Why has the Boston Tea Party had such mixed meanings, both in the past and today? Why is it an important historical event?
What did a famine in Bengal have to do with events in colonial Massachusetts? How was the East India Company a factor in the magnitude of the disaster? Why were the British alarmed about the company's problems? How were Parliament's efforts to help the company seen in the American colonies?
What were conditions like in Boston in the 1760s and 1770s? Why was the town so on edge? What violence did the Stamp Act, the Townsend duties, and the quartering of troops in Boston provoke? Who were the opposing leaders of the increasingly divided town? During the "Pause in Politics," describe how tensions remained high.
Where did tea come from? How did the English and Americans acquire a taste for it? How did tea get to Massachusetts? Describe its cultural importance. What did people find objectionable about tea? How did the movement to boycott tea arise and how successful was it?
Describe the nonimportation movement. How was Boston's participation an embarrassment to the Patriots? How did the Tea Act incite tensions, anger, and even violence -- and against whom?
How did a gathering of the "body of the people" differ from a town meeting and why was it significant in the coming events? What happened to the tea after it entered Boston Harbor and how did it pose problems for ship owners and townspeople alike? How did the governor and the consignees respond? Why was there a twenty-day deadline for any action (until December 17)? How were events in New York and Philadelphia a factor in Boston? On December 16, what options did Bostonians have regarding the tea?
How was the decision to destroy the tea arrived at? Who were the "Mohawks" and how did their existence give a cover to leaders of the resistance? Why was there no military intervention? How was the destruction of the tea done? What do we know about the people who destroyed the tea and their motives?
Why did men dress as Indians for the Tea Party, and Mohawks in particular? How were they disguised and how did the "Mohawks" act? What stereotypes of Indians did colonists have? What did it mean to colonists to dress as an Indian?
How did Bostonians react to the Tea Party? How did other colonies respond? Rural Massachusetts? What was the effect on the tea boycott? How was it enforced? Describe the participation of women.
How did Governor Hutchinson and the consignees react to the Tea Party? What was Benjamin Franklin's role in Britain and what situation was he in? How did Britain respond to the Tea Party? How were Boston and Massachusetts punished? What were the responses to the Coercive Acts in the colonies? How did events lead toward the Revolution?
What was the global connection between tea-drinking and slavery? How was the Tea Party and talk of "liberty" related to the issue of slavery? How did slavery in Massachusetts end?
Why were people ashamed at first to admit their participation in the Tea Party? How did Americans come to discuss the Tea Party and even celebrate it? Who were the first to tell stories about the event?
How has the Tea Party been put to political uses in American (and world) history, and for what causes? Why is the symbolism of the event unclear and easily contested?