The Boston Tea Party and America’s Independence

The Boston Tea Party and America’s Independence

Throughout the course of history there have been many events leading up to the independence of America. Some of them were small, whereas others were much more significant. One of the more important events was the Boston Tea Party. This was when the colonists, in anger, boarded a ship carrying many chests of fine teas, and hurled them overboard. The Boston Tea Party marked the first act of open resistance to British rule. The Boston Tea Party alone was not the main event that brought America her independence. However it was the larger of many little things that led up to the revolutionary war. For example, if there would never have been a Tea Tax, then there never would have been the need for a boycott. Likewise, if there was no boycott there would not have been a Boston Tea Party. The Boston Tea Party in turn led to the Intolerable Acts, which eventually led to the Revolutionary War. The Revolutionary War was the event that brought forth the Declaration of Independence. Therefore, the Boston Tea Party was one of the key events leading up to America’s independence.

In 1770, five years after the stamp tax was repealed, a new tax appeared. This was called the Townsend Tax. The Townsend Tax was placed mostly upon things such as lead, glass, paper, and tea. This led the colonists to boycott the items that were sold by the English. Them doing this caused great problems for the merchants because the things they sold were expensive to make, and with no purchasers, they did not make any money. Now the merchants were unable to feed their families because of the lack of money. Thus, upsetting the merchants as well. The British tried to lower the taxes, but this did not satisfy the colonists. They had already begun to make their own things. The merchants complained to the king, who at that time was King George III, and he repealed the taxes. All but the one on tea that is. This went on for about three years. The people who could not make their own tea, had simply switched to coffee. For some reason, in about 1773, the people were no !longer satisfied with the coffee and homemade tea. They decided to take action.

In 1773 the people got angry. They were tired of the way they were being treated. So with a little persuasion from Samuel Adams, they devised a plan to rebel. The plan was to go to the Boston Harbor, and...

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The Boston Tea Party was directly and indirectly responsible for America’s independence. America didn’t receive its independence simply because a few angry colonists decided to go throw some tea into the Boston Harbor. However, if those colonists would’ve just said, "Fine, we’ll pay the taxes. We’ll do whatever you say and we won’t fight back." Then all of the events that occurred leading up to the Revolutionary War never would have happened. To this day America could still be under the rule of Britain. This all just goes to show that no matter how silly or small the act may seem, you never know what it may accomplish. So you should always act on how you feel. The colonists did and because of it America is now its own country.

Works Cited

Books:

- Stein, Conrad R. and Neely, Keith (1984) "The Story of the Boston Tea Party"

WWW Sites:

- "The Boston Tea Party"

http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/Depts/MilSci/BTSI/abs_bostea.html

(23 Oct. 1997)

- "Historic Tours of America - Boston Tea Party Ship & Museum"

http://historictours.com/boston/teaparty.html

(23 Oct. 1997)

Other:

- Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia ©1994, 1995, 1996