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The Boston Tea Party

The phrase ‘Tea Party” has gotten a lot of press over the last few years. So much so in fact that it makes my online advertising for the Tea Store a little challenging; the word tea is used in so many other contexts now, that in and of itself it is not as relevant to a Tea store as a political party. That notwithstanding, this week I thought I would take a few minutes to give you a brief version of the original Tea Party, and how it came to help create this country.

In 1763, the British had just achieved victory in the French and Indian War, a war incidentally fought in the New World. That victory however had come with a price and King George III and the British Government needed a way to recoup some of the costs of that victory. Additionally, they also were looking for ways to ‘rein in’ the local colonial governments who had become more and more independent as the war went on.

To accomplish these dual goals, Britain enacted a series of actions. The Stamp Act, in 1765 created a tax on all printed materials in the colonies by requiring the use of stamped paper produced in London. Not a big hit with the colonists and it was repealed in 1766.

The Declaratory Act followed in 1767 with Parliament basically asserting that it could pass any law it saw fit with regards to the Colonies. This also did not sit well with the colonists such as Sam Adams and Patrick Henry.

Also in 1767, the Townshend Acts were passed, allowing the taxation of the colonies by Britain, among other laws. Resistance to this Act prompted the British Army to station troops in Boston in 1768 to enforce the Act. Ultimately this led to the Boston Massacre, where 5 colonists were killed in riots with soldiers who discharged their weapons. During their trial, the soldiers were represented by patriot and future president John Adams, who represented them to insure a fair trial. Ironically most of the Townshend Act was repealed shortly after the Boston Massacre.

One thing that remained in force from the Townshend Act was the duty on Tea. This was kept so that Britain could assert its ‘right to tax the Americans.” In 1773, this was reinforced by the Tea Act, which granted the British East India Company the right to sell Tea directly to the colonies at a reduced rate, ostensibly to reduce smuggling, but to also assert the right to taxation. Ironically the passage of the Tea Act would have lowered the tax on Tea, making it cheaper, but the underlying issue, taxation without representation, still rankled the colonists.

In late November, 1773, the Dartmouth, arrived in Boston Harbor with its load of Tea. A meeting was called and thousands of people showed up and passed a resolution urging the Captain to leave port without collecting the duty. They also assigned twenty five men to watch the ship and prevent the cargo from being unloaded. Thomas Hutchinson, the British Royal Governor of Massachusetts, and a British loyalist, refused to allow the ship to leave with payment of the duty.

On December 16, two more ships, the Eleanor and the Beaver anchored in Boston Harbor with their loads of Tea. This day was also the deadline for the Dartmouth to unload its cargo and pay the duty or get its cargo confiscated by British Customs. It is interesting to note here that the three ships involved were in fact American ships; only the Tea was British.

A crowd of thousands again gathered at the Old South Meeting House in Boston to protest the duty and determine a course of action. Upon getting word that Governor Hutchinson had again refused to let the ships leave, Sam Adams announced “This meeting can do nothing further to save the country.” At this point, people poured out of the meeting and headed to Boston Harbor. That evening a group of 60 or so men, some vaguely disguised as Indians boarded the ships and over the next 3 hours dumped all 342 chests of Tea into Boston Harbor. History indicates that is was not a raucous group of hoodlums who destroyed the Tea, but patriotic men who had been pushed to the limits of their patience; The crowd was not an unruly mob intent solely on destruction, but a group of reserved and restrained citizens of America witness to a sober and solemn event. "All things," wrote John Adams to James Warren, "were conducted with great order, decency, and perfect submission to government."

The aftermath of course was increased attempts at control by the British; more acts of independence from the colonists and ultimately the Revolutionary War. The name “Boston Tea Party” did not appear in print until 1834 according to historians, being referred to as ‘the destruction of the tea’ in most cases. Since that time, the Boston Tea Party has become a symbol of a citizen’s right to stand up to the government; a call for the voice of the people to be heard and heeded, or the citizens will create a government that will.