The Boston Tea Party

Explain the 1773 protest and Britain's harsh response.

Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.

What children learn in Level 14

Parliament dropped most of its taxes but kept one on tea, and in 1773 it let one British company sell tea in the colonies at a low price. Colonists saw a trick to make them accept the tax.
On a December night in 1773, Sons of Liberty, many dressed as Mohawk people to hide who they were, climbed aboard three ships in Boston Harbor. They dumped 342 chests of tea into the water.
Britain was furious. In 1774, it shut Boston's harbor until the tea was paid for, and it took away much of the colony's self-government. A city that lived on trade was suddenly cut off.
Other colonies sent food to Boston, and in 1774 leaders from twelve colonies met in Philadelphia. Georgia didn't send anyone that year. The colonies were starting to act together.

Georgia Standards of Excellence in Social Studies:

SS4H1.a — Trace the events that shaped the revolutionary movement in America: French and Indian War, 1765 Stamp Act, the slogan "no taxation without representation," the activities of the Sons of Liberty, the activities of the Daughters of Liberty, Boston Massacre, and the Boston Tea Party.