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Learning from Our Own History
What started as a vacation ended with a lesson in current events
For Spring Break 2025, we took our granddaughter to the Boston area, which was her first trip to New England. Included was a stop at the Boston Tea Party Museum and Tour, which coincidentally happened at the same time as the 250th anniversary of Paul Revere’s revolutionary ride. Revere — along with about 60 of his fellow ‘Sons of Liberty’ and maybe 40 others — was at the famous dumping of British East India Company tea into the Boston harbor less than two years prior, on December 16, 1773. The actual number of participants is sketchy, since coming forward to claim a part in this rebellious act would be considered treason against the Crown.
It was not taxes that the Colonists were protesting, but the unfair application of tariffs — especially one remaining tariff involving tea, where a monopoly was effectively created by government favoring a single corporation:
The tax on tea had existed since the passing of the 1767 Townshend Revenue Act.
Along with tea, the Townshend Revenue Act also taxed glass, lead, oil, paint, and paper. Due to boycotts and protests, the Townshend Revenue Act’s taxes were repealed on all commodities except tea in 1770. The tea tax was kept in order to maintain Parliament’s right to tax…
