Boston Tea Party Thesis

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The Boston Tea Party

The night of December 16th 1773 also known as The Boston Tea Party may be one of the most influential and liberating days in American History. This particular day is important in American History because it was the main event in American history that sparked the Revolution.

When the Boston Tea Party occurred on the evening of December 16th, 1773 it was the result of culmination of many bad feeling between the British Government and her colonies.

A reoccurring issue that occurred between Great Britain and her colonies is that the colonies wanted to have the right to tax themselves. Britain however, did not agree with this. Britain believed that parliament had the right to supervise the colonies and tax them as necessary. …show more content…

A year later in 1765 The Stamp Act was enforced. Parliament did not expected any complaints from the colonist because all previous taxes were small. The Stamp Act raised money by taxing newspapers,legal documents, dice and playing cards. The colonies had expressed outrage so parliament repealed this tax. England however, still needed money so the townshend act was formed. The Townshend act taxed lead,glass,paint and tea. When the Townshend act was formed, colonist reacted with caution. Samuel Adams, an assemblyman and a member of The Sons of Liberty wrote the Massachusetts Circular Letter, this letter stated that Parliament's attempt to raise revenue went against the colonists rights because the colonies were not represented in Parliament. Boston then became the center of colonial defiance. The Sons of Liberty often held violent protests in which they tarred and feathered custom officials. Americans refused to buy British goods and Britain received great financial …show more content…

Insults were exchanged between citizens and off-duty soldiers, mobs formed in the streets of Boston and taunts occurred all day. At one point a citizen insulted a red coat and all out violence occurred. The soldier called for assistance and many soldiers rushed to his aid. Verbal attacks then turned into a physical confrontation in which colonists pelted soldiers with ice,snowballs,stones and clubs. Someone from the British side began shooting and killed 5 people and injured 6 others. This caused tension between the colonists and Britain. News was spread throughout the colonies that a horrid massacre had taken place in Boston and many colonist were convinced that the citizens of Boston were forced to defend themselves from out of control British soldiers. Britain however said that the British soldiers were driven to violence by the abusive and threatening citizens of Boston. This event in Boston is what caused Parliament to repeal the Townshend Act. Only the tea tax was kept.(8) This was known as the Tea Act of 1773. The Tea Act promised to lower the cost of East India Company tea by eliminating costs elsewhere. Most Americans saw this tax as unfair because they saw this tax as a”taxation without representation” When news of the tax spread to the colonies protests became spread out across the colonies. Hundreds of people gathered in

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