1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,040 Speaker 1: Hey, history fans, if you want a double dose of history, 2 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:06,280 Speaker 1: here's a rerun for today, brought to you by Tracy V. Wilson. 3 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:10,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to This Day in History Class from how Stuff 4 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:12,520 Speaker 1: Works dot Com and from the desk of Stuff you 5 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:14,920 Speaker 1: missed in History Class. It's the show where we explore 6 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:17,160 Speaker 1: the past one day at a time with a quick 7 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:23,840 Speaker 1: look at what happened today in history. Hi there, and 8 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 1: welcome to the podcast. I'm your host, Christopher Hacovis. Today 9 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 1: it's December six, and the Boston Tea Party took place 10 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,839 Speaker 1: on this day in seventeen seventy three. Now we have 11 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:38,159 Speaker 1: to go back to Boston in the colony of Massachusetts 12 00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:40,199 Speaker 1: in the seventeen sixties, so a little bit before the 13 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 1: Tea Party. This is before the United States was a 14 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:45,479 Speaker 1: country or a political movement. Really everyone was still a 15 00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:48,560 Speaker 1: British subject. And to understand the context of what became 16 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:50,599 Speaker 1: the Tea Party, what led to the event, you need 17 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:54,160 Speaker 1: to know about the Stamp Act of seventeen sixty. Now, 18 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 1: many goods had to be stamped in order to prove 19 00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: taxes were being paid back to Britain. This isn't just 20 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:02,880 Speaker 1: about postage stamped. It's a, playing cards, all sorts of goods, 21 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:06,760 Speaker 1: and the colonists responded that these internal taxes were too 22 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:08,760 Speaker 1: owners it's too much of a pain. It was a 23 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:11,319 Speaker 1: contentious issue. The people who are actually in charge of 24 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:16,320 Speaker 1: overseeing the stamps resigned and left their posts. Britain responded that, okay, 25 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: we won't do that, but will instead tax imports to 26 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:21,840 Speaker 1: the colonies. And all this talk of tax may conjure 27 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 1: thoughts of the saying no taxation without representation. This is 28 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:26,920 Speaker 1: the sort of thing that is hammered into the heads 29 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:29,280 Speaker 1: of people in American history classes in middle school and 30 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 1: high school. And what it means is that no specific 31 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:35,280 Speaker 1: members of parliament back in Britain were elected by the 32 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:39,680 Speaker 1: colonists or represented their interests directly. Parliament, on their hand, 33 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:44,039 Speaker 1: responded that essentially the colonists did have representation because everybody 34 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: in Parliament represented them sort of. This was known as 35 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 1: virtual representation. The colonists didn't really see eye to eye 36 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: with the Parliament on this and u led to some 37 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:56,840 Speaker 1: more conflict, and that brings us to t now. Tea 38 00:01:56,840 --> 00:02:00,560 Speaker 1: was super popular in the colonies. Colonists consumed one point 39 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:03,240 Speaker 1: two million pounds of tea per year, which is more 40 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 1: than half a million kilos. The imports, however, were controlled 41 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:10,800 Speaker 1: exclusively by the British East India Company, and the import 42 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:13,560 Speaker 1: tax could be increased or decreased as necessary by Parliament. 43 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 1: One justification that Parliament gave for setting up this monopoly 44 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: and leaving these taxes was they had to spend money 45 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 1: and resources on the French and Indian War, which they 46 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:25,600 Speaker 1: claimed benefited the colonists, but it also benefited Parliament and 47 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,680 Speaker 1: the British Empire as well. Again, a series of events 48 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:30,400 Speaker 1: leads up to the Tea Party. It's it's not just 49 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: one isolated event. Laws and acts come into play. The 50 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: seventeen sixty nine Indemnity Act repealed the tea tax, but 51 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:40,959 Speaker 1: then the Townshend Acts restore that tax, and then those 52 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:43,920 Speaker 1: were repealed in seventeen seventy and then in seventeen seventy 53 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:46,960 Speaker 1: three we have the Tea Act that comes along. Now 54 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 1: at this point, the people of Boston felt unrepresented. There 55 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: was discontent. The whole population of the city was about 56 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:56,960 Speaker 1: fifteen thousand, but there had been meetings of up to 57 00:02:57,120 --> 00:02:59,639 Speaker 1: five thousand people to talk about the problems. That's a 58 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:02,400 Speaker 1: third of the population of the city. And on Novem 59 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:06,359 Speaker 1: seventy three, word got out among one of these meetings 60 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: that a shipment of tea was coming in. Now, the 61 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:11,679 Speaker 1: ships arrived in Boston Harbor and wanted to unload their tea, 62 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:14,519 Speaker 1: but the colonists particularly didn't want them to do that 63 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:16,799 Speaker 1: because then they'd have to pay the duty. And the 64 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: way it worked is once the tea hit the docks 65 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:21,960 Speaker 1: and left the boat, that's when the duties had to 66 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:25,720 Speaker 1: be paid. So folks whose names you may have heard 67 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:28,520 Speaker 1: if you're familiar with American history, Paul Revere, John Hancock, 68 00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:32,440 Speaker 1: Sam Adams, Folks like this and hundred and thirteen other 69 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 1: Boston townspeople were at the old South Meeting House in Boston. 70 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:38,520 Speaker 1: Now that's at the corner of Washington and Milk Streets today, 71 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:40,920 Speaker 1: and the building still stands. You can see it. It's 72 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:43,920 Speaker 1: directly across from the Irish Famine Memorial. A little bit 73 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:45,800 Speaker 1: of a hubbub grows up in the crowd, you know, 74 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 1: people get a little agitated, and everyone marches down to 75 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:51,680 Speaker 1: the docks and they dump what today would be nearly 76 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 1: one million dollars worth of tea into the harbor. This 77 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,400 Speaker 1: is generally a peaceful protest. There was destruction of property obviously, 78 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:02,000 Speaker 1: and probably some shouting, some kicking and shoving, but nobody 79 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 1: was killed. There were no serious attacks. In fact, of 80 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:07,440 Speaker 1: the one and sixteen people who participated in this act, 81 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 1: only one was arrested. Now, word of what became known 82 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 1: as the Boston Tea Party didn't reach England until January 83 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:17,520 Speaker 1: of seventeen seventy four. The British reacted angrily. They closed 84 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:20,559 Speaker 1: the port of Boston. They insisted the British East India 85 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:23,720 Speaker 1: Company be reimbursed for their lost goods. They reinstated the 86 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 1: Quartering Act, which meant that British soldiers could stay in 87 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: the houses of colonists for free. They restricted meetings, and 88 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 1: they also decreed that British officials who were accused of 89 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:35,960 Speaker 1: major crimes in the colonies couldn't be tried in the 90 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:39,200 Speaker 1: colonies that would have to come back to England. So 91 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 1: the Boston Tea Party didn't kick off the American Revolution 92 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:44,679 Speaker 1: per se. It's often shorthanded that way in history classes, 93 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 1: but the first draft of the Declaration of Independence didn't 94 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:50,720 Speaker 1: come into existence until about ten months later. But if 95 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 1: we can agree that a country is a set of 96 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:56,039 Speaker 1: ideals and goals that there are no real borders on 97 00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:59,159 Speaker 1: the ground. It's just a way that people think about 98 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:02,360 Speaker 1: themselves and the groups they belong to and what they value. 99 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:06,120 Speaker 1: The Boston Tea Party really did codify some of what 100 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 1: America today believes about itself. If you want to learn 101 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:12,880 Speaker 1: more about the Boston Tea Party, then search for the 102 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:16,599 Speaker 1: December eighth, two eight episode of our companion podcast, Stuff 103 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:19,760 Speaker 1: You Missed in History Class that's titled how the Boston 104 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:22,720 Speaker 1: Tea Party Worked. I'd like to thank Casey Pegram and 105 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,320 Speaker 1: Chandler Mays for their audio work on this show. You 106 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:27,719 Speaker 1: can subscribe to This Day in History Class or Stuff 107 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 1: you Missed in History Class on Apple Podcasts. You can 108 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:33,080 Speaker 1: find them on the I Heart Radio app, or pretty 109 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:35,680 Speaker 1: much anywhere else you find your podcasts. Now please make 110 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:38,480 Speaker 1: sure to listen to tomorrow's episode when host Tracy V. 111 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:41,640 Speaker 1: Wilson returns and she will regale you with a history 112 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:43,400 Speaker 1: behind a certain celebration.