Boston Tea Party
In Boston, the arrival of three tea ships ignited a
furious reaction. The crisis escalated on December 16, 1773
when as many as 7,000 upset locals hung out by the ships at
the docks. A big meeting at the Old South Meeting House that
morning decided that the tea ships should leave the harbor
without payment of any tax. A committee was selected to take
this message to the British Customs House to force the release
of the ships out of the harbor. The Collector of Customs refused
to allow the ships to leave without payment of the tax.
The committee reported back to the meeting and a
anger erupted from the meeting hall. It was now early evening
and a group of about 200 men, some disguised as Indians,
assembled on a nearby hill. Yelling war chants, the crowd
marched two-by-two to the dock, got onto the three ships, and
dumped their crates of tea into the harbor waters.
Most colonists applauded the action while the
reaction in London was fast and angry. In March 1774
Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts which closed the Boston
Harbor to colonists’ boats. The fuse that led directly to the
explosion of American independence was lit.
Directions: You are a newspaper sketch artist (one of the 6 colonists we discussed
in class) for the Boston Globe and the year is 1773. Your work partner, who is a
journalist, has provided you with some notes from this event that just occurred.
Your job is to create a large drawing. Try to at least include some of the items
underlined on the other side of this page in your pictures.
The Boston Globe
Directions: You are a newspaper journalist (one of the 6 colonists we discussed in
class) for the Boston Globe and the year is 1773. Your source has provided you
with some notes from this event that just occurred. Your job is to create a
persuasive article for your side. Try to at least include some of the items
underlined on the other side of this page in your article.
The Boston Globe