The Boston Tea Party - Peterson's Busy Bees
The Boston Tea Party
By Michael A. Signal
The Time is Near
Over two hundred years ago, before the United States even existed, in Old South Meeting House in Boston, patriots were preparing for something very important. Men painted their faces, put on moccasin shoes, and wore whatever they thought would make them look like Mohawk Indians. Some even took hatchets and clubs. The weapons were not meant to injure anyone – they would only be used to break open wooden crates. Sam Adams, the leader of the group, would soon lead the men towards Boston Harbor. They would enter onto ships, smash hundreds of crates of tea, and throw them overboard. Although people refer to the Boston Tea Party as a “party” – it was actually a raid!
1 | P a g e
On the night of the Boston Tea Party, British ships in Boston Harbor were attacked by angry colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians.
The Boston Tea Party
A Reason to Act The men disguised as Mohawk Indians were the Sons of Liberty. They were a group of patriots that were unhappy with the way Britain taxed and governed the American colonies. The Sons of Liberty, along with many other colonists, didn’t think it was fair that Britain made strict laws for colonists in America. Even worse – they did so without asking the colonies’ own governments! The British king and parliament had been making laws and imposing taxes on the colonies for years. No matter how much the colonists disapproved of the new policies, Britain kept adding more. When it came down to their tea, though, the colonists decided they had had enough.
The Boston Tea Party was not the first conflict to occur in Boston between the British and the colonists. In 1770, British soldiers fired into a crowd of angry protestors, killing five of them. A man named Crispus Attucks was the first to be shot. Some consider Attucks to have been the first person to die in the American Revolution, even though the war did not actually start until 1775.
Tea was one of Britain’s favorite drinks. The colonists loved their tea, too, but there was a rule that they could only buy their tea from Britain. The colonists did not like this, because British tea was heavily taxed, and therefore very expensive. Many colonists ended up smuggling in tea from other countries because it was cheaper.
The East India Company, an English trade company, had lots of tea in Britain. So much, in fact, that it was stacked and stacked in piles in British warehouses. Traders could have sold their tea at cheap prices to colonists. However, the British government refused to repeal their tax on tea in America. Colonists were fed up with paying high taxes. To show their anger, they refused to pay 2 | P a g e
The Boston Tea Party
Britain taxes for their tea. The Sons of Liberty decided that it was time to send a very clear message to the king and the British government.
Dump the Tea On December 16, 1773, before the clock struck midnight, the Sons of Liberty destroyed nearly 50 tons of British property. 92,000 pounds of the East India Company’s tea fell to the bottom of Boston Harbor. Hoards of disguised men marched onto three docked ships. They busted apart Today, the Boston Tea Party is pictured on US postage stamps. every crate of tea they could find. The raiders dropped 340 crates of tea into the water that night. The mission of the Sons of Liberty was not to damage the ships or injure anyone. They only wanted to send a message to the British government: they would rather destroy their tea than drink it!
Britain Gets the Message British officials weren’t fooled by the Indian disguises that the Sons of Liberty wore. They knew who had dumped the tea and why. The British government enacted a set of harsh laws on the colonists to retaliate for the Boston Tea Party. These laws are known as the Intolerable Acts. The Intolerable Acts closed Boston Harbor and outlawed town meetings, which only angered colonists more. Soon there would be a war. Soon there would be a revolution. Soon there would be the United States of America. 3 | P a g e
The Boston Tea Party
Enact (v)
to make a law.
Impose (v)
to put in place a law or rule.
Parliament (n)
A part of the British government that makes laws.
Raid (v)
a sudden attack.
Repeal (v)
to take away or to take back.
Retaliate (v)
to get back at or get revenge.
Patriot (n)
a person who loves his or her country.
Smuggle (v)
to bring items into a country illegally.
4 | P a g e
By Michael A. Signal
The Time is Near
Over two hundred years ago, before the United States even existed, in Old South Meeting House in Boston, patriots were preparing for something very important. Men painted their faces, put on moccasin shoes, and wore whatever they thought would make them look like Mohawk Indians. Some even took hatchets and clubs. The weapons were not meant to injure anyone – they would only be used to break open wooden crates. Sam Adams, the leader of the group, would soon lead the men towards Boston Harbor. They would enter onto ships, smash hundreds of crates of tea, and throw them overboard. Although people refer to the Boston Tea Party as a “party” – it was actually a raid!
1 | P a g e
On the night of the Boston Tea Party, British ships in Boston Harbor were attacked by angry colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians.
The Boston Tea Party
A Reason to Act The men disguised as Mohawk Indians were the Sons of Liberty. They were a group of patriots that were unhappy with the way Britain taxed and governed the American colonies. The Sons of Liberty, along with many other colonists, didn’t think it was fair that Britain made strict laws for colonists in America. Even worse – they did so without asking the colonies’ own governments! The British king and parliament had been making laws and imposing taxes on the colonies for years. No matter how much the colonists disapproved of the new policies, Britain kept adding more. When it came down to their tea, though, the colonists decided they had had enough.
The Boston Tea Party was not the first conflict to occur in Boston between the British and the colonists. In 1770, British soldiers fired into a crowd of angry protestors, killing five of them. A man named Crispus Attucks was the first to be shot. Some consider Attucks to have been the first person to die in the American Revolution, even though the war did not actually start until 1775.
Tea was one of Britain’s favorite drinks. The colonists loved their tea, too, but there was a rule that they could only buy their tea from Britain. The colonists did not like this, because British tea was heavily taxed, and therefore very expensive. Many colonists ended up smuggling in tea from other countries because it was cheaper.
The East India Company, an English trade company, had lots of tea in Britain. So much, in fact, that it was stacked and stacked in piles in British warehouses. Traders could have sold their tea at cheap prices to colonists. However, the British government refused to repeal their tax on tea in America. Colonists were fed up with paying high taxes. To show their anger, they refused to pay 2 | P a g e
The Boston Tea Party
Britain taxes for their tea. The Sons of Liberty decided that it was time to send a very clear message to the king and the British government.
Dump the Tea On December 16, 1773, before the clock struck midnight, the Sons of Liberty destroyed nearly 50 tons of British property. 92,000 pounds of the East India Company’s tea fell to the bottom of Boston Harbor. Hoards of disguised men marched onto three docked ships. They busted apart Today, the Boston Tea Party is pictured on US postage stamps. every crate of tea they could find. The raiders dropped 340 crates of tea into the water that night. The mission of the Sons of Liberty was not to damage the ships or injure anyone. They only wanted to send a message to the British government: they would rather destroy their tea than drink it!
Britain Gets the Message British officials weren’t fooled by the Indian disguises that the Sons of Liberty wore. They knew who had dumped the tea and why. The British government enacted a set of harsh laws on the colonists to retaliate for the Boston Tea Party. These laws are known as the Intolerable Acts. The Intolerable Acts closed Boston Harbor and outlawed town meetings, which only angered colonists more. Soon there would be a war. Soon there would be a revolution. Soon there would be the United States of America. 3 | P a g e
The Boston Tea Party
Enact (v)
to make a law.
Impose (v)
to put in place a law or rule.
Parliament (n)
A part of the British government that makes laws.
Raid (v)
a sudden attack.
Repeal (v)
to take away or to take back.
Retaliate (v)
to get back at or get revenge.
Patriot (n)
a person who loves his or her country.
Smuggle (v)
to bring items into a country illegally.
4 | P a g e
