elm tree, and it’s labeled “No Ban” and “This Ain’t Ezra.” There is a mob. A huge mob that eventually breaks up on central campus. Some members go to The Palms to get beer. Others trek a mile to Malott’s house. The marchers are armed. They are angry. They are armed with eggs and rocks. They aim at a single target: the president. Divestment Protest: Student activists in the 1985 divestment protests. Sun File Photo.

Members of the Cornell and Ithaca communities gathered yesterday afternoon to observe the dedication of a recently installed plaque commemorating the spot where the Redbud Woods once stood.

In July of 2005, the University had this patch of urban wildland, located near the intersection of University Avenue and Lake Street, leveled to make way for a 176-space parking lot as part of its West Campus Residential Initiative. The administration’s decision to pave over Redbud Woods was the cause of many well-publicized protests over a several year period by environmental activists including students and faculty.