5.+Boston+Tea+Party

Boston Tea Party

=Introduction= Following the Boston Massacre in 1770 the people of Boston were extremely upset. The situation began to settle down when the British removed their troops from the city. Life in Boston slowly returned to normal. England attempted to continue to ease tensions by repealing most of the Townshend Acts; however, one significant duty remained. Parliament refused to eliminate the tax on tea. This was important due to the fact that tea was one of the most widely used products in the American colonies. The Board of Customs Commissioners was in place to ensure that the tax was being paid. While many of the colonists were tired of the conflict with Britain, others saw this tea tax as an issue to be contested. By 1773 the issue of tea came to a head. In May of 1773 Parliament passed the Tea Act. The point of this measure was to help a failing English tea company. Under the Tea Act the East India Tea Company would be allowed to appoint their own agents in America who would sell tea directly to the colonists. The tea could be sold without the added expense of middle men or taxes. Colonists could actually buy tea at a cheaper price; however, American merchants were extremely angry at being cut out of the tea business. Many people in the colonies saw this situation as an act of oppression by the British government. =Task= Analyze and interpret how colonial cartoons were used as form of public commentary. Determine the effectiveness of Committees of Correspondence on spreading resistance. Create an audio recording or Podcast representing your views during the time of the Tea Party.

OBJECTIVES

 * Through the use of political cartoons, analyze perspectives on colonial resistance to British policies.
 * Create a podcast to communicate the critical ideas disseminated by colonists through interpretation of primary source documents
 * Trace events illustrating forms of resistance through the Boston Massacre and compare them to the Boston Tea Party.

(Courtesy of Library of Congress ) Print shows a mob pouring tea into the mouth of a Loyalist who has been tarred and feathered. Behind the group, on the right, is the "Liberty Tree" from which hangs a noose and a sign "Stamp Act" written upside down; on the left, revolutionaries on a ship pouring crates of tea into the water. =Process= In the following activities you will be working with political cartoons. You will be responsible for accomplishing the following three tasks: Write two captions for a political cartoon. [|EXAMINE DOCUMENT] [|Examine and analyze] a political cartoon. ([|PDF]) [|Create your own cartoon] from historical quotes. [|EXAMINE DOCUMENT] In this final activity you will review a selection of primary source documents from the time period in which the Tea Party occured in order to [|create your own historically accurate communication] from the Boston Committee of Correspondence.
 * A. Daughter of Liberty**
 * B.** **A Society of Patriotic Ladies, at Edenton in North Carolina**
 * C. Calls to Rebellion**
 * D. Review George Robert Twelves Hewes Account of Tea Party**
 * 1) On December 17th 1773 colonists held a meeting in the Old South Meeting House. Why did this meeting convene?
 * 2) Why do you think the commander requested no damage to the ship?
 * 3) Hewes declared, “Let every man do his duty, and be true to his country.” What duty were the “Indians” performing, and for what country? Explain.
 * 4) What is the significance of the colonists dressing as Indians?
 * 5) What made the Boston Tea Party different from other forms of colonial protest?
 * Boston Committee of Correspondence Podcast**

=Resources=

Committees of Correspondence Podcast ([|HTML])
Primary source gallery for Committees of Correspondence Podcast || || || December 25, 1773 || 2 The Boston Evening Post December 20, 1773 || June 22, 1773 || 4 Tea Letter November 17, 1773 || May 28, 1773 [ NEW ] || 5 Committee of Correspondence July 29, 1773 & [|6] August 19, 1773 || December 1, 1773 || 8 Sam Adams Tea Letter date unknown [ NEW ] ||
 * 1 Hutchinson Letters
 * [|3] Committee of Correspondence
 * 5 Committee of Correspondence
 * [|7] Tea Party Broadsheet

Note: Some documents will be replaced with higher resolution scans from the Boston Public Library.

=Assessment=

You will be creating podcasts which will either defend or condemn the colonists who took part in the Boston Tea Party.

=Conclusion= Through the use of political cartoons you have learned the mindset of the colonist and the British in the time period leading up to the Boston Tea Party. By writing cartoon captions, analyzing a cartoon and creating your own cartoon, you have examined the various points of view regarding the issue of British taxation of the colonists. One of the biggest issues you focused on was the shipment of English tea to Boston and the colonial response to this event. You learned through primary source documents and creation of a podcast that there were meetings held by the colonists in Boston and around the colonies to discuss and plan what actions they would take to deal with English tea being shipped to America. Through the examination of a firsthand account you learned of the specific details of the Boston Tea party. The Boston Tea Party was one more act of open resistance to British policy.

Final Unit Assessment
Compare the actions of the colonists during the Boston Tea Party to their actions in resisting the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Townshend Act, and the Boston Massacre. What does this say about the evolution of the colonist’s use of open resistance? At what point do acts of protest become acts of treason? Considering all you have learned, predict the British response to the Boston Tea Party?