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Introduction
The Boston Tea Party was an important episode in the history of America which gave way to the American War of Independence. This war was fought to highlight the oppressive measures by Britain, or the mother country as it was known. The Boston Tea Party is the reaction to the attitude of Britain towards its American colonies. According to TH Breen, ordinary people in predominantly rural communities were the highlight of the ensuing American Revolution (Carp, 421).
This essay begins with the non-importation agreement in Boston. This is followed by the lapse of the deadline for payment of the tax on tea. The next step was the discussion over this crisis. There were further deliberations and were awaiting the response of the authorities. With a negative response, the decision to dump the tea was taken. The repercussions of this act are finally given. This paper then takes a look at the modern day Tea Party and how it harks back to the Boston Tea Party.
Boston against the Revenue Act
In 1767, the Townshend Revenue Act had come in place based on which items like glass, oil, tea etc. were to be taxed. To protest this, businessmen from Boston decided not to import to or export from Britain. Most civilians in Boston were born in America and had no emotional bond with Britain (Other towns in America too tried to restrict the trade with Britain. Some of them passed laws to restrict trade with Britain. They were trying to be self-reliant to avoid being taxed.
The Sons of Liberty was a group that was formed to counter the British. Since they were boycotting British goods, they found other means to import goods. They smuggled in goods from other countries which turned out to be lucrative. Every one benefited from smuggling goods since this was a cheaper alternative to British goods. The smuggling happened from Holland and also overland from New York (Carp, 345). Hence, the Sons of Liberty found a good means of funding their non-cooperation against the British.
The boycott of goods was an effective tool and the result was that the Stamp Act was repealed. The major reason was the manner in which British merchants were losing out as their goods were not allowed into America. Either no one accepted the goods on arrival or even if this happened, the goods would decay or be looted by the colonists. The British were simultaneously losing out on revenue from exports to America.
After the turn of events, Britain repealed the tax on all goods except that on tea in 1770. There was a duty on tea to the tune of three-pence per pound according to Townshend Act: 7 Geo. IIII, c. 46 (Labaree, 148). This led to the boycott of tea from The East India Company, which was exporting it to America. This made all patriots rally around this point. This was the turning point in the history of America.
Events of 1773
There were three ships named the Beaver, the Dartmouth and the Eleanor which had set sail from London for Boston. They were carrying tea from the British East India Company. These ships together carried around 340 chests of tea. After all the ships reached Boston, the tax on tea had to be paid at the time of unloading. This was based on the Townshend Revenue Act.
The tax on tea had to be paid without fail within twenty days of arrival of the commodity. If the tax was not paid by then, the ships and the tea would be seized by the authorities. December 17th was the deadline for paying the tax, with the last of the ships, the Dartmouth arriving towards the end of November 1773.
It was at this time that the Sons of Liberty proclaimed throughout Boston that the tea that everyone had detested (due to the tax) had arrived. For the next twenty days up to the deadline, meetings were held regularly all over Boston to decide what should be done with the detested tea of the East India Company.
The first massive meeting on this issue was conducted on November 29, 1773. By then Boston had been radicalised as many people had started flocking to it due to the revolt against tea tax. Samuel Adams led the Boston Committee of Correspondence and the Sons of Liberty. Stoll says that Adams’ puritan upbringing was the reason for his religious fervour to oppose the British over the tea tax (Gilje, 823). The meeting had to be relocated to a more spacious venue as there were many people who wanted to witness it.
There were around five to six thousand people in attendance according to Adams. The people unanimously accepted the decisions taken. The unity was visible in the meeting. The resolutions were signed ‘the People’ and the meeting came to be known as the ‘Body of the People’.
It was decided that the tea would be sent back and no duties would be paid on it. It was also resolved that 25 Sons of Liberty would stand guard to prevent the tea from being unloaded at Boston. Though the Lieutenant Governor and Chief Justice of Massachusetts Thomas Hutchinson asked the assembled crowd to disperse, his word were not heeded.
Further Deliberations
As the deadline for the payment of tax on tea neared, small meetings were being conducted by the Sons of Liberty. The major meeting took place on the 14th of December 1773. To attend this meeting people from all over Massachusetts arrived in large numbers. Different towns proclaimed their support to the revolt. They compelled the owner of one of the ships to ask for clearance of his ship to London at the Customs House and arranged for people to perform this activity.
Meanwhile the ship owners faced an uncertain future. They did not want their ships damaged. They could not leave Boston as the ships risked being fired at in case the tea was not unloaded. At the same time, the Patriots would not allow this to happen either. The crew and captains of the three ships were waiting in the midst of all the events unfolding in front of them.
Two days earlier the meeting had been adjourned. However, on the 16th the crowds gathered again as the deadline would lapse at midnight the same day. It was decided that Hutchinson should be contacted so that one of the ships, Dartmouth would be allowed to leave for London and return the tea. This was after the Customs House had expressed their inability to give a clearing pass for the ship to leave.
The patriot wanted to use a legal method to their plans rather than going for violence at the outset. However, Hutchinson refused clearance to the ship. Everyone was waiting for the response from the authorities. John Rowe, the owner of Eleanor was known for his smuggling. He stated ‘perhaps salt water and tea will mix tonight’ which aptly describe the state of things to come.
The Plan of action
When it became apparent to everyone that diplomatic means of finding a solution had been exhausted, it was a sign for the Sons of Liberty to take matters into their hands. They cried ‘make Boston Harbour a teapot tonight’. The patriots dressed themselves as Indians and marched forth to Griffin’s Wharf where the tea was on board the three ships in Boston.
The patriots only approximated the Indian way of dressing. They disguised themselves by painting their face with soot. The authentic headgears were missing and they wore blankets. By dressing like Indians, they were making a statement. They now identified themselves with America and no longer with Britain. This was also a pointer to the oppression of the Indians at the hand of the British White colonisation.
The Tea Party
116 people were documented as having participated in this revolt. Most of them were below the age of 40 and there were a few teenagers as well as those above forty. While the majority were overwhelmingly English, there were Africans, Irish to name a few in their midst. Most of them were from in and around Boston and they were all male. They were from all walks of life; some were even hoodlums who became heroes (Schlesinger, 244)
The Sons of Liberty ripped open all the chests of East India Company tea in the three ships on the night of December 16th. They used axe and other weapons for this purpose and dumped the tea into the harbour. It was roughly estimated that there was damage to the tune of 10,000 pounds. According to Alfred Young, it was the most revolutionary act in Boston (Nehls, 5).
The Sons of Liberty were only after the tea and did not damage any other parts of the ships. There were instances of people who tried to steal amounts of tea when the looting took place and how they were dealt with by the patriots.
The Repercussion
The effect of the act of dumping the tea into the harbour continued for three days after the event. Most of the Sons of Liberty fled the scene to their homes and decided to maintain anonymity and keep a low profile. It had been understood in advance that the patriots would face the consequences individually.
While no one was killed over this issue, only one person was actually arrested and sent to prison over this act. The notable point was that Tories and the soldiers stationed at the Harbour did not clash with the protesters. The protesters did not resort to any violence other than looting the tea. This was the first organised revolt against the British Empire in America.
The news reached Manhattan, New York on the 21st December. Meanwhile, the day after the incident, tea was found floating on the harbour. The Sons of Liberty went out in boats and used their oars to fully drench the floating tea so that it became unfit for consumption.
The news about this incident reached London a month later on January 20th, 1774. Britain shut down the Boston Harbour until the price for all the chests was paid for. Different laws were used against the colonists to recover the amount. The colonists had to petition Britain to repeal such laws. Hence, the colonists were simultaneously attacking British institutions and creating their own ones. (Tilly, 3).
The destroying of tea in Boston inspired other colonists as in the case of New York in April 1774 (Gunderson, 28). Starting from the Boston Tea Party, the stage was being set for further struggle. According to Francis (Bright, 3), it was important in founding America which gave way for the American Revolution against the British in 1775.
Modern Day Tea Party Movement
One should throw light on the Tea Party Movement which gets its inspiration from the Boston Tea Party. It has conservative opinions on issues and has played a role in the Republican Party. Its beginnings are as recent as the end of the last decade. It advocates reducing the budget deficit by reducing the government’s expenditure, but at the same time keeping taxes low.
Though some members do involve in social issues, these have been pointed out to be divisive to the movement. Hence, the focus is primarily on economic issues. Under the agenda of this movement are mostly the opinions that the movement holds about the constitution of USA.
The members of this movement are mostly above 45 years and tend to be white and male. This explains the conservative attitude to race in the movement (Abramowitz, 13). Around 1 to 3 out of every 10 persons is supposed to support this movement. Even every fifth democrat and most republicans also vouch for the movement. While some believe that the movement played a role in getting Trump elected as President of USA, others say that the party is on the wane.
Validating the Tea Party Movement through the Boston Tea Party
The term Tea Party has been used with no pretence. It is spelt out in no uncertain terms. America is supposed to be a nation that ignores its history and the use of the term Tea Party is in this context. By talking about the Boston Tea Party, one works for a cause and relates to it. It is not only populist but also resonates in the public conscience. Carp has explained the modern movement in the light of the Boston Tea Party (Countryman, 2-3).
Americans need a justification for their actions in the past. The Tea Party movement illustrates the working of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution as they are in reality. In this way the makers of the constitution are related to the present situation. The Tea Party argues that conservative politics is in line with the constitution. There are far-fetched claims that the makers of the constitution wanted to create laws based on Christianity or that the state and religion are inseparable. Lepore says of how the Texas School Board wanted to adopt a social studies curriculum which talks of America as being founded as a Christian nation (McDonnell, 216).
It is easy to criticise factual errors, and it is also foolish to assume that there is a distinct message to history. In general, it is easier to protest than to administer. The Boston Tea Party of the 1770s looked back to the 1630s of Charles I, who tried to tax the public without taking the approval of the parliament. This was considered a tyranny in those days both in Britain as well as in America. Similarly, the Tea Party of today harks back to the Boston Tea Party. This example shows what is constitutional and what is legal. However, laws as well as the constitution are revised from time to time.
The Tea Party also stands for defying the government of the day as it was in the times of the Boston Tea Party. Liberty is the reason given for justifying this defiance. Hence, other such bodies or organisations or movements advocating direct action against the government also used the Tea Party to further their own agendas. The Ku Klux Klan and the civil rights movement are some examples of pressure groups for this phenomenon. Even Chinese nationalists who were against America’s economic power in 1920s were taken as example by foreign powers to justify the existence of the Tea Party Movement.
This again had its specific scenarios. While blacks did not play a significant role in the Boston Tea Party owing to their status as slaves, this did not deter the Civil Rights Movement from identifying with the modern day Tea Party since they were protesting against taxation without equal representation.
Today the Tea Party defines TEA as ‘taxed enough already’. Though it is a democratically elected government that taxes the public, this is seen as being overbearing and too much. So the tea party uses a past episode to highlight a grievance in the current situation. Hence, Obama is made a villain by trying to Europeanise America by harking back to the Britain of 1773 when it was as dictatorial as Obama was supposed to be. Modern day Britain is conveniently kept out of the picture with its current royalty seen in a favourable light.
The Tea Party Movement cannot be written off as yet. We cannot understand its impact because of the many levels at which it operates (Karpowitz, Monson, Patterson & Pope, 308). Since no one can predict the future, there is every possibility that the movement can give way to a party at the helm of affair in America.
The Lessons and Messages
The Boston Tea Party was the clear indication of American people’s uncompromising love for freedom. Through this act of rebellion, they expressed their courage to speak out for freedom. Obviously, this incident influenced them to be willing to give lives for freedom in later years. It gave the British government several messages regarding the upcoming feelings of American nationalism. The people of America, regardless of cultural variance and other disparities had been developing a common school for patriotic thoughts.
The Boston Tea Party clearly announced that the British government’s unfair involvement like the ‘Tea Act of 1773’ in the American market would not be tolerated under any circumstance. The Act was identified to be an unethical strategy to save the falling East India Company. Through lowering its tea tax greatly, it intended to grant the Company a monopoly on the American tea trade.
Conclusion
The Boston Tea Party was a small incident going by today’s standards. However, it was a dramatic event in almost two and a half centuries ago. It gave way to the American War of Independence. Notable is the irony associated with the term ‘party’ when tea was actually dumped overboard. Similarly, the term ‘mother country’ runs hollow given the step-motherly treatment meted out to the colonists by the imperial powers.
The American War of Independence went on to inspire various countries which tried to shake off oppressive governments, whether colonial or home grown over the next two decades. America grew to become a nation state with democracy and liberty as the cornerstone to their country. Liberty is one of the defining aspects of America and is cherished by every citizen. The liberty of the common man today is the result of the stance taken by ancestors to put an end to injustice.
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