The Boston Tea Party

"The battle, Sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, Sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable; and let it come! I repeat, Sir, let it come!"
~ Patrick Henry (rightwingnews.com)
I love how this quote seems to show the absolute freedom and excitement in Patrick Henry's countenance - his exuberance fairly oozes out of it. The story of the Boston Tea Party has long intrigued me as an American interested in the stories of the shaping of our country.
My primary source is an eyewitness account written by a participant in the Tea Party, George Hewes.
http://www.boston-tea-party.org/account-george-hewes.html

One of the reasons I picked this particular source is that I hope to address more topics on American freedom and individuality in future blogs. I felt like this was a broad enough topic to build upon.

First off, some history of the Boston Tea Party. Back in 1769, some 900,000 pounds of tea was consumed in the American colonies. As the Americans became more independent from England, however, and moving into the year 1773, their tea consumption dropped considerably. This was difficult for the East India Trading Co., as this threatened their livelihood quite a bit. Thus, the British government decided to levy a Tea tax upon the Colonists only, something that did not go over very well. In defiance, the colonists simply stopped drinking English tea.

On November 17, 1773, a British ship named the Dartmouth came into the Boston harbor, loaded with English tea. But the colonists would not give in so easily. They decided that they would not pay the tax, and send the tea right back to where it came from. But the ship owners would not sail back to England.

Desperate measures were needed. That night, 50 men dressed as Indians boarded the three ships containing tea and carefully opened the chests of tea, and dumped them overboard. They did not stir up trouble, make noise, or harm the owners of the ships. They simply did what they came to do, and left. This became known as the Boston Tea Party. (essortment.com)

The first thing I really noticed from reading this article was how peaceful, un-warlike their rebellion was. No fighting, killing, giving the British army any reason to come crack down on them. There was mention in the text that "We were surrounded by British armed ships, but no attempt was made to resist us." (essortment.com) Why, I asked? The British could have easily overpowered them, probably killing a few in the process, but at  least saved their tea and money spent in shipping. Did the British just not want to stir up trouble? Did they not want to 'bother'? A few options are possible. The most obvious of these is from this quote by Admiral Montague: Montague watched the affair from the fleet, but he took no action because of the cargo ships' position next to the wharf. "I could easily have prevented the Execution of this Plan," he wrote the following day in a report, "but must have endangered the Lives of many innocent People by firing upon the Town." (teachinghistory.org) So, their reasoning was that they didn't want to start a battle with the colonists by protesting their rebellion.


Another gathering from the post was how dedicated each and every Son of Liberty was to this cause. They didn't falter or grow fainthearted at the thought of pretty much marching right up under the nose of the British government and dumping 342 chests of tea overboard. The next day, the colonists noticed tea floating in giant masses on the ocean, and they rowed out in boats and made sure it was all wet so none could be salvaged. They could have easily kept some for themselves, as I have said before, tea was quite dear to them. But no - they stuck to their cause, and weren't swayed by any distraction. That takes true courageousness and fortitude.

Works cited:

“Quotes From The American Revolution.” http://www.rightwingnews.com/ Right Wing News, n.d. Web. February, 2011.

“Eyewitness Account by George Hewes.” http://www.boston-tea-party.org Boston Tea Party Historical Society, 2008. Web. February, 2011.

“History of Women and The Boston Tea Party 1773.” www.essortment.com Essortment: Your Source for Knowledge, n.d. Web. February, 2011.

“Why Were the Sons of Liberty Not Stopped by British Troops?” www.teachinghistory.org TeachingHistory.org, Ask A Historian, John Buescher, n.d. Web. February, 2011.