Priti K.

-                        The Boston Tea Party

                     

                     

 



            Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Why it happened
3. What happened after the Boston Tea Party
4. Famous/Important People
5. Conclusion
6. Glossary                                                   

  Introduction

On March 7, 1774, a second, smaller Boston Tea Party happened in
the Boston Harbor with 60 people and 30 chests of tea. That means
that the original Boston Tea Party was so inspiring it caused other tea
parties to happen. The Boston Tea Party is a fascinating topic for
historians to research.

                 Chapter 1: Why it happened

On a cold night on December 16th, 1773, a group of men dressed as
Indians dumped 90,000 pounds of tea from a ship called Dartmouth
into the freezing water in the Boston Harbor in Boston,
Massachusetts. It might seem silly to waste so much tea, but there’s
a reason for it.

The reason behind the Boston Tea Party started with a tax on tea.
The reason that there was a tax on tea is because, after the French
and Indian War ended in 1763, Britain was in debt. Because of this,
the lawmakers in Parliament decided that a good way to renew their
debt was to put taxes on things that colonists bought. Eventually,
they took away the taxes they put on everything except for tea, as a
reminder that they still had power over the colonists. This angered
the colonists, because tea was an important beverage that everyone
drank. Even though the tax was cheap, only 3 cents pound, the
colonists got angry enough about being taxed on their precious tea
that the Boston Tea Party happened. The fact that colonists didn’t
think it was fair that Parliament didn’t have a representative for the
colonists in their government helped people decide whether to protest
or not. When the Boston Tea Party was happening, the battle cry of
the “Indians” was “No taxation without representation!” which showed
their resentment towards Parliament. Researchers think that if
Parliament and King George the 3rd hadn’t taxed tea, they could’ve
avoided the Revolutionary War and a lot of other conflict.

      What happened after the Boston Tea Party

Thanks to the disguises of the men who took part in the Boston Tea Party,
only one of them, Francis Akeley, got arrested.

After the Boston Tea Party, there were a lot of different reactions.
Some important colonist leaders, like John Adams, were thrilled to
hear about The Boston Party. Others, like George Washington, were
disgusted to hear about it and claimed that “Bostonians were mad.”
Benjamin Franklin claimed that “The British East India Tea Company
be reimbursed for the lost tea” and even offered to pay for it himself.
But the biggest reactions were from King George the 3rd and
Parliament. When they heard about the Boston Tea Party, they were
infuriated and passed a series of laws known as the Intolerable Acts.
When the Intolerable Acts were passed, the Boston Harbor was
closed until the lost tea was paid

 
for, and a law was passed that if a Redcoat knocked on your door, you
would have to let them in to your home, and give him food and shelter.
King George the 3rd and Parliament did this hoping to let the colonists
know that they were in charge, but it only made them  angrier. Fist fights
broke out among colonists and Redcoats, and 3 years later the American
Revolution started.

.

                 Famous/Important People

There were 116 people who took part in the Boston Tea

Party, but some of them did more than just take part in it.
For example, Governor Hutchinson had the important job of enforcing
King George the 3rd’s laws and was worried that the Boston Tea
Party would threaten his job. Francis Rotch was the owner of the
Dartmouth, the ship that the tea chests were unloaded and dumped
from. Samuel Adams was a member of the Sons of Liberty, a group
that rebelled against Parliament and King George the 3rd’s laws, and
made a big speech that inspired the Boston Tea Party. Alexander
Hodgon was a worker on the Dartmouth, and experienced the Boston
Tea Party after being forced to step away from the tea (on his ship).
He claimed to see “Dozens of Indians unloading tea chests into the
Boston Harbor.” Paul Revere took part in the Boston Tea Party, but
he was also famous for his Midnight Ride (that’s another book).

                        

Conclusion

Clearly the Boston Tea Party was an important event. To me,

one way the Boston Tea Party is similar to life today is the fact
that, even though the Boston Tea Party happened 246 years ago,
people still work together to make points and stand up for what they
believe in. Also, lots of people still drink tea.

                  Glossary

French and Indian War-A 7 year war from 1754-1763 where the
French and Native Americans teamed up against Britain

Parliament-The law-making body of the British Government

King George the 3rd-The Ruler of Britain from 1760 to 1801

Revolutionary War-The war between America and Britain from

1775-1773. Also known as the American Revolution

Bostonians-People who lived in Boston

Reimbursed-Refunded

Redcoat-A British Soldier