A Brief History
On December 16, 1773, Americans proved that they were not willing to be pushed around by a government that levied onerous taxes upon them, and this displeasure was expressed in the civil act of defiance known to us today as The Boston Tea Party.
Digging Deeper
Today’s anti-tax minded Americans calling themselves the TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party Movement (circa 2010) finds its origins in this step leading to the American Revolutionary War.
What may not be commonly known is that this act of defiance was not based on an increase on the price of tea. In fact, the Tea Act of 1773 actually reduced the price for the colonists! The real issue was the fact that these tax laws could be levied without the participation of American voters and all the other extraneous taxes levied on the Americans.
A patriot leader in Boston, Samuel Adams, may or may not have planned or agreed to this event, but in either case he capitalized on it by using it in his anti-British propaganda. Adams defended the action as not a mob affair, but that of an aggrieved public with legitimate concerns, a righteous and morally sound act.
Many prominent American patriots in the wake of the Boston Tea Party deemed tea drinking to be un-patriotic, and colonists largely shifted to other beverages such as coffee. The common name for the event, Boston Tea Party, was not coined until 1834 and previously had been referred to as “The destruction of the tea.” The Boston Tea Party has become a symbol of resistance to oppression for all sorts of civil causes, including the cause of Indian independence led by Mahatma Gandhi and today’s TEA Party anti-tax, anti-big government movement in the United States. Many other acts of defiance to governments are now referred to as “tea parties” in the common vernacular.
At first early 19th century writers and scholars were at least a bit reluctant to glorify an act of civil disobedience that resulted in substantial financial property loss, but as time went on the event reached its current hallowed place in American lore as a brave act by American heroes. In any case, the Boston Tea Party was certainly a seminal event leading to the American Revolution and eventual Independence.
Question for students (and subscribers): Under what scenario could you imagine another revolution occurring in America? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Cole, Henry and Pamela Duncan Edwards. Boston Tea Party. G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2001.
Freedman, Russell and Peter Malone. The Boston Tea Party. Holiday House, 2013.
Krull, Kathleen, Who HQ, et al. What Was the Boston Tea Party? Penguin Workshop, 2013.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="14213 https://www.historyandheadlines.com/?p=14213">26 Comments
I found it interesting that the Boston Tea Party did not happen over the increase in price of tea, which was actually going down, but was due to the fact that these taxes were not being voted on by Americans.
Again, this is just another act of rebellion towards the British, which will eventually lead to independence for America. As Dana pointed out, I was also surprised that the Boston Tea Party was actually more about limited voting representation from Americans and not the price of tea. I always assumed it had to do more with tea, hence the name!
I think that it was interesting to hear about the Tea Act and how it actually made tea cheaper for colonists. I always assumed it made it more expensive and thats why the colonists rebelled, but it was because the tax had been imposed without the say of the people or a voice in political matters. I think it takes a lot of guts to participate in such a protest like the Boston Tea Party and it shows how passionate the colonists were about representation.
That makes sense that scholars used to not glorify the Boston Tea Party because it was an act of civil disobedience. If people today were not happy about a tax placed on something, damaging the goods would be frowned upon.
To read about the Boston Tea Party now as a college student really makes me understand what is happening. I have not learned about this historical event since middle school and I did not know that it was called “Taxed Enough Already”. Dana Roman pointed out that she thought it happened because of rise of tea prices. That is just a way that teachers found it easy to teach us to that’s how they expressed it to us.
The TEA Party Movement is definitely one that people will not easily forget because of its name. No one likes being taxed more than they should and this movement definitely shows so. Many rebellion acts such as the TEA Party are what slowly brought America its independence and power it has today.
It is interesting that the TEA party movement stands for taxed enough already when the 1773 law actually lowered the price of tea for colonists, a fact I doubt many know. Growing up, the Boston Tea Party was always a story that was front and center in the history of the revolution. It is interesting to look back and see how one group of people made such a big impact on our American history.
I wouldn’t say that this article is a representation of history repeating itself, but still to this day people complain about taxes. We may not be throwing boxes of tea into the sea, but protesting is still current.
It is interesting that even though the Tea Act reduced the cost of tea for the colonists they still protested it. I think this shows you just how angry the colonist were abut no representation in Parliament. Even though an act helped them financially, it angered them, because it was made without their say.
The Boston Tea Party is probably one of the most well known events in American history. It was caused by Americans wanting representation in Parliament and fueled by anger. This was a true starting point for a revolution between America and Britain.
I think the concept of taxation without representation shows how much the colonists wanted to be their own country. They were ready to take the next step and represent themselves in government.
The Boston Tea Party was a significant event leading up to the Revolutionary War. This act called the American patriots into action against the British. The Americans would not allow the British to pass any more laws without their representation in Parliament.
The Boston Tea Party is arguably the most defining event leading up to the war for the colonists. It was a huge middle finger to Britain saying how the colonists can not be pushed around anymore and manipulated as Britain sees fit. Lowering the prices of the tea also made it so the East India Company could undercut colonial merchants and give the company a near monopoly on tea, something even today we dislike. Doing this tax manipulation without fair representation, while simultaneously hurting colonial businesses, was a cause the colonists rallied around and was a clear defining point in the road to the revolution.
This was the colonists way of pretty much giving Britain a slap in the face and saying enough with the taxations. We still to this day face taxes today that may seem unfair, however, they are actually for a reason for this country now.
I always thought this whole thing started because the price of tea had gone up too high for the colonists to stand. When in all actuality, the Tea Act of 1773 lowered the price for the colonists. The Boston Tea Party was started on principle all in all. The colonists were outraged that these kind of acts could be enacted without any of their input.
I never knew the tea act did not raise the price of tea. That funny that the tea act actually made tea less expensive for the colonists! Although it must have been extremely frustrating to have taxes and laws put on the colonies without them (the colonists) having any place in parliament. It would be outrageous today to have to follow another country’s laws without having any say in the making of those laws.
I was previously aware that the underlying cause of the Boston Tea Party was rebellion against taxation without representation, but I was not aware that the passing of the Tea Act actually reduced the price of tea for the American colonists. What a statement they made by switching to drinking coffee and other beverages to avoid being non patriotic and drinking tea. This day was a monumental step towards independence from Great Britain.
The Boston Tea Party is one of my favorite acts of rebellion by Americans. I was unaware though that this new act actually reduced the price of tea for Americans, but this makes their act of rebellion even better. It is cool that they stood up for what they believed in even though it may have been against the law.
I enjoy reading about the Boston Tea Party. I was not aware that the Tea Act of 1773 actually reduced the price of tea for the colonists. I understand though that the price of tea was not the actual problem for the colonists. They were sick and tired of not being able to represent themselves and that the tax laws could be levied without the participation of American voters. I would be angry too and I am glad they did what they did for the American people.
This is just another time in history that Americans stood up for themselves and what they believed in. I also never knew what TEA stood for!
I did not know that the Tea Act actually reduced the price of tea for the colonists. Throwing and breaking the crates of tea was a brave and strong act, especially against such a strong force like the British.
342 boxes of tea. That is a lot of tea! I bet the fish did not like it too much.
Like many, I did not know that the Tea Act lowered tea prices! I find it coincidental that after the Boston Tea Party, many Americans stopped drinking tea; and yet today tea has come back into drinking culture as taxation has become an issue again!
I admire the courage they must have needed to pull of a stunt like this. However, I don’t think that dressing as Native Americans would be a “low-key” disguise on a ship filled with tea.
Imagine something like this happening today! An act like this in American in today’s age would have caused an even bigger media uproar.
I have always found The Boston Tea Party to be a fun, interesting part of the Revolutionary War. It would have been so neat to watch the event unfold and to watch the initial reaction of the British! What a great way to show a strong opposition to being unfairly taxed!