The Edenton Tea Party from Week II topics relates to our discussions of the Boston Tea Party, which sparked the fight for independence from Britain in the Revolutionary War. By 1774, this uprising soon reached Edenton, North Carolina, where the women assembled an alliance to support colonial resistance to British measures, in response to the Tea Act of 1773. On May 10, 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act which granted the British East India Company control of tea sales in the American colonies. This act, passed by King George III, was not meant to raise revenue in the colonies, nor did it impose a new tax on tea — it was passed in efforts to save the East India Company from going bankrupt. However, many American colonists strongly opposed to …show more content…
Before their arrival, most of the colonies had become aware of the act that had been imposed and resolved to reject any tea shipments from the East India Company, refusing all ships to come inland — all except for Boston. In late November, three shiploads of tea arrived at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston harbour. The Dartmouth arriving first was prevented from being unloaded by a man by the name of Samuel Adams. Adams was the leader of the Sons of Liberty, a group of men united to resist new taxation. It was only a few days later when two more ships arrived: Eleanor and Beaver. Upon their arrival, the colonists held a meeting at the Old South Meetinghouse determining that the ships should be released without any payment of duty. Thomas Hutchinson, the Royal Governor, heard about the colonists meeting and immediately refused the ships to leave, insisting that the taxes must be paid. This greatly infuriated the colonists and that evening, they planned to retaliate. On the night of December 16, 1773, Samuel Adams led a group of colonists who disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians. This group of men, the Sons of Liberty, consisted of artisans, craftsmen and many others who were determined to defend their rights against the British. The masked-men “boarded the three British ships and dumped over three-hundred and forty-two chests of tea into the Boston
In 1773 parliament passed the tea act in which the British pay less for tax to ship places. This made the prices of tea lower from Britain. Since Boston's tea would be more expensive nobody would buy it from them. The tea act was just another problem adding up between the colonists and britain. This made the colonists want to be independent from Britain. The colonists decided to rebel and dumb three hundred and forty two chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. The act was given the name the Boston Tea Party. Most of the British thought of the Boston Tea Party as an act of terrorism. Really the Boston Tea Party was just another step to independence for the colonists.
In May of 1773 Parliament passed the Tea Act, which made many fear of being put out of business by the British East India Company. Therefore, the colonist united against it. Tea agents in New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston rejected shipments, but governor Hutchinson allowed three arriving ships to deposit their cargo in Boston. Several mass meetings were held to demand that the Dartmouth, Eleanor, and Beaver be sent back with the duty unpaid. On the 16th of December a meeting at Old South Church was governor Hutchinson's final refusal, so that night a group of unknown men boarded the
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).
The American colonists in the ports of Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Charleston had time to consider the implications and impact of the Tea Act before the ships laden with tea arrived in their harbors. They had time to plan their responses and what action they could take against the Tea Act: The press became more active in its political discussions, Circulars and handbills were printed and distributed, The Sons of Liberty organized public demonstration against the British government, Public meetings were held - everyone got to hear about the Tea Act resulting in strong Anti-British attitudes. Americans decided they would continue to boycott tea from the British. To enforce the Nonimportation Agreements by merchants not to purchase British goods. A public meeting was held in Philadelphia and there was agreement that anyone who aided in “unloading, receiving, or vending” the tea was an enemy to his country. The colonists agreed that the Consignees, who were supposed to receive the tea, should “resign their appointment”. The Sons of Liberty reorganized and owners and occupants of stores were warned against harboring the tea, and all who bought, sold or handled it, were threatened as enemies to the
He said to me,”We are now going towards your friends, and if you attempt to run, or we are insulted, we will blow your brains out. When we had got into the road they formed a circle, and ordered the prisoners in the center, and to lead me in the front,” Paul Revere. The Sons of Liberty were fanatics and thugs that would stop at nothing to meet their political goals. The main general reason for believing this is because there would have never been a war. Which means never having thousands of people dying.
Those who were disguised as Indians immediately fled Boston in hopes of avoiding arrest. Luckily for the colonists, “only one member of the Sons of Liberty, Francis Akeley, was caught and imprisoned for his participation” (Gilje). Besides him, nobody else was caught or injured for being affiliated in the infiltration. Also, “there was no violence and no confrontation between the Patriots, the Tories and the British soldiers garrisoned in Boston” (Cheek). The news of the Boston Tea Party spread tremendously quickly.
In 1768 an agreement was published by leader’s colonists called Boston Non-Importation Agreement inviting others colonists to react against the Townshend acts, in which American colonists would not export or import items from Great Britain. In the agreement was wrote “Secondly, that we will not send for or import any kind of goods or merchandize from Great Britain, either on our own account, or on commissions, or any otherwise, from the 1st of January 1769 to the 1st of January 1770, except salt, coals, fish-hooks and lines, hemp, and duck bar lead and shot, wool-cards and card-wire.” (Boston Non-Importation Agreement). In addition, a group of women, the Daughters of Liberty were organized a boycott to oppose British taxes by avoiding British tea and buying British goods in support to the Sons of Liberty. Some of the acts were cancel, however, the tea tax results in the Boston Tea Party in 1770. Last, in 1774, the First Continental Congress take place in Philadelphia by colonist’s leaders in reaction of the British tyranny, in which delegates from Massachusetts to Virginia colonies united to agree that “Parliament had no right to tax the colonies without their consent.” (Fraser 132). Indeed, the American colonist’s leaders came together with many protests to the overwhelming British taxations and they rejected British authorities by showing that the government could not claim authority over colonists
In the novel, Defiance of the Patriots: The Boston Tea Party and the Making of America, the author Benjamin L. Carp gives an incredibly in-depth description of the events of the Boston tea party. In the Introduction, Carp argues that the “party” was not a singular event, but rather a catalyst for the impending Revolution. He presents each chapter as a new aspect of the event while offering primary sources, letters, newspapers, and magazines as compelling evidence. Each chapter is focused on a very specific topic and perfectly leads to the next. Carp gives the reader a concise layout of context, causes, proceedings, and the aftermath of this rebellious show of resolve and determination. By giving the reader the political and cultural
In the face of impossible odds, people who love this country can change it.” Freedom is worth fighting for and dying for because of our First Amendment rights such as religion, assembly, press, petition, and speech. Freedom is worth fighting for and dying for because if no one would fight for our country and our own rights then many of the future generations would possibly be tortured or even enslaved. The first example of why freedom is worth fighting for and dying for is The Sons of Liberty. The Sons of Liberty is a great example because they disagreed with the British rule of the 13 colonies.
The Tea Party, an uprising movement, with specific beliefs have made a major political breakthrough in this year due to strategic framing usages and resources. Their framing usages strongly conveys their social and economical perspective and ideology through an extremist and phenomenological approach. Their framing activities influences generalized belief, collective behavior, irrational behavior, experiential commensurability, and specific grievances among the supporters. The supporters are mainly consisted of a particular socioeconomic status while their leaders are mainly elites of politicians and businessmen with an endless right winged network. Concerns of the Tea Party slowly replacing the Republican Party has been expressed and it
They began to boycott, some by not using the tea imported from the East India Tea Company and others by using other items to make tea. Women even began making leaflets and participated in anti-British activities. The colonists even went as far as not allowing ships to enter or leave ports with imports of specific items that would be taxed. This finally led to the Boston Tea Party in 1773. A few dozen colonists dressed as Native Americans, and protected by some other colonists, boarded ships in Boston Harbor and began throwing barrels of tea overboard in protest to the taxes. After this, the port of Boston was closed by Parliament. The news made it to other colonies up and down the eastern seaboard and the colonists started to respond. There was a tension in the air that was unmatched, and the colonists were preparing to fight. The British believed they had the upper hand, although many of the “so-called” governors were not in the colonies to prepare themselves for what was to
These acts stated that American imports of paper, glass, lead, paint, and tea would be taxed and colonists would be required to house British soldiers in places such as taverns and vacant buildings, respectively. In response, John Dickinson, a lawyer from Pennsylvania, continued the argument that British-levied taxes on the colonists were unconstitutional. Also, groups like the Sons of Liberty and the Daughters of Liberty organized boycotts against British goods. Then came the Tea Act. The Tea Act did not create any new taxes on tea, but instead was purposed to bail out the failing East India Company. However, the “colonists did not trust the British. These colonists believed that the British were trying to appease the colonists so that the colonies would become complacent to the idea that the British could control the ability to place taxes upon the colonists” (Bixby, Tea Act of 1773). The response to the Tea Act is one of the most famous acts of rebellion and protest in American history; this protest was the Boston Tea Party in which colonists dumped 90,000 pounds of tea into the Boston Harbor. Irritated, Parliament issued the Coercive Acts (1774) which came to be known as the
Various colonies made plans to prevent the British East India Company from landing its cargoes. In some ports, shipments of tea were returned or the chosen agents were forced to resign. (USA, 1) In Boston, the chosen agents were relatives of royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson and of course, they would not resign. Hutchinson made preparations to land the tea regardless of the popular feeling. Boston, a leading port city, where many important colonists were merchants, was a focus of colonial resistance to the Tea Act. It was also the home of the radical agitator, Samuel Adams, who staged a spectacular demonstration on the evening of)
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
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’.