The Boston Tea Party took place in 1773.

One of the best-known acts of civil disobedience in history, the Boston Tea Party was in fact but one in a series of many events leading up to war between the American Colonies and Britain. After the French and Indian War, the British needed to raise revenue, and so they passed the Sugar Act in 1764, thus affecting the American rum trade, which was an important business in the Colonies. This was the first in a series of actions taken by the British government that the Americans found unacceptable. The next was the Stamp Act in 1765, an internal tax that the colonists considered “taxation without representation.” Following wild protest throughout the Colonies, the Stamp Act was withdrawn, but it was replaced by the Townshend duties—a series of taxes on a wide variety of items. This too was met with protest, and all the duties were eventually repealed save for the one on tea. In 1773, in an effort to save the failing Dutch East India Company, the British government gave them a monopoly on selling tea in the colonies. This creation of a monopoly was considered unacceptable, and led to the Boston Tea Party. In 1773, American patriots, dressed (rather unconvincingly, it is said) as Mohawk Indians, boarded the vessels of the East India Company docked in the Boston harbor and dumped all the tea that was on the three ships into the ocean. The perpetrators of the act were very insistent that it be strictly one of civil disobedience, that there be no theft of tea, violence or damage to the ships themselves. They were indeed good to their words. An old man who accompanied them was seen slipping a little of the tea into his pockets for personal use, and the patriots threw the old man’s hat and wig, along with the tea, into the harbor as punishment. A padlock, damaged in the endeavor, was replaced the next day. The entire affair was conducted calmly and with civility. However, the next day, the effects began to be felt. Shortly thereafter, the British passed the Coercive Acts, which involved, among other things, the quartering of British soldiers in American homes. Relations continued to deteriorate, and soon thereafter, the War of Independence began.

EconEdLink
In Taxation Without Representation? (6–8), students learn about the series of tax acts that were enacted by the British government and disputed by the original 13 colonies of America prior to the American Revolution. Students discuss the concept of government services provided in exchange for taxes. They describe the specific taxes and debate the right of the English government to levy them in the context of the oft-used slogan, "No taxation without representation."

EDSITEment
The Boston Tea Party: Costume Optional? (6–8) includes three activities to help students study the events of the Boston Tea Party of 1773 and reflect upon the methodology by which historians reconstruct the past. The activities involve a close study of primary sources describing the Boston Tea Party and a consideration of the effect of bias in both primary and secondary historical sources.

Revolutionary Tea Parties and Reasons for the Revolution (6–8) contains activities for students to explore the context and significance of the Boston Tea Party of 1773. The activities involve a study of the "tea parties" staged in other colonial cities, analysis of the colonists' key objections to the Tea Act, a close study of several primary sources and the creation of a cause-and-effect ladder that illustrates the Tea Act's significance in the subsequent Revolutionary War.