The Boston Tea Party
Boston, Massachusetts is known as “the cradle of liberty.” (Stein, R. Conrad. The Boston Tea Party. New York: Children’s, 1996. N. pag. Print (pg. 28) (10-30-13)) The Boston Tea Party occurred on December 16, 1773 as a protest of the American colonists against the British government. Both the British and the colonists loved tea and it brought a substantial amount of money to the East India Trading Company. Due to the heavy debt incurred by the French and Indian War, the British government imposed new taxes upon the colonies. As a result, Great Britain passed the Tea Act. They didn’t want British companies to be hurt by the new tax so Parliament declared British companies exempt from the Tea Act. The Tea Act would force American colonists to buy tea from the East India Company saying “it was the cheapest around.” (http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/bostonteaparty.htm (10-25-13)) The result was a protest known as the Boston Tea Party. When the tax was passed, it affected all of the colonies. The price of tea went up in the Americas a...
Many people believe that the Boston Tea Party arose just because of the Tea Act that came into play in 1773, but in-fact, this major statement arose from two issues surrounding the British Empire in 1765. The first of the issues was that the British East India Company was at risk of going under and the Parliament was finding ways to bring it back. The second issue was that there was a continuing dispute about the extent of the Parliament’s authority. Many colonists believe that the Parliament went overboard with their power and the people were concerned about the future. Attempting to resolve these two major issues, the North Ministry only worsened the problem and produced a showdown that would eventually result in revolution.
Many people know about the Revolutionary war and how the colonists seized their independence from the British. What most do not understand is that there was a series of events that steared the colonists onto the road to independence. They began to think for themselves and started to challenge authority. Coming to the New World, the colonists reached for power and financial opportunity when challenging authority in these three examples: the Witchcraft Trials, Bacon’s Rebellion, and the Boston Tea Party.
George Hewes’ account of the Boston Tea party is considered a firsthand account of a historically significant event. The Boston Tea party took place the night of December 16, 1773 on three ships anchored in Boston Harbor. Hewes recounts the events leading up to the Boston Tea Party, the actual attack on the ships and its aftermath. He provides descriptive narration thus contributing to the historical context surround the Tea party. This event and many others leading up to it, provide a colorful backdrop on the eve of the American Revolution.
On a cold December night, a group of townspeople stormed the ships in the Boston harbor and tossed 342 chests of tea into the ocean. This event is known by the Boston tea party, it was a protest of the colonists against the Tea Act which passed by the Parliament on May 10, 1773. This act granted the British East India Company Tea a monopoly on tea sales in the American colonies. Since the tea cargos were the only thing townspeople thrown overboard and they were really careful about the other things on the ship, they are sending a clear message: they are not going to pay the tax on tea. The colonists loved tea, they used it on daily basis. And it is
In the first few months of 1773 the British East India Company found it was sitting on large stocks of tea that it could not sell in England. It was on the verge of bankruptcy, and many members of Parliament owned stock in this company. (USA, 1) The Tea Act in 1773 was an effort to save it. The Tea Act gave the company the right to export its merchandise without paying taxes. Thus, the company could undersell American merchants and monopolize the colonial tea trade. By October, the Sons of Liberty in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston threatened tea imports and pledged a tea boycott.
Ever wonder what sparked the revolution between Great Britain and colonial America? It all started with small rebellions against early British actions that led to the ultimate separation between the two rivals. Great Britain, one of the strongest nations even till this day, dominated over land and power and never doubted their victory against the colonists. However sooner or later did Britain realize that their invision of a small, weak army transformed into determined colonists willing to give up their lives. Moreover, Britain would have to endure years of war and protest due to the colonist’s desire for equal rights and freedom as citizens. From a proposal that forced colonists to pay taxes to heavy rebellion
Imagine, several men dressed as stereotypical Native Americans, dumping what is equivalent to $1,000,000 of stolen tea into the Boston Harbor. This seemingly unrighteous and illegal activity was a reality in the Boston Tea Party, just one of the many unjustified acts performed by the Sons of Liberty, a group responsible for so many violent and illegal activities, they can even be considered a terrorist organization. While many patriots believe that seceding from Britain is the best way for the Colonies’ success because the British have supposedly taxed the Colonies unfairly and exercised too much control over the Colonies, the American Colonies should stay loyal to Britain and pay their taxes at the level Britain requires. In order to prevent
It also happened because the tax was a political move of the Parliament to claim control over the colonies. In light of the concept of agitation, it is clear that the Tea Party was a form of protest because the agitators did not like how the Parliament reasserts control. Although no one was hurt in this midnight raid, it sure did create a tension on the part of the Parliament. The physical presence of those who joined the raid tried to challenge the Tea Act of 1773. Although wasting a lot of tea should not be made a big deal, tea during that time was expensive and it has become a symbol of comfort by the colonists because they loved it. As such, the Boston Tea Party is significant because it showed that American colonists are very much willing to speak their freedom and exercise the same. Also, they are very willing to give up anything so that their right for independence is attained. Clearly, this is a form of lateral deviance because the agitators are very much willing to work outside the Parliament and in fact, colonists are ready for war. According to the Boston Tea Party, the Boston Tea Party led to the American Revolution on April 19, 1775 in Massachusetts. Accordingly, the participants of the midnight raid were not punished but one person who was remained anonymous was stripped and punished devastatingly. Klein asserts that more than 92, 000 pounds of tea were
The Boston Tea Party led to the creation of the US and the revolutionary war. Before any taxes were put on tea, the colonists had to deal with the Quartering and Sugar Act. They didn’t like it since it included the British invading their homes and belongings. They were taxed on multiple things. The colonists decided it would be a good idea to just boycott British goods. It worked and both acts were taken away although this angered Parliament and they ended up getting another act.
Twelve years after the French and Indian war the American colonists found themselves in a conflict with the British. The British put taxes such as the stamp act and the Navigation acts on the American colonists. The Boston massacre and the Boston tea party are two examples of some of the conflicts the colonists and the British had. The British forced taxes on the colonists and controlled their trade. The American colonists were justified in starting a war and breaking away from Britain due to the British trying to control the colonists.
The first unit that we learned in Semester 2 was the Pre-Revolution/Enlightenment unit. We focused on the Acts and Enlightenment thinkers/terms. We learned about the Boston Tea Party, which caused the British to lay down five disciplinary laws known as the Intolerable Acts (“The Intolerable…”). Of these five acts was the Boston Port Act, which basically restricted any means of lading or shipping of goods from the Boston Port (“The Intolerable…”). Another Intolerable Act was the Administration of Justice Act that allowed the governor of Massachusetts to move any trial of a crime-committing official to Britain or another colony (“The Intolerable…”). The other Intolerable Acts were the Quebec Act, the Quartering Act and the Massachusetts Government Act (“British Parliament...”). Most of these acts were corrective measures taken to stop rebellious actions, such as the dumping of millions of dollars into the Boston Harbor (“The Intolerable…”).
The Boston tea party was a brief incident among many, composing, economic, and political crisis that ultimately caused a revolution. These events consisted of The French and Indian war, the Stamp Act, the Townshend Revenue Act, the Tea Act, and of course the Boston Tea Party. The incident caused by the colonies infuriated the British government therefore as punishment parliament responded to the abuse with the Coercive Acts of 1774 . When the thirteen colonies once again decided to resist the British troops revolution spread. “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” This act later on lead to the American Revolutionary War, were years later independence was
Exciting extreme alarm or intense fear describes the life of mine and others. The screaming of war is like kids yelling for what they want. Religious people, are people who are against war; they are called Quakers. At one point soldiers started to not trust George Washington and they started leaving which led more and more people leaving. I have decided to reenlist because I have pride in my country, knowing my lifestyle, and I will always fight for my country.
The Boston Tea Party was not really a tea party. Instead it was a group of people dressed like Indians with axes dumping tea off three ships to protest British taxes. It took place in Boston Harbor, Boston, Massachusetts on December 16, 1773, from 7:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M.
“John Hancock organized a boycott of tea provided by the East India Company, which was subject to an import tax, and helped to enforce the boycott by smuggling tea in so that the colonists would not go without their favored beverage.” This is what resulted in the Tea Act. "The trade in tea with China that was the most viable in the 18th century. Tea accounted for more than 60% of the Company’s total trade in the late 1700's. Customs duty on tea was providing 10% of the British government's annual revenues.” The Tea Act being passed was not aimed to make the American colonists angry, but it made many mad. American colonists could buy no tea unless it came from the company. American colonists saw this law as yet another meaning of “taxation without representation” because it meant that they could not buy tea from anyone else without spending a lot more money. There was a bad reaction to the Tea Act.