Purchasers And Consumers During The Edenton Ladies Tea Party

American Tempest: How the Boston Tea Party Sparked A Revolution written by Harlow Giles Unger offers an in-depth analysis of the Boston Tea Party. Unger organizes the events in chronological order starting 30 years before the Boston Tea Party occurred. In the end he touches upon the aftermath of the journey towards self-government. The book presents many engaging details and provides the reader with more of a storytelling feel. He describes the colonists hard times and anger towards being taxed by British Parliament. Unger adds insights and conclusions about various topics and the people surrounding the rebellion, which was one of his goals in his writing. He wanted to tell of the untold Tea Party 's impact on American history politically, socially, and economically. The book was intended for the general public, because he wrote “ironically, few, if any Americans today… know the true and entire story of the Tea Party and the Patriots who staged it” (4).

“Revolutionary Mothers Women in the Struggle for America’s Independence,” is a book written by Carol Berkin. In this writing, Berkin goes into detail on the important role women of the 1600s-1700s took place during the Home Front War. Berkin argues that it wasn’t just the men who fought for independence, but women fought for freedom as well. The book describes the roles that different women faced, the challenges women faced, and women’s capabilities during the war.

Document A, shows a woman holding a musket and powder horn wearing a tricorn hat. This document bolsters that women’s roles were expanded during the American Revolution since they participated in the American Revolution and hints at the potential for revolutionary change in women’s roles. The Daughters of Liberty proved that they could do anything a man could do. When their husbands, brothers, and or sons went to fight in the war women had to continue making a living at home by assuming the tasks that the males had. The Daughters of Liberty were working relentlessly to prove their commitment to “the cause of liberty and industry.” Home manufacturing originated from when women made clothing for the people of their respective towns to boycott the British and when they had to produce products such as artillery as well as clothing for the American forces to utilize. Document J, a valedictory address by Molly Wallace from the Young Ladies’ Academy of Pennsylvania notifies us that friendly encouragement allowed herself to overcome apprehension due to sex, youth, and inexperience which will be an example that women can do anything they set their mind to and that if women are not denied the right to read, moreover they should not be denied the right to speak. Her speech increased discussion of educational opportunities for women and the Revolution had not yet greatly altered society’s perception of the role of women.

One of the largest points that the author makes is the significance of tea to the people in the colonies. While there were many who thought that tea was evil and caused health issues, the overwhelming majority of colonist were obsessed. Tea was something new and seen as a luxury item. It took a six-month voyage for the EIC to bring to the precious leaves to Boston. Once there, it was auctioned to those who could afford it. While the bourgeoisie sipped their tea and

The Boston Tea Party was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts on December 16, 1773. The citizens of the colonies felt cheated due to the lack of representation in Parliament which caused unfair taxes colonists could not do anything about. In their opinion, they were British citizens as well and deserved the same rights given to those back in the mother country and to not have “virtual representation” where members of Parliament were chosen to speak for those across the sea instead of an election to decide who holds their seat in office. Therefore, when a shipment of highly overpriced tea, due to taxes, docked at the harbor, the Sons of Liberty paraded in dressed as American Indians and in a matter of three hours

The Intolerable Acts, otherwise known as the “Coercive” Acts, caused the most unrest among the colonies and led to the American Revolution during the 1700’s. In 1733, Parliament passed the Tea Act. This made it so that colonists could only buy tea from the British East Indies Company. Even though the Tea Act lowered the price of tea, the colonists thought of it as another restriction of their freedom. A group of opposers, dressed as American Indians, threw three-hundred forty chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. The British were enraged and passed the Intolerable Acts. This gave the British all control over Massachusetts and forced colonists to pay back the money for the tea they ruined. Although the Coercive Acts only applied to Massachusetts,

1st, Resolved, That whoever shall aid, or abet, or in any manner assist in the introduction of tea, from any place whatsoever, into this colony, while it is subject, by a British act to parliament, to the payment of a duty, for the purpose of raising a revenue in American, he shall be deemed an enemy to the liberties of America.

However, there was no doubt that women attempted to change their role. For instance, they created groups such as the Daughters of Liberty and the Ladies Association. The Daughters of Liberty was named as the female version of the Sons of Liberty, who were known for throwing chests of British East India Company tea in the Boston Harbor during the Boston Tea Party (Document A). However, since ladies were not expected to take part in such harsh rebellions, they had their own silent rebellions in which they would boycott the purchase and use of goods manufactured in England by making their own goods, such as sewing clothes. Some women even tried to persuade men to change these roles. For example, Abigail Adams, the wife of politician John Adams, wrote a letter to her husband that included keeping women in mind when drafting the Constitution of the United States. Abigail pleaded her husband to "Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors" (Document D). However, even if John Adams had proposed the idea of giving the women more rights than they previously had, nothing changed and the American Revolutionary

Women from all over the world have been faced with many difficult problems since the beginning of time. Women in the past have had to fight for their rights of education, freedom, sexual choices, and their freedom to work. Women today still face problems because of their gender, but times are slowly but surely changing. Before the Revolution women had no say in any activities they participated in. Women had to obey their husbands, give them sex whenever they wanted, had no choice over reproductive patterns, were strictly in charge of taking care of the house and children, and were not allowed to leave the homestead. Joan R. Gundersen argues that the women of the American Revolution gained more than they had lost. She believed at that time the greatest changes appeared enhancing the lives of everyday women.

On April 27, 1773, the British Parliament passed the Tea Act, which was supposed to, as History’s article, “Tea Act,” states, “was not to raise revenue from the colonies but to bail out the floundering East India Company, a key actor in the British economy.” The colonists viewed the Act as another example of the British Parliament abusing taxation. To further express the colonists’ hatred towards the Tea Act, John Green explains in his YouTube video, “Taxes & Smuggling - Prelude to Revolution: Crash Course US History #6,” that “Some colonists were upset that cheap tea would cut into the profits of smugglers and established tea merchants, but most were just angry on principle.” At the time, tea was just as equally an important beverage to both the colonists and the British, and having the British tax the tea showed

At the time tea was the most popular non-alcoholic drink in the world, and consequently, was highly taxed. All tea which was being sent to America was first shipped through England. By the time the tea made it to America, the price was through the roof. In response to the high price of tea, many merchants began smuggling the tea into America and selling it at a discounted price to the colonists. This system worked well until the Tea Act was passed. The Tea Act lowered the import tax on tea, and imposed a small tax on the tea itself. Unfortunately, the colonists did not react as well as the English hoped. Merchants felt threatened by the tax as many of their businesses relied on smuggled tea to turn a profit. The colonists also reacted negatively, believing that Britain was unfairly imposing a tax which they had to right to impose. In retaliation, American colonists dressed as Indians and dumped 342 chests of tea from British merchant ships into Boston Harbour, and again, nine days later in Delaware, colonists dumped over 700 chests. The British, rightly outraged by the actions of the colonists, imposed the Coercive Acts: 1) the King closed Boston Harbour until all the dumped tea was payed for, 2) the Massachusetts charter was annulled, and the governor council was reappointed by the King, 3) the Quartering Act required homeowners

Female colonists played a highly public role at this time and became known as the Daughters of Liberty. Women spun wool to make clothes for their husbands and decided not to drink British tea. The consequence of these actions by the colonists saw Britain repeal all duties except for the tea duty. This was to prove that parliament had the right to tax the colonies. Money from the taxes raised in the 1773 Tea Act would be used by parliament to pay royal governors salaries so they would be independent to the colonies. In America, Samuel Adams urged the colonists to send the tea back to Britain. A group of Bostonians, disguised as Indians, boarded a ship at night and dumped £10,000 worth of British tea. This became known as the Boston Tea Party. It was an act of revolutionary defiance. John Adams described it as ‘the most magnificent movement in history’.

With the development of the Ladies of Liberty in Document D, “colonial women played a significant role in the American Revolution”. They aided with the boycotting of British goods and participated in the movements of homespun clothing and non-importation. Colonial women would sew clothes for their families, out of cotton and wool to support the Revolution. As well as participating in these movements, women also began to gain confidence and power within themselves. In Document D, Abigail Adams writes to her husband recalling events witnessed that day involving the women of Massachusetts. After a rude, “stingy” merchant refuses to sell them coffee at an affordable price, “some hundred [women] assembled with a cart…marched down to the warehouse, and demanded [the merchant’s] keys”. After refusing, they “seized him by the neck, tossed him into the cart”, obtaining his keys as well as his gallons of coffee. They “hoisted” the coffee in their trunks and drove away leaving a crowd of men bewildered and shocked. While this document was targeted towards Abigail’s husband John Adams, he was a growing influence within American society, further solidifying the role of male domination. Her letter/ recollection of the scene only demonstrated the growing confidence and power within the community of colonial women at the time but in no way did the white

When considering the American Revolution most histories fail to recognize both sides of the fight for liberty. Men were certainly the central figures; however could they have succeeded without the periphery support of women? In her book, Women of the Republic: Intellect and Ideology in Revolutionary America, Linda K. Kerber explores the contribution of women to the war and demonstrates the rising of “Republican Motherhood” during and following the war. Through this ideology, women merged their traditional roles with their new sense of civic duty. In the beginning chapters, Kerber examines women’s engagement in the war effort, explores the emerging idea of female patriotism and states the proper loyalties of married women during the time.

The 1773 Tea Act did cause the American Revolution in that it sparked huge opposition amongst the colonists. It was the third time that the British had tried to tax the Americans — both the 1765 Stamp Act and the 1767 Townshend Duties had been repealed due to such opposition. The Tea Act was the final straw for many colonists — the Sons of Liberty organised a huge protest in which they boarded the ships carrying the East India Company’s tea, and threw £10,000 worth of tea into the sea in defiance. This was known as the Boston Tea Party and demonstrated to the British that the Americans were not willing to accept British taxation. The slogan ‘no taxation without representation’ was frequently used, showing how the Americans felt the British, in trying to tax them, were attempting to impose a tyrannical rule. The Boston Tea Party provoked outrage in Britain, with many of the politically conscious calling for the Americans to be punished. This then led to the Coercive Acts in 1774, which aimed at isolating Boston — although it only resulted in increasing the tension between the