Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party took place in 1773 when colonists boarded British ships loaded with taxed tea. Colonists disguised as Native Americans dumped the tea into the Boston Harbor. The colonists have the right to protest ,and the colonists have several reasons why to protest against unruly British laws. Colonists have the freedom of speech, so therefore they have the right to protest the Tea Act. Because they have the right to disagree with British actions, they should be able to speak up and show their opinions without being penalized by the British. The main reasons colonists protested were because they were angry after being taxed on British goods in the colonies. Before all of the Acts and taxes, the British claimed Salutary Neglect over the colonies. This meant that the British would let the colonists be freer, and let them go. When this period of freedom ended after the French and Indian War, the colonists grew angry. Taxes such as the Stamp Act and Sugar Act made the colonists’ anger to grow even more. If these Acts hadn’t been issued, then the colonists most likely wouldn’t have dumped the tea into the Boston Harbor. The colonists strongly opposed taxation without representation. The colonists believed that the Boston Tea Party would allow the British to see how much they disliked the Acts, but it only made their difficulties worse. Because taxation affected all colonists, taxation was a huge issue in the colonies. Tea was very popular, so the colonists had a reason to be agitated when it became taxed. “In about three hours from the time we went on board, we had thus broken and thrown overboard every tea chest to be found on the ship, while those in the other ships were disposing of the tea, in the same way at the same time.” –George Hewes. The colonists boycotted and protested for their rights because they felt controlled by the British. Like today in the OWS movement, citizens have the right to protest against the government.