Events (page 2)

The Boston Tea Party

A law imposing higher taxes on tea imported into the colonies was passed by the English Parliament in 1767. The citizens of Boston sent a series of resolutions to the King denouncing the increase. Years passed but the resolutions went unanswered.

In December of 1773 Boston had been seething with excitement with the impending arrival of the Dartmouth bringing its cargo of tea. The town was plastered with posters urging citizens “to rise against tyranny.” Numerous public meetings were held advocating resistance in allowing tea to enter Boston. Finally the Dartmouth reached the port of Boston with its cargo of tea. Shortly thereafter two other tea-ships arrived alongside the Dartmouth at Griffin’s Wharf.

It was a cold moonlit evening on December 16. At a public meeting opposing the tax — the ‘Mohawks,’ as the anti-tax citizens were called — were ready for action. A man in the assemblage painted and dressed like an Indian gave a loud war-hoop which was answered by others in the meeting. Instantly the crowd rushed to Griffin’s Wharf. The ‘Mohawks’ ran to the pier, raiding the ships.

Within three hours 342 chests of tea were burst open and their contents emptied into the bay. Sixty men were involved, many of whom were not disguised. There was no disorder or shouting, and when the Mohawks concluded their operations, the men separated to their homes. Because of ‘The Boston Tea Party,’ several of the other colonies prohibited the landing of tea and the cargoes made to return home.

With these daring acts of defiance, the mutterings of war grew louder throughout the land.

The Boston Tea Party: Colonists Dressed As Indians Dump Chests of Tea in Boston Harbor	Rebels Prepare To Defend Against The Attacking British in The Battle of Concord	Columbus Lands On San Salvador On His Historic First Voyage On October 12, 1492
GW Crosses the Delaware in Emanuel Leutze's Famous Painting of Washington In A Surprise Attack On The Hessians At Trenton	British Gen. Cornwallis Surrenders To Washington At Yorktown in 1781, Ending The Revolutionary War	Drafting the Declaration of Independence: The Committee of Five Draft The Declaration of Independence — Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Robert Livingston & Roger Sherman
Writing the Declaration of Independence: Thomas Jefferson has just handed the written sheets to Benjamin Franklin, who is reading them to John Adams.	Patrick Henry in 1775 Urging Independence With "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death."

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