Chapter Three
The Boston tea party
On December 16, 1773, three grand British ship with tall white sails waited in the cold water of Boston Harbour. Everything looked calm and peaceful, but not for long! Trouble was coming.
The people of Boston were angry about the British tea that filled the ships. They didn’t like the new British tea tax. And Britain said that British tea was the only kind of tea that American colonists could buy. These trade laws didn’t seem fair. Although they loved British tea, Americans refuse to drink it. Some of them tried to make their own tea from wild plants.
That night in Boston, here was a noisy town meeting with thousands of colonists. ‘These taxes are unfair! Send the tea back to Britain!’ they shouted. The King’s representative in Boston refused to listen to them. ‘These ships will not leave Boston until they’re empty.’ He said
Then Samuel Adams stood up. He was a troublemaker and one of the leaders of the Sons of Liberty, together with John Hancock. ‘This meeting can do nothing more to save the country!’ shouted Samuel Adams angrily to the crowd.
Later that night, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and about a hundred Sons of Liberty did something unforgettable and a little crazy to show how much they hated King George’s new trade laws and taxes. They dressed as Mohawk Indians, blackening their faces and putting feathers in their hast. Then they picked up axes and marched two by two towards Boston Harbour. The moon was bright in the night sky. The men took small boats out to the British ships. When they boarded the ship, no one tried to stop them. With their axes the ‘Indians’ destroyed 324 boxes of valuable British tea and threw everything into the black water of the harbour. Three hours later, the men left the ship and disappeared quietly into the night.
The next morning when the sun came up, the people of Boston saw tea leaves all over their beaches and broken tea boxes in the harbour. They called it a party – the Boston Tea Party. Many colonists were pleased. They sang this song in the bars of Boston:
Mohawks! Bring out you axes,
And tell King George we’ll pay no taxes.
When he heard the news, Benjamin Franklin was ashamed. He called the Boston Tea Party ‘violent and unfair’, and he argued that Boston should pay Britain for damage.
When the news finally reached King George, he exploded. Things had gone too far. ‘Close Boston Harbour,’ he ordered, ‘until the colonists pay for the lost tea!’ The King wanted to punish the colonies were like a dangerous snake, with Boston as its head. ‘The whole snake will die if I cut off its head,’ he said to himself.
It was a mistake for the King to close Boston Harbour. But to make thing worse, he also sent British soldiers back into Boston. The crowds of redcoats who now filled the streets of Boston frightened the colonists and made them feel like second-class citizens. And because no ship could enter or leave Boston Harbour, people could not trade or fish. ‘Will we have enough food to eat?’ they worried.
Boston wanted the other twelve colonies to know what was happening. Riders on fast horses hurried out of the city with letters in their bags asking for help. When the other colonies heard the news, they were angry, too. ‘Will we be next? Will the King punish us, too?’ they wondered. If the King took away Boston’s rights, then no colony was safe. So they decided to help Boston. New York sent sheep, South Carolina sent rice, and Maryland sent dread. Money came from Connecticut and Delaware. ‘If you attack Boston, you attack all thirteen colonies,’ they said.
The colonies were standing together, which surprised King George and everyone in Britain. Before this, the colonies had never been able to agree with each other. They had argued and fought about everything. New Jersey didn’t like New York. The northern colonies didn’t like the southern ones. But now they were like one big family, uniting around Boston’s troubles. It was extraordinary!
The united colonists wanted to tell the King how they felt. So in September 1774, all the colonies except Georgia sent their leaders to a meeting in Philadelphia. Most of the men had never met before. They were teachers, lawyers, Farmers, business people, and doctors. They called themselves the First Congress. ‘What are we going to do next?’ they asked each other. They were very worried. They knew that they had to do something. They could not just let King George order them around. But still, most of them wanted peace with Britain. The idea of a bloody war frightened them. The First Congress spent seven weeks together. They discussed the colonies’ problems and made a list of their rights. Then they wrote a polite letter to the King that explained exactly what they wanted. ‘Let us be as free as yourselves,’ they wrote.
The First Congress also decided to stop all trade with Britain. The colonists shouldn’t buy or even use anything that came from Britain. No more fine, fashionable British clothes. No more lovely British candles. And of course, no more tea. Congress asked Americans to live simply and to make things for themselves.
At the end of meeting, the men were satisfied with their work. They felt that they had left the door open for peace with Britain. But something was different. The colonists were beginning to change; they were becoming Americans.
At the end of the First Congress, in October 1774, the leaders sent off their letter to the King and they decided to meet again if things became worse. And indeed they did. The first battle of the American Revolution was just around the corner.
Chapter Three
The Boston tea party
On December 16, 1773, three grand British ship with tall white sails waited in the cold water of Boston Harbour. Everything looked calm and peaceful, but not for long! Trouble was coming.
The people of Boston were angry about the British tea that filled the ships. They didn’t like the new British tea tax. And Britain said that British tea was the only kind of tea that American colonists could buy. These trade laws didn’t seem fair. Although they loved British tea, Americans refuse to drink it. Some of them tried to make their own tea from wild plants.
That night in Boston, here was a noisy town meeting with thousands of colonists. ‘These taxes are unfair! Send the tea back to Britain!’ they shouted. The King’s representative in Boston refused to listen to them. ‘These ships will not leave Boston until they’re empty.’ He said
Then Samuel Adams stood up. He was a troublemaker and one of the leaders of the Sons of Liberty, together with John Hancock. ‘This meeting can do nothing more to save the country!’ shouted Samuel Adams angrily to the crowd.
Later that night, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and about a hundred Sons of Liberty did something unforgettable and a little crazy to show how much they hated King George’s new trade laws and taxes. They dressed as Mohawk Indians, blackening their faces and putting feathers in their hast. Then they picked up axes and marched two by two towards Boston Harbour. The moon was bright in the night sky. The men took small boats out to the British ships. When they boarded the ship, no one tried to stop them. With their axes the ‘Indians’ destroyed 324 boxes of valuable British tea and threw everything into the black water of the harbour. Three hours later, the men left the ship and disappeared quietly into the night.
The next morning when the sun came up, the people of Boston saw tea leaves all over their beaches and broken tea boxes in the harbour. They called it a party – the Boston Tea Party. Many colonists were pleased. They sang this song in the bars of Boston:
Mohawks! Bring out you axes,
And tell King George we’ll pay no taxes.
When he heard the news, Benjamin Franklin was ashamed. He called the Boston Tea Party ‘violent and unfair’, and he argued that Boston should pay Britain for damage.
When the news finally reached King George, he exploded. Things had gone too far. ‘Close Boston Harbour,’ he ordered, ‘until the colonists pay for the lost tea!’ The King wanted to punish the colonies were like a dangerous snake, with Boston as its head. ‘The whole snake will die if I cut off its head,’ he said to himself.
It was a mistake for the King to close Boston Harbour. But to make thing worse, he also sent British soldiers back into Boston. The crowds of redcoats who now filled the streets of Boston frightened the colonists and made them feel like second-class citizens. And because no ship could enter or leave Boston Harbour, people could not trade or fish. ‘Will we have enough food to eat?’ they worried.
Boston wanted the other twelve colonies to know what was happening. Riders on fast horses hurried out of the city with letters in their bags asking for help. When the other colonies heard the news, they were angry, too. ‘Will we be next? Will the King punish us, too?’ they wondered. If the King took away Boston’s rights, then no colony was safe. So they decided to help Boston. New York sent sheep, South Carolina sent rice, and Maryland sent dread. Money came from Connecticut and Delaware. ‘If you attack Boston, you attack all thirteen colonies,’ they said.
The colonies were standing together, which surprised King George and everyone in Britain. Before this, the colonies had never been able to agree with each other. They had argued and fought about everything. New Jersey didn’t like New York. The northern colonies didn’t like the southern ones. But now they were like one big family, uniting around Boston’s troubles. It was extraordinary!
The united colonists wanted to tell the King how they felt. So in September 1774, all the colonies except Georgia sent their leaders to a meeting in Philadelphia. Most of the men had never met before. They were teachers, lawyers, Farmers, business people, and doctors. They called themselves the First Congress. ‘What are we going to do next?’ they asked each other. They were very worried. They knew that they had to do something. They could not just let King George order them around. But still, most of them wanted peace with Britain. The idea of a bloody war frightened them. The First Congress spent seven weeks together. They discussed the colonies’ problems and made a list of their rights. Then they wrote a polite letter to the King that explained exactly what they wanted. ‘Let us be as free as yourselves,’ they wrote.
The First Congress also decided to stop all trade with Britain. The colonists shouldn’t buy or even use anything that came from Britain. No more fine, fashionable British clothes. No more lovely British candles. And of course, no more tea. Congress asked Americans to live simply and to make things for themselves.
At the end of meeting, the men were satisfied with their work. They felt that they had left the door open for peace with Britain. But something was different. The colonists were beginning to change; they were becoming Americans.
At the end of the First Congress, in October 1774, the leaders sent off their letter to the King and they decided to meet again if things became worse. And indeed they did. The first battle of the American Revolution was just around the corner.
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