The Boston Tea Party

The Boston Tea Party

by Sharon Segres

The Boston Tea Party was not a party, but one of the most famous examples of protest in American History. The leaders of the "tea party" were known as the Sons of Liberty. The Sons of Liberty and many of the citizens of Boston were angry at the British government. They were angry because the British government had taken steps to hurt the American tea business. It had given a British company control over the American tea business. This put American merchants out of business​.

So what did the Sons of Liberty do? They planned to show the British government how angry they were. On December 16, 1773 they dressed up as Indians and boarded three British ships in Boston Harbor that were delivering tea. They took all 342 chests of tea and heaved them into the harbor, destroying the entire load. The event was first known as "The ​Destruction of Tea" and only became know as the Boston Tea Party.

Multiple Choice

Why were the Sons of Liberty angry?

• American tea tasted bettter than the British tea 

• They wanted more tea

• American tea was more expensive than British tea

• The British tea merchants were out of business

Multiple Choice

How did the Sons of Liberty protest?

• They destroyed British tea in Boston Harbor

• They destroyed the British government

• They controlled the British tea business

• They dressed up as Indians

Multiple Choice

Which is NOT true about the Boston Tea Party

• It was a form of protest

• The Sons of Libety heaved chests of tea into Boston Harbor

• It was always called the Boston Tea Party

• It happened in December

Multiple Choice

What was the point of the Boson Tea Party

• To dress up as Indians

• To express anger at the British government

• To have a party that involved tea

• To drink a lot of tea