Arden M.

  

The Boston Tea Party

Introduction

 

Have you ever seen a bunch of tea thrown everywhere in the sea?  Well, North American patriots from the 17th century have!  In fact, some very brave colonists participated in this historical event!  The Boston Tea Party was a monumental and defiant act of protest in American history!  The implications and impact of the Boston Tea Party ultimately led to the American Revolutionary War, and helped create the America of today!  342 chests of tea were dumped in rebellion of British taxation and rule in America!  Once news of the Boston Tea Party got around to the other colonies, they had their own mini tea parties!  The British were furious!  Samuel Adams was a prominent political and revolutionary leader in Boston, and it is thought his influence was essential to this historic phenomenon.

Before

Before the Boston Tea Party the British and colonists were very angry at each other!  The British wanted 100 percent control of the colonists in America!  I think that the Boston Massacre instigated the Boston Tea Party, because in the Boston Massacre the British killed five colonists!  Those colonists could have been the most skilled hunters and farmers!  Also, the colonists were mad at the British because the British put many taxes on the colonists after the French and Indian war!  They eventually took off every tax, except the tea tax!  The colonists did not like that at all!  Tea was their favorite thing!  The French and Indian war caused debt to Great Britain!  Colonists were also resentful towards the monopoly of the East India Company.  What caused the Boston Tea Party?  Perhaps the colonists’ rage from the Boston Massacre, Great Britain's taxation due to debt, or the perceived control of supply that dominated the tea industry.

    

How was it formed

The Boston Tea Party was formed by the colonists and Sons of Liberty not wanting to pay taxes on tea, and continued British rule!  The Sons of Liberty was a Patriot political organization that was established to undermine British rule in colonial America.  The Sons were willing to use violence as a means of gaining their independence and fight unfair treatment by Parliament.  The reason why Britain put the tea tax on the colonies was because they were in debt from the French and Indian War!  When the colonists were planning the Boston Tea Party they were screaming, “taxation without representation!”  The colonists were not allowed to elect representatives to Parliament in London, which passed laws regarding taxes in America.  It is unclear to historians if Samuel Adams planned this event, but much speculation that his political influence was pivotal to the organization and implementation of this historic day.  Adams was a political philosopher, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.  He is considered to be the leader of the protest movement against British rule, and was instrumental in recruiting men into the Sons of Liberty.

                                                                                                   

When it was happening

On the night of December 16 1773, approximately 60 American patriots marched to Griffin’s wharf in Boston, Massachusetts.  They boarded 3 ships named the Dartmouth, Eleanor, and Beaver. The colonists then proceeded to throw 342 chests of tea overboard.  They dressed up as the Mohawk Indians, and carried axes and hatchets.  They worked very fast, it took them three hours to destroy  92,000 pounds of tea!  Apparently the harbor smelled badly for weeks after!  One British soldier claimed that he saw the event and would get them in trouble!  It is folklore that one participating patriot who took part in the Boston Tea Party got home and took some tea leafs out of his boots!  The man put the tea leafs in a bottle, and it became the family legend!  Apparently the bottle stayed in the family for generations! 116 people participated in the Boston Tea Party!  The Chesapeake Bay is where Griffin's wharf was!  Griffin's wharf does not exist anymore!  The colonists tried to hide their involvement and identity, but failed!  At least two people tried to steal tea in the Boston tea party!  One was a young man, and he was punished! The other tea thief was elderly, so he was not punished. However, he probably got pushed around a little on his way off of the boat!  Many more people probably tried to steal tea but failed! This event ultimately led to the American Revolution and created the America we know today!

  

Conclusion

In retaliation, the British  government wanted to impose more stringent policies on the Massachusetts colony, and passed the Boston Port Bill, closing the city’s harbor until all the destroyed tea was paid for.  Then the British imposed the Massachusetts Government Act, which reduced Boston’s ability to freely govern themselves.  They weren’t even allowed to have a town meeting without approval!   The third Act was called the Administration of Justice Act, and protected aggressive tactics by British authorities by facing trial in England.  Parliament also passed a series of punitive laws to further punish the colonists.  These laws were referred to as the Intolerable Acts by American patriots.  Relentlessly, the British also passed the Coercive Acts, which levied fines for the destroyed tea.  The continued British backlash united the colonies which ultimately led to the Revolutionary War.  Sadly not much is well known about the Boston Tea Party.  This paper may seem like alot but there was most likely much more that is not documented!  I would be interested in learning more of the myths and legends.  I really enjoyed learning about the significance of the Boston Tea Party, because it was a historical event that did help to make America!