The American Revolution
The Boston Tea Party By Connor McGinnis
"Taxation without representation"
- Colonists were angry at the British for passing duties (import taxes) on the colonists.
- Colonists were very determined to not use these taxes, and to avoid them.
- Disagreed with the duties, and had no representation in England, but the king left it.
- Colonists had the phrase that would eventually change America (then known as the colonies), as they knew it, "taxation without representation".
The start of a revolution
- Colonists were extremely mad.
- British finally listened, and removed all of the duties in 1770, except the one on imported tea.
- Colonists said their opinions, and were very, very angry at the tea act.
- Tea act was passed by Britain in 1773, and was passed to help the East India Company, and run smugglers out of business, due to the lower price of the East India tea, which had a three cent tax per pound on it now.
Time for a tea party
- Group went by the Sons of Liberty.
- Ran by people like Samuel Adams, and John Hancock.
- They held secret meetings, and despised the tea act, because it would run local merchants businesses, it wasn't represented, and ,quite frankly, they they didn't want to pay it.
- They planned to dress as Mohawk Indians, and raid three British ships, filled with tea, the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver.
- British troops were gone, and off the ships due to the recent Boston massacre.
- The men ran on the ships at night on December 16th, 1773, and they dumped 342 chests of tea out into the Boston Harbor.
- There could have been upwards of 100 men that night, and boy did they get their message not just to Britain, but through the hearts of the colonists.
Boston Tea Party
Now what?
- British were mad, and the Boston Harbor was now closed down.
- Message got to the British.
- The word spread through the colonies like the songs from Frozen spreads through little kid's heads.
- Colonists were amazed at what their people had done, and the colonists suddenly had a burst of pride running through their hearts for a rebellion.
- They were sick of being ruled over, and the British were about to pay for it.
How did the participants demonstrate their belief system through their protests?
The Sons of Liberty essentially forced Britain to listen to them. This was the first time something this big had happened in the U.S besides the Boston Massacre. They showed that they were passionate, and they wanted to show that they disagreed with the Tea Act. They showed it by giving fear to the British, and the East India Company, making sure they knew that were were not just all bark and no bite, and America had a wild side to it.