The Boston Tea Party was much more than a group of masked men who threw tea over the side of a boat. There was a great deal of emotion and passion behind those acts. The colonists were trying to send a message, rather than just be destructive. The Boston Tea Party holds great significance in America’s history for many reasons. Listed below are just 5 of the reasons why the Boston Tea Party was so important.
Establishing Leadership
Some of our most influential forefathers were involved in the events that led up to the Boston Tea Party. John Hancock, who would later become the President of the Continental Congress that transcribed the Declaration of Independence, was one of the men who used his own ship to smuggle tea tax-free from the Dutch. When Hancock was charged with the crime of smuggling, it was John Adams, a prominent lawyer, who defended him. John Hancock was the one to organize a boycott against purchasing tea from the East India Company. His instrumental leadership during these times not only led to a fall in the sale of British tea from 320,000 lbs. to 520 lbs. but it also spurred the events that led to the Boston Tea Party.
It is even said that some of the most prominent members of American history (such as John Hancock) participated by disguising themselves as Indians and, with their own hands, helped to throw the approximately 45 tons of tea of the three ships. This night in December was the catalyst for change, and the colonies responded less than two years later by entering the American Revolutionary War. Here, leadership became more important than ever and it was these men that risked their own lives, possessions, and freedom to be able to provide for their posterity the liberties that we enjoy today.
Creating Unity and Organization
The colonists learned that the most efficient actions rose from an organized group who knew how to get things done. The colonists participated in dozens of meetings and deliberated on many actions before the events that unfolded on Boston’s harbor ever took place. There was unity and a sense of teamwork and brotherhood among the colonies. This unity and organization would be vital in the following years of war and of creating a new nation.
Standing Up Against Injustice
If the colonists who took action against Parliament’s unjust taxation actions had not done so, the next events that would lead to the Revolutionary War would never have been put into action. After the Boston Tea Party, the British company fought back at the colonists by putting into place the Intolerable Acts. These acts were meant to punish the colonists, and in a sense show them that Great Britain was the boss. Because of the colonists’ resolve to not be dictated to by distant rulers, they were able to stand firm against those things that they knew were unjust, and because they did, great changes in America’s history were brought about.
The Reason for a Revolution
Perhaps the most obvious and most important reason why the Boston Tea Party was so vital to U.S. history is because the Boston Tea Party was a catalyst for the American Revolution. Without this and other powerful reasons for a war, we may not have had the motivation to fight for our own independence as Americans.
Established a Passion for a Land of Liberty, Equality, and Justice
The Boston Tea Party established a passion for a land of liberty, equality, and justice. Americans would no longer stand to be bullied by Britain. A new republic was born as a result. Colonists knew what kind of a nation they wanted to have because they understood the disadvantages of being a member of a nation that was led by a tyrannical mother-country. Understanding the importance of freedom, as a result of being robbed of that freedom, set the standard for better relationships between the government and the people.
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