Research Paper on Boston Tea Party

Background Information

Boston was founded by English Puritans who were fleeing persecution and settled there. The Puritans named the settlement Boston after a town in England where they originated. Boston grew with its population rising up to thirteen thousand by 1730. Boston is regarded as the home of the American Revolution due to the number of events that took place there including the Boston Tea Party and the Boston Massacre. Before 1776, the United States comprised colonies under British rule. American citizens were regarded as British citizens under the rule of King George III. Great Britain restricted trade to ensure that the colonies were dependent on them for goods and supplies. This gave Great Britain power over the colonies and in 1765 the British Parliament passed the Quartering Act requiring the colonists to pay for the lodging of British soldiers in America. This is when the friction between the colonies and Great Britain began because the colonies saw no need for soldiers to be stationed in America. The situation escalated when Great Britain in an attempt to pay off its war debts started imposing taxes on the American colonies. The taxes were enacted by the Stamp Act and the Townsend Act. The taxes sparked a revolution with the colonies claiming Great Britain had no right to tax them. The laws that introduced the taxes had been passed by the British Parliament without the inclusion of the colonial governments. The colonists felt that their rights as British citizens had been violated. There were a series of protests with the highlight being the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Tea Party took place on December 16, 1773, organized by the Sons of Liberty under the strict leadership of Samuel Adams. The Boston Tea Party in 1773 got a lot of attention and coverage and therefore undermined a second Tea party that took place on March 7, 1774. The second Tea party was much smaller and involved a smaller group which explains why it was not given equal attention to the first Boston Tea Party.

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Objectives of the Paper

• To determine the events that occurred during the Boston Tea Party.
• To determine the factors that led to the Boston Tea Party.
• To determine the impact of the Boston Tea Party.

Research Questions

• What events occurred during the Boston Tea party?
• What factors led to the Boston Tea Party?
• What was the impact of the Boston Tea party?

Thesis Statement and Justification

The Boston Tea Party occurred in 1763 when a group of patriots called the Sons of Liberty led a protest against the British government after they enacted laws that required the colonies to pay tax to the British government.

The British parliament passed laws requiring American colonies to pay taxes that would enable Great Britain to pay war debts. These laws angered the colonists who felt that Great Britain had no right to pass laws that impacted on them yet they were not represented in their parliament. To show their frustration and discontent with the taxes, the colonists organized the Boston Tea Party. Many scholars pay attention to the events of the Boston Tea party disregarding its causes. This is why this research is necessary to fill this gap.

Historiography

The Boston Tea party was an important event in the history of the United States. It was part of the American Revolution which protested against the rule of Great Britain. A number of scholars have done in-depth research of the event. Analysis of what caused the event has been done with scholars presenting different views. This paper looks at the primary sources that documented the Boston Tea Party together with secondary sources that analyze the event.

Summary of Studies

Ida Walker in her book "The Boston Tea Party" gives a breakdown of the events that unfolded before, during, and after the Boston Tea party. Ida highlights how colonists were tired of the unfair treatment by the British government. The discontent was directed at leaders including Thomas Hutchinson who was the governor of the Massachusetts colony. According to Ida, the discontent and anger were due to the taxes that had been imposed on the colonies on items that were necessary which meant that the colonies had to oblige. One of the taxes was tea tax which was levied on imported tea from Britain. The tea tax made sure that the East India Company could easily and cheaply sell tea to the colonists. A group of protestors led by Samuel Adams started holding meetings to discuss how to prevent the unloading of three ships delivering tea in Boston. On the day of the protest, the members divided themselves into groups of three each comprising about fifty men to inhabit the three ships. They disguised themselves as Indian "mohawks" by painting their hands and faces. There were three ships the Dartmouth, the Beaver, and the Eleanor at the harbor with chests of tea. The men boarded the ships and dumped three hundred and forty-two chests of tea into the sea. After dumping the tea the disguised men left the ship. The sentence for such an act was death and this prompted the protestors to maintain the secrecy of their identity. The secrecy worked as only one person was prosecuted.

Cory Gunderson also gives an account of the Boston Tea Party in his book "The Boston Tea Party". Cory explains how the relationship between the colonies and the British government was peaceful with the colonists happy under the British rule. The British government introduced laws that imposed taxes on the colonies. The colonists did not object instead found ways of breaking the laws by smuggling goods from other countries. The British Kings and Queens did not pay attention to the illegal trade and this ensured that the British government and the colonists maintained a harmonious relationship. However, this all changed when King George III came into power and started seeking more control over the colonies. The smuggling of goods became impossible. Taxes were introduced which ensured that if they succeeded in smuggling the goods, they would be more expensive than those being brought in from Great Britain. Those who had been affected were at the forefront in calling for protests that led to the Boston Tea Party.

The book "The Boston Tea Party" by Michael Burgan explains the taxes that were charged on the colonies. Britain had fought against France and defeated them but the war proved costly as Britain was short of cash. In an attempt to recover the money, the British government decided to tax American colonies. The Sugar Act of 1764 was the first law to be introduced which taxed everything made from sugar. In 1765, the Stamp Act was introduced which imposed a tax on printed objects. The taxes angered the American colonies but Boston was the first to take action. Samuel Adams brought together a group of men and formed the Sons of Liberty who were to lead the opposition against the British rule. Other colonies followed suit forming their own groups to object the taxation.

Linda Brennan takes a different stand as she reflects on the Boston Tea Party. The protest did not make sense to her. Linda supported the taxation of the colonists by the British Parliament. In her book "The Boston Tea Party: A History Perspectives Book" she points out how it was reasonable for the colonists to pay tax to ensure they were protected by the British troops. Linda questions the argument made by the colonists about taxation without representation. The colonists were not interested in being represented in the Parliament. Their main issue was the greed they had for their money. According to Linda anger against the taxes is what caused the Boston Tea Party. Linda also points out how the Tea Act empowered the East India Company. The company had enough quantities of tea and was thus able to supply it cheaply to the colonists. The low price of the tea meant that smugglers were put out of business.

Robert Allison in his book "The Boston Tea Party" explains how significant tea was to Americans. Tea in the colonies had first been a common drink for the rich especially merchants from New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. As time progressed tea became a favorite drink for many Americans both rich and poor. It was estimated that Americans consumed up to one million pounds of tea per year. This meant that each person took about one hundred and twenty cups per year. The high demand for tea was what prompted smuggling of tea. Smuggler provided ninety percent of the tea consumed by Americans. In 1773, the Tea Act was introduced by the British Parliament. The Tea Act was not meant to control smuggling but rather to exert control over the East India Company. The company was making losses and was on the verge of bankruptcy which prompted Parliament to intervene. Only the East India Company and a few other merchants were allowed to sell tea to the colonies. This made smuggling of tea from France and the Netherlands difficult. American colonists protested the Tea Act claiming the British Parliament had no right to pass a law that would tax them. However, the British parliament disagreed and maintained the Tea Act. The American colonies reacted by boycotting the tea from Britain. Anyone who failed to comply or to support the boycott against the Tea Act faced consequences. Governor Thomas Hutchinson rejected the boycott which led to an attempt to impeach him.

Michael Cecere made a contribution to the Boston Tea Party explaining the aftermath of the protest. In 1774, the British Parliament ordered the Boston harbor to be closed to all commerce. The closing of the harbor was an attempt to inflict punishment on the people of Boston who were responsible for the protest. The harbor was to be closed until the East India Company was compensated for the loss they had incurred. Troops were also sent to Boston to inhabit the city. Other colonies were agitated by this and offered their support to Boston. Ray Raphael also highlights the consequences of the Boston Tea party. The British Parliament passed the Massachusetts Government Act. This Act revoked the citizenship of the people of Massachusetts. The people revolted led by the courts in the county which closed until the Act was overturned.

Gabriel gives more insight into the coercive Acts introduced by the British parliament to punish the citizens of Boston. King George III called for measures that would force the colonists to be submissive. The first Act was the Boston Port Act. This Act closed the Boston harbor in an attempt to interfere with their economy since the town relied heavily on the harbor for trade. The British parliament thought that by interfering with their source of livelihood, Bostonians would be forced to yield. The second Act was the Administration of Justice Act. The Act required British officials who were to be tried to be taken to England for their trials. This was done to undermine the courts in the colonies.

Nehls Holly made a dissertation of the Boston Tea Party. Many authors look at the Boston Tea Party as a protest organized to express grievances. Holly thinks the Boston Tea party was more purposeful and well organized to have a bigger impact. There were other protests before the Boston Tea Party but they did not get similar attention. The Boston Tea Party was a political statement. It was designed to start a revolt against the British rule. Before the Tea Act was introduced, other Acts had been introduced but the reaction to this Act was much bigger. It was not that tea was more important than the other goods that were being taxed. The colonists were tired of the British rule and used this opportunity to make a statement and mobilize the other colonies to revolt. The non-violent nature of the Boston Tea Party led to its view as an act of civil disobedience. There was no bloodshed duri...