The American Revolution: Boston Tea Party (1773)

From the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, a range of video, primary and essay resources about the Boston Tea Party

7 Myths about the Boston Tea Party by Benjamin L. Carp

A useful website that is easy to read and navigate.

"The article discusses the Boston Tea Party in 1773 in Massachusetts and the Boston chapter of the Tea Party political group. Parallels are drawn between the American Revolution, the Tea Party movement, and other revolutionary acts that have taken place in Massachusetts, including a protest by historian Howard Zinn at the Boston Army base in 1970. Other topics include health care reform in the U.S. and the Tea Party's stance on issues such as taxes."

"The article discusses and debunks popular myths concerning the Boston Tea Party and colonial protest in 1773. Topics discussed include British taxation on imported tea to the American colonies, the impact of the Coercive Acts on patriotic unity, and the monopoly and government bailout of the East India Company."

"We do not care for the revolutionary spirit to survive the revolution. The revolution, however, goes nowhere without it."

"In the eighteenth century, Great Britain had colonies throughout the world. It was expensive to maintain these colonies, especially in the midst of ongoing war with France. For nine years, [...]"

"The article focuses on the principles and heroes of the Boston Tea Party. Topics discussed include taxes on colonists imposed by British leaders during the 1760s, protest by group of radicals known as the Sons of Liberty led by Samuel Adams against the Massachusetts governor Thomas Hutchison requesting that the tea be sent back to England and comments from the lawyer John Adams regarding the movement."

"This article argues that Atlantic smugglers trading with the Netherlands and other European nations helped create the conditions for the Boston Tea Part and helped provoke it."

"The article reflects on the Boston Tea Party which took place on the evening of December 16, 1773 at the Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. A group of about 150 men, dressed in blankets and with face painted to resemble the Mohawk Indians, walked down to Griffin's Wharf where they found three merchant ships, the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver, which contained a cargo of tea from China. They brought the tea chests to the deck then each one was smashed open and thrown to the sea."

A basic overview of the Boston Tea Party. Contains an extract of an account by a participant. Look at the links around the sides for links to related topics.

"Writing just five days before Bostonians dumped the cargoes of tea overboard, John Adams still assumed that the British ships would return to England."

Source: James Hawkes, A Retrospect of the Boston Tea Party (New York, 1834), pp. 28–32.

14 Primary source documents related to The Boston Tea Party