I guess he was mad as hell and wasn't going to take it anymore. I wonder why he didn't go ahead and take down the bank too? His ancestors had the same mindset when they had enough of King George III and sent his army back to Brittan in defeat.
People do not yet realize the amount and gravity of anger brewing in this country against the feds and in general scummy politicians (which by my estimation is more than half of the fuckers out there..). Most of it is more subtle and in line with laws and tried to avoid violence. I am positive that lots of " so called foreclosures" are fuck you notes to the banks and their administrative lackeys and are not dire and necessary.
Home Depot and the construction industry doesn't like that. I live in NJ. I have seen dozens of McMansion subdivisions built in the past decade. You would think people would prefer brick when spending money.... the builders disagree... fh2000 is right - but I would add one more thing to our construction: glue. Lot's of glue in particleboard ,which has replaced a lot of plywood and drywall. Heypa - your house's construction is similar to the construction my relatives in Greece have. There was a severe earthquake on that island in 1953 and since then homes are all built with thick reinforced poured on site concrete walls and frame. The rest is cinderblock or brick. They have recently begun to build with steel frame to which they hang drywall. I'm guessing their homes could last 200 years.