How did Adams help the Tea Party?  First he used the committees of correspondence to make sure the colonies stood united.  After the Dartmouth landed, Adams introduced a measure at the town meeting that the tea needed to be sent back to England with no duty paid.  This passed overwhelmingly and the next day the Dartmouth sat guarded.  Adams’ voice continued to stand out, helping the colonists to refuse storing the tea.  Governor Hutchinson declined to send the tea back to England.  The colonists had two choices: destroy the tea or have it landed.  Adams did not want to give in.  The Boston Tea Party was set into motion. 

Adams stood as a major person in Bostons’ Sons of Liberty.  The Sons of Liberty played a major role in the Tea Party.  Put two and two together and you get Samuel Adams helping to plan the Boston Tea Party.

*POTUS stands for President Of The United States.

When the Beaver, Eleanor, and Dartmouth all docked in Boston Harbor the colonists would not let them unload the tea.  Thomas Hutchinson, wanting the tea landed, would not let the ships depart without leaving the cargo.  He blocked the way out of the harbor.  The Tea Act required that tax be collected within 20 days of a ship’s arrival.  Hutchinson figured the tea would either be unloaded freely or by the law.  Either way the colonists would pay tax on the tea.  The Boston Tea Party stopped the ordered unloading of the tea. 

Did Thomas Hutchinson have any other reason, other than the law, to want the tea landed?  A major part of the Tea Act said that only certain merchants could sell the British East India Company tea.  These merchants were called tea consignees.  Two of Boston’s tea consignees were brothers Thomas Hutchinson Jr. and Elisha Hutchinson.  Does the name ring a bell again?  Yes.  Okay, two “Deano Points” this time.

Thomas Hutchinson

That’s right, Hancock was a major money force behind revolutionary activities in Boston.  His paternal uncle, a very wealthy merchant in New England, adopted Hancock.  John Hancock graduated from Harvard at the age of 17 and went to work for his uncle.  He spent considerable time in England for the business.  After his uncle died he inherited the business and fortune, making him the richest man in New England.  Most men with that wealth were Loyalists, but Hancock was not.  Good friends with Samuel Adams he helped with revolutionary activities.  He also smuggled glass, lead, and tea on his ships.  At one point in 1768 British troops impounded his ship, Liberty, for smuggling goods.  This caused an upheaval among citizens of Boston who expected the supplies.  Not one of the men on the Tea Party ships, Hancock worked behind the scenes.  One only has to realize his relationship with Samuel Adams and smuggling tea, to realize his role in the Boston Tea Party.

Paul Revere lived primarily as a silversmith, but also did many political engravings, and even tried his hand at dentistry.  He will be forever known for his fervor while backing the cause for American freedom from Great Britain.  Paul Revere belonged to many political groups in Boston, and as David Hackett Fischer points out in Paul Revere’s Ride, he was one of the only people to be comfortable with both working class and intellectuals.  As a silversmith, Revere was considered working class, but he was highly respected by the intellectuals like James Otis and Samuel Adams.  Even though he is more known for his midnight ride, his work behind the scenes for the Patriot cause may be more important than anyone realizes, including his ability to be comfortable in any group.  The midnight ride was not his only ride, as he rode almost tirelessly for Boston’s Committee on Safety.  Saddle up!  Paul Revere is also listed as a participant at the Boston Tea Party.

The poem at the top is Longfellow.  The picture below is Revere.