Tutor: Welcome to Tutor.com! How can I help you tonight?
Guest (Customer): I’m studying for a test we have tomorrow in history.
The teacher gave us some possible essay questions we might see and I’m
having problems with one of them.
Tutor: Okay. I might be able to help you understand it better. Which
question is causing you troubles?
Guest (Customer): On a cold December night in 1773, the Boston Harbour
was turned into a big cup of “salty Darjeeling.” This act of protest is said to
have contributed to the start of the American Revolution. Discuss three
historical events or groups that contributed to this protest and state what
role they played in the world’s largest “tea party.”
Tutor: Hmmm…ok. This question could definitely take many avenues. Let’s
start with your thoughts. Have you begun drafting an answer or an outline
for the answer?
Guest (Customer): Well, since the Boston Tea Party was a protest to the
Tea Act, I think that’s where I’d start. But, I really don’t understand the Tea
Act.
Tutor: OK, so you’d like to discuss the Tea Act in your essay. That’s a great
starting point. Can you tell me what you do know about it?
Guest (Customer): I know that it placed restrictions on where the Colonies
could get their tea from. But, I don’t really know why they passed the Act.
Tutor: OK. So, Britain passed this “Tea Act” that basically made it illegal for
the colonists to get tea from any unapproved source. But, thinking they were
being smart, Britain tried to play it off like they were helping the colonists.
Do you remember what they told the colonists?
Guest (Customer): Britain played it off that the colonists would benefit
because of the lower cost of tea. But, I don’t think that was the main point.
Our teacher told us not to a politician’s words at face value. Why else
would Britain issue that Act?
Tutor: Well, you’re thinking along the right lines. The British government did
design the act in a way to make the tea less expensive for the colonists. But,
it definitely was not initiated to help the colonists. Instead, it was written to
help a business, called the East India Company. Imagine that you are a
colonist, used to drinking your favorite tea from company A. But, the
government comes in and tells you that you’re going to have to pay extra
taxes for Company A tea. What would your reaction be?
Guest (Customer): Switch to coffee!
Tutor: Ah! Good point! What do you think the colonists would do?
Guest (Customer): I don’t know. The same as me?
Tutor: Maybe. But, some of them bought other, cheaper tea. Let’s imagine
this is happening in today’s world.
Tutor: We’ll say that the world’s most popular video game is PlayBox 4
(East India Company). It usually sells for $299. Now, in order for the people
of America to buy PlayBox 4, they have to pay a special tax. This is because
the ruling government of America is fighting over taxes and they want more
money. Have you ever heard of our government fighting over taxes?
Guest (Customer): Yes, it’s in the news at campaign time!
Tutor: Exactly! Well, the American people don’t want to pay the tax for
PlayBox 4, so they stop buying it. They boycott it and instead, start buying a
generic video game (from a different souce) instead. What will happen to the
company that makes PlayBox 4 if the American people won’t buy it?
Guest (Customer): It’ll go bankrupt.
Tutor: Right again! And, this doesn’t make the company (East India
Company) very happy. So, they talk the government into writing a special
law that still lets the government collect the tax, but lowers the cost of
shipment for the PlayBox. This lowers the cost of it for the buyers.
Tutor: So, if your government tried to do this to you, basically trick you into
thinking it was a good buy, but still collecting the tax you don’t agree with,
what would you do?
Guest (Customer): I would be pretty mad that they still get the tax. I
might still buy the other video game, just so I don’t pay the tax.
Tutor: That’s the answer I was hoping you’d give. That would make you
a “Son of Liberty” in revolutionary times. Have you heard of them?
Guest (Customer): Yes, they had some really famous people like Paul
Revere. And, they fought the Stamp Act.
Tutor: Right you are! And, the group that threw the Tea overboard in the
Harbor that night, were also considered “Sons of Liberty.”
Tutor: So, at this point, Can you tell me what we just discussed?
Guest (Customer): Well, I think the law you talked about that lowered the
price was actually the Tea Act. And, they wrote this law to help the East
India Company so it wouldn’t go broke. I think Great Britain did a lot of
business with them. So, I can talk about how the government in Britain
wanted to control the market to help East India Company.
Tutor: That sounds like a great start! The question did say that you’d need
to discuss three events or groups. So, we have the Tea Act as a solid
foundation.
Tutor: This is a good point to stop. I am going to send you a webpage that
provides the information we discussed and more. It will help you develop
some other ideas. After looking it over, you can log back in to discuss
another section of your answer.
Guest (Customer): Sure. It might give me more facts to put in there.
Tutor: OK. You might want to check out http://www.boston-tea-party.org/.
This is the web page for the Boston Tea Party Historical Society. You seem
pretty sharp on your history, so I think you might enjoy some of the little
facts they have on here.
Guest (Customer): Thanks!
Tutor: Is there anything else I can help you with tonight?
Guest (Customer): No, I think that is all for now.
Tutor: Ok, Great! Thanks for using Tutor.com. Please fill out the survey
when you leave. And, be sure to visit with us again!