Yesterday, in 1773, patriots in Boston expressed their outrage against King George III for taxation without representation. One of those taxes was on tea.
The British Parliament had passed the Tea Act of 1773. The law provided that the East India Company could sell tea in America at bargain prices, but there was still a tax on the tea. In addition, the tea could only be sold to British tea consignees in America – all of whom were Loyalists to Britain.
Patriots, known as the Sons of Liberty, began meeting at the Old South Meeting House in Boston to organize opposition to British tyranny. One of the leaders of the patriots was Samuel Adams.
After three tea ships arrived in Boston harbor, as many as 7,000 of these patriots – many dressed as Mohawk Indians – boarded the ships and tossed the tea into the harbor. The cargo of tea was valued at $1 million in today’s dollars.
After the Boston Tea Party, Samuel Adams wrote: “This destruction of the tea is so bold, so daring, so intrepid, and so inflexible, and it must have so important consequences and so lasting that I can’t but consider it an epoch in history.” Indeed, it was.
Today’s Tea Party Movement
The first Boston Tea Party is being repeated across this nation today as grassroots activists organize their own Tea Party protests against King Harry Reid and Queen Nancy Pelosi in the House and Senate.
The protests are non-violent and spontaneous uprisings of Americans who are sick of taxation without representation – and of having legislators cram unconstitutional laws down their throats.
“It is my hope that the Tea Party movement will spell the doom of liberal tyranny in Washington, D.C. in the years ahead,” said TVC Executive Director Andrea Lafferty. “These patriots understand the greatness of America and are willing to defend it from the likes of Reid, Pelosi and President Obama.”
To learn more about getting involved in the modern Tea Party movement, access this site: Tea Party Patriots - Official Home of the American Tea Party Movement
