Boston Tea Party

The protests in the colonies put a lot of pressure on Parliament to repeal the Townshend Acts except on tea. The taxes were meant to raise money, but the protests made the taxes expensive to enforce. British merchants also complained to Parliament that the boycotts were costing them money.

By coincidence, the Townshend Acts were repealed on the very same day that the Boston Massacre took place. However, it took many weeks for news of these events to make it across the Atlantic.

In 1770, the British government repealed most of the taxes in the Townshend Acts. However, it kept the tax on tea in place to prove it still had a right to tax the colonists.

The taxes on tea were not more valuable or more popular than all the other taxes. In fact, Parliament wanted to repeal all the Townshend Acts. However, the Prime Minister of Great Britain disagreed. He thought it was important to keep taxing tea as a symbol of Great Britain's power over the colonies.

In 1770, the American colonists were not well organized.

Here are some reasons why:

• The colonists did not have a central government.

• The colonists were spread out over large distances.

• Many leaders from different colonies had never met each other.

Part of the problem was that colonists had no easy way to share information.

Sharing information was much different in 1770:

• There were no phones, television, or Internet.

• People had to deliver letters by horseback or by ship.

• Traveling across the colonies was slow, uncomfortable, and often dangerous.

The Committee of Correspondence in Boston shared information about local events. Its members wrote letters to colonists in other parts of the Thirteen Colonies. Instead of using the British postal service, they used express riders to deliver the messages so that Great Britain would not know what they were saying.

The committee in Boston was the first of many Committees of Correspondence. Within a few years, Committees of Correspondence existed in every colony. As many as 8,000 colonists were members. By making communication faster and easier, the committees helped the colonists unite politically.

What was the British East India Company?

For many years, the British East India Company had been one of the most powerful companies in the world. It bought tea and other goods in Asia and sold them in Great Britain. In the 1770s, however, the company was close to going out of business. Some of the trouble came from colonial boycotts. By 1773, the company had a huge amount of tea that it could not sell. The unsold tea weighed over 17 million pounds.

Why did Parliament want to help the British East India Company?

The British government did not want the company to fail. At the time, ten percent of the British government's total tax money came from taxes on tea. So, Parliament passed the Tea Act to make it easier for the company to sell tea in the Thirteen Colonies.

Why did the colonists dump tea into Boston Harbor?

After Parliament passed the Tea Act of 1773, the British East India Company started shipping tea to the colonies. Many colonists opposed the Tea Act. Most port cities either refused to accept the tea or left it rotting in warehouses.

In Boston, colonists asked the governor to send the tea back to Great Britain. The governor refused. So, the ships sat in the harbor for weeks.

On December 16, the Sons of Liberty decided they needed to act. Some of their members disguised themselves as Native Americans and gathered at Boston Harbor. They boarded the British ships and dumped 342 crates of tea into the water. In today's money, the tea would have been worth over a million dollars!

To punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed new laws called the Coercive Acts.

Partly in reaction to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed the Coercive Acts between March and June 1774. The acts tried to coerce, or force, colonists in Boston to accept British rule.

The acts did not work as the British government hoped. Many colonists thought the new laws were intolerable, or unacceptable. The laws did not convince colonists to accept British rule. Instead, they showed why colonists should resist Great Britain.

The Intolerable Acts included five laws meant to punish Massachusetts and frighten the other colonies.

• Under the Quartering Act, colonists in Boston were ordered to offer housing to British soldiers. This act affected all of the colonies. However, it affected Boston most of all because soldiers were already there.

• Under the Port Act, the port of Boston was closed. The port could not reopen until the colonists paid for the tea destroyed during the Boston Tea Party. The destroyed tea was worth about a million dollars in today's money. Closing the port of Boston meant that ships could no longer load or unload their goods. The Port Act greatly weakened Boston's economy.

• Under the Massachusetts Government Act, the British government tightened its control over Massachusetts. The king replaced elected officials with officials he chose himself. Boston was placed under martial law, in which regular laws are put on hold and the military takes control.

• Under the Administration of Justice Act, British officials accused of crimes would not have to stand trial in Massachusetts. The trials would take place in Great Britain or another colony.

• The final law was the Quebec Act. This law did not affect the Thirteen Colonies directly. However, it got rid of all elected assemblies in colonial Canada. The colonists were worried Great Britain would try to make similar changes in the Thirteen Colonies.

The Intolerable Acts were meant to punish Massachusetts, especially Boston. But the laws also sent a message to the other colonies. In order to control the colonies, the British government was willing to do some frightening things:

• ignore the colonists' right to elect assemblies

• completely change colonial governments

• intentionally hurt the colonial economy

Many colonists, therefore, saw the Intolerable Acts as a threat to the rights and safety of all colonists. When leaders of other colonial governments saw what happened in Massachusetts, they realized their colonies might be next.

Instead of supporting Great Britain, many colonial leaders united in support of Massachusetts. Throughout the colonies, Committees of Correspondence began working to organize a response.

In the 1770s, colonists on either side of the conflict with Great Britain began to use new names.

• Patriots were colonists who opposed British rule. The word patriot comes from Latin and Greek words for "countryman" and "fatherland." Patriots were also known as Whigs or rebels.

• Loyalists were colonists who supported British rule. They remained loyal to the British crown. Loyalists were also called Royalists or Tories.

Today, Americans still use the word patriot to describe someone who supports and defends his or her country. Several states celebrate a holiday called "Patriots' Day." New England's professional football team is even named after the Patriots.

Patriots and Loyalists came from all backgrounds and all ages. They chose sides for many different reasons.

• The choice was often very personal. Some families had both Patriot and Loyalist members. For example, Benjamin Franklin became a leading Patriot during the Revolutionary War. His son William, however, remained a Loyalist.

• Enslaved people in the colonies faced an especially difficult choice. Even if they fought for independence, they might have to return to slavery after the war. During the war, Great Britain promised to free any enslaved people who joined the British army. As a result, thousands of enslaved people joined the fight as Loyalists.

• Many colonists did not choose a side. They either could not make up their minds, or they did not want to get involved. Some historians say as many as half of all colonists remained neutral, or were neither Patriots nor Loyalists.

Loyalists had many different arguments against a war for independence.

• Loyalists argued that rebellion was immoral. They said all members of the British Empire owed their loyalty to the British government. To a Loyalist, opposing the king was like breaking a promise.

• Loyalists worried a rebellion against Great Britain would lead to chaos and mob rule. Many Loyalists were horrified by protests such as the Boston Tea Party. They worried that the Patriots were trying to build a country based on lawlessness and violence.

• Loyalists worried about the economic costs of a rebellion. Great Britain was the colonies' main trading partner. A war could ruin this relationship. Colonial businesses might have no one left to trade with.

Not every so-called "Loyalist" was totally against the idea of independence. They just weren't willing to fight a war over it. In those days, a colonist could be called a Loyalist for not supporting the Patriots enough. For example, colonists in Boston were sometimes accused of being Loyalists if they did not join anti-British boycotts.

In 1774, people across the colonies knew that they needed to respond to the Intolerable Acts. However, they disagreed about how to respond. How did they resolve this disagreement?

What was the First Continental Congress?

In 1774, people in the colonies sent representatives to a meeting to discuss how to respond to the Intolerable Acts. This meeting, which took place from September to October, came to be known as the First Continental Congress.

The Congress was not the first meeting of its kind. In 1765, the colonists had called a similar meeting in New York to discuss the Stamp Act. By 1774, however, the conflict with Great Britain had become much more serious. For the first time, colonists were discussing military action against Great Britain.

Who attended the First Continental Congress?

The Congress included 52 delegates, or representatives, from 12 colonies. Only Georgia chose not to participate. The delegates included well-known Patriots such as John Adams, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, and George Washington.

The colonies chose their delegates in several ways:

• Some delegates were selected by the colonial assemblies.

• Some delegates were elected by a popular vote.

• Some delegates were chosen by local Committees of Correspondence.

The First Continental Congress took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia was the largest city in the Thirteen Colonies. It was also about halfway between Massachusetts and Virginia, two of the most important colonies. Massachusetts was the center of the protests against Great Britain, and Virginia was the largest colony.

After the British military took over Boston, Philadelphia became the leading city in the fight against Great Britain.

In the fall of 1774, Georgia still needed Great Britain's help to defend its borders against Native Americans. Georgia did not want to anger Great Britain, so it did not send delegates to the First Continental Congress.

Many Georgians opposed the Intolerable Acts. They did not think the Congress was too far away or a waste of time. However, Georgia faced a more serious threat from Native Americans than most colonies. Conflicts over land led to an armed struggle between Georgians and the Creek Indians. Georgians relied on the British to help fight against the Creeks.

Delegates to the First Continental Congress

• Most of the delegates had never met each other face to face. The delegates were leading politicians in their home colonies. However, the colonies had not held a joint meeting since the Stamp Act Congress of 1765. Only 8 delegates from that meeting returned to the First Continental Congress.

• Some of the delegates thought that the colonies should make peace with Great Britain. The delegates were angry about British taxes and the Intolerable Acts. However, some were not sure that fighting a war was a good idea. These delegates thought it would be smarter to focus on peaceful protests. They also thought it was still worth trying to compromise with Great Britain.

• Some of the delegates thought that war with Great Britain was unavoidable. Some delegates thought that the conflict was too large to be solved peacefully. Delegates from Massachusetts, for example, had been surrounded by British soldiers for years. They believed war was coming whether the colonists wanted it or not.

At the First Continental Congress, the colonies agreed that Massachusetts should start training volunteer armies. These volunteer armies were called militias.

The delegates disagreed about whether all colonies should train militias. Some delegates were worried it would make the colonies look aggressive.

When the delegates returned home, however, many urged their colonial governments to train militias. Officially, the colonies were still seeking peace with Great Britain. Secretly, however, many colonists were preparing for war.

Grievances are formal complaints. The First Continental Congress listed the colonists' grievances in a signed letter, or petition, to King George III. The delegates were careful to be polite. The petition said that the colonists were all still loyal to the king. However, it did complain about many things:

• all the taxes since 1764, which the colonists never agreed to

• all five Intolerable Acts

• laws that took away the right to a trial by jury

• laws that allowed officials to break into colonists' houses

• laws that dissolved colonial assemblies

• the thousands of British troops still in the colonies

The letter explained that each of these things hurt the colonists. It ended by asking the king for "peace, liberty, and safety."

Before the Congress ended, the delegates agreed to meet again in May 1775. If King George had not responded to the grievances by then, the colonies would consider other options.

Many people volunteered to fight against Great Britain.

• Men of all ages volunteered to fight. Most volunteers were between the ages of 17 and 45. The youngest volunteer may have been a 10-year-old boy, who served as a cook and a messenger in the army. The oldest is believed to be a 78-year-old man from Massachusetts.

• Some women also volunteered for colonial militias, even though they often were not allowed to join. Some female Patriots even disguised themselves as men so they could fight.

• African American men volunteered to fight against Great Britain. At the time, most African American men in the Thirteen Colonies were enslaved. Both free and enslaved African American men volunteered for colonial militias. Despite helping the United States win the war, many African American volunteers were forced back into slavery after the war.

• Some Native Americans fought in colonial militias. For example, the Stockbridge Militia, from western Massachusetts and Connecticut, included men from several local tribes. They supported the fight for independence in some of the war's earliest battles.

The minutemen were the best volunteer soldiers in Massachusetts. Their name came from their ability to be ready for battle in just a few minutes. The minutemen were usually under 25 years old. They were selected for their strength and enthusiasm.

Minutemen had been training in Massachusetts since 1645. However, they are most famous for fighting in the early battles of the Revolutionary War. After the First Continental Congress, Patriot leaders including Samuel Adams and Paul Revere helped organize the minutemen to defend Massachusetts from British soldiers.

Today, the Massachusetts state quarter includes an image of a minuteman. The minutemen are also the mascot for the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

In early 1775, Great Britain still had not repealed the Intolerable Acts. However, some colonies were still not sure they wanted to go to war. In Virginia, a politician gave a speech to convince his colony to join the fight. He ended the speech with the line, "Give me liberty or give me death!"

Patrick Henry delivered the famous line, "Give me liberty or give me death!" at the Virginia Convention. He convinced the leaders of Virginia to raise a militia to fight against Great Britain.

By late March 1775, Bostonians knew a war with Great Britain could begin any day. Many Virginians, however, still hoped for peace.

Patrick Henry told the convention, "The war is actually begun!" He asked them, "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" He believed the only way the colonies could avoid war was to give up their freedom. He said he would rather die.

At the end of the speech, the convention fell silent. Some witnesses said the speech was the best they had ever heard. Later that day, the convention agreed to raise an army to fight the British soldiers.

No one knows for sure who fired the first shot at the Battle of Lexington.

The commander of the militia, Captain John Parker, knew his band of 80 volunteers could not stop hundreds of British soldiers. According to one eyewitness, he told the minutemen not to fire when the British soldiers appeared:

Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon. But if they mean to have a war, let it begin here!

When the British soldiers arrived, one of the British officers approached the minutemen with his sword drawn. He told them to lay down their weapons. None of them did. Both sides were shouting at each other. The soldiers on each side could barely hear their officers' instructions.

In the confusion, somebody fired. To this day, nobody knows who it was. After the British soldiers began firing, most of the minutemen ran away. The Battle of Lexington was actually a small, brief fight. But by the end, one British soldier was wounded, and 8 minutemen were dead.

The first gunshot fired at the Battle of Concord in 1775 is remembered as "the shot heard round the world." The name comes from a famous poem written about 50 years after the battle.

"Concord Hymn"

by Ralph Waldo Emerson

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,

Here once the embattled farmers stood,

And fired the shot heard round the world.

unfurled: unrolled

embattled: prepared for war

The "shot heard round the world" was not actually the first shot fired in the Revolutionary War. The Battle of Lexington had taken place several hours earlier. However, the Battle of Concord was much larger.

Why was it "heard round the world"?

The first gunshot at Concord was "heard round the world" because it had a global impact. Over the next eight years, several more European countries joined the conflict. By the time the war ended, the relationship between North America and Europe was changed forever.