Boston Tea Party

(noun)

The Boston Tea Party (referred to in its time simply as "the destruction of the tea" or other informal names) was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, a city in the British colony of Massachusetts. The Tea Party was held to protest the tax policy of the British government and the East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies.

Examples of Boston Tea Party in the following topics:

  • British Taxes and Colonial Grievances

    • In Boston, the Sons of Liberty, a group led by radical statesman Samuel Adams, destroyed the home of Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson.
    • The Townshend Acts, passed in 1767, taxed imports of tea, glass, paint, lead, and even paper.
    • Thus, the East India Company gained a great advantage over other companies when selling tea in the colonies.
    • The colonists who resented the advantages given to British companies dumped British tea overboard in the Boston Tea Party in December of 1773 .
    • The Boston Tea Party was orchestrated by the Sons and Daughters of Liberty, who fiercely protested the British-imposed taxes.

  • Government in the English Colonies

    • For example, taxes on the importation of products including lead, paint, tea and spirits were imposed.
    • After the Boston Tea Party, Great Britain's leadership passed acts that outlawed the Massachusetts legislature.

  • Party Identification

    • People who identify with a political party either declare their allegiance by joining the party or show their support through regular party-line voting at the polls.
    • The longer an individual holds a party identification, the stronger that attachment to the party becomes.
    • People can easily switch their party affiliation or distance themselves from parties entirely.
    • A social movement grouped under the umbrella of the "Tea Party" emerged in 2010 but its adherents never created an officially recognized political party.
    • Party coalitions consist of groups that have long-term allegiances to a particular political party.

  • The 2010 Elections

    • The 2010 midterm elections, for national, state, and local governments, resulted in an overwhelming victory for the Republican Party.
    • The Democratic Party suffered massive defeats in most national and state elections, with many seats switching over to Republican Party control.
    • A fourth factor that contributed to the Republican victories was the mobilizing ability of the Tea Party movement in favor of Republican candidates .
    • Meanwhile, the controversial Arizona Senate Bill 1070 ignited a national debate over immigration that led many in support of stronger immigration regulations to vote for the Republican Party.
    • The Tea Party movement's ability to mobilize voters in favor of the Republican Party was one of the factors that contributed to many Republican victories during the 2010 elections.

  • State and Local Party Organization

    • Chairpersons are usually selected by the president of the party in power and the party national committee chooses the chairperson for the other party.
    • Parties are structured at State and Local levels.
    • Usually the majority party (i.e.
    • Democrat or Republican) has the president in their party.
    • Tea Party protesters walk towards the United States Capitol during the Taxpayer March on Washington, September 12, 2009.

  • Political Parties

    • Political parties are one of the main coordinating bodies in Congress.
    • Today we are seeing another shift in the Republican Party with the increased influence of the Tea Party social movement within the leadership of the party.
    • This rise in party power also means that the experiences of members of the majority versus minority party will be quite different.
    • In the United States, political parties are best described as coalitions.
    • Describe the history of political parties and their role in Congress

  • The Fifth Amendment

    • The right was asserted at grand jury or congressional hearings in the 1950s, when witnesses testifying before the House Committee on Un-American Activities or the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee claimed the right in response to questions concerning their alleged membership in the Communist Party.
    • A grand jury investigating the fire that destroyed the Arcadia Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts in 1913.

  • From Political Values to Ideology

    • The emergence of the Tea Party, a visible grassroots conservative movement that gained momentum during the 2010 midterm elections, illustrates how some Americans become mobilized in opposition to the "tax and spend" policies of big government.
    • Conservatives favor less government intervention (like the Tea Party), and more individual freedom in economic activities (which can subsequently mean a belief in less collective equality).

  • Executive Privilege

    • Bulger and Stephen Flemmi in Boston, and Justice Department deliberations about President Bill Clinton's fundraising tactics, in December 2001.
    • Later the same day, the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform voted 23-17 along party lines to hold Attorney General Holder in contempt of Congress over not releasing documents regarding Fast and Furious.