No Taxation Without Representation: The Boston Tea Party

Were you ever wondering where the phrase “no taxation without representation” came from? I know you were. Well, to shed some light on the subject, the well-known catch phrase came from the colonists when they “objected to the Tea Act because they believed that it violated their rights as Englishmen to ‘no taxation without representation’, that is, to be taxed only their own elected representatives and not by a British parliament in which they were not represented” (Wikipedia). These colonists were upset over British taxation and rule in the colonies, especially when Parliament would pass acts that unfairly benefitted the British and not the colonists. The Boston Tea Party was a political protest of resistance towards Great Britain’s taxes and

The Tea Act caused huge amount of resistance in the colonies that eventually led to what we now know as the Boston Tea Party. The East India Company was planning on distributing the tea to shopkeepers in the colonies, avoiding any direct trade with American merchants who wanted to sell to the shopkeepers. This was causing many problems for Radical Patriots and merchants who were losing out on profits by the British authority. The Tea Act could have been considered an early attempt on a British monopoly of tea as stated by British general Frederick Haldimand of New York. The Tea Act and its policies “has introduced the mercantile part of the Inhabitants to be very industrious in opposing this Step and added Strength to a Spirit of Independence already too prevalent” (Chapter 7, pp. 156). To sum up that statement, the British general was aware that the mercantilists of the colonies were growing impatient and angry with British rule, especially with the passing of previous acts such as the Townshend, Stamp, and now this Tea

All these social, political, and economical problems ended up being some of the key components that led to the American Revolution and America’s Declaration of Independence. Even after the Boston Tea Party, conflicts between Great Britain and the colonies continued to escalate in forms of naval blockades, economic warfare, political resistance, and even armed resistance and warfare. American liberty was being constantly attacked by Great Britain and they were getting tired of being pushed around. In 1775 for example, there were British attacks on colonists near Boston and in Lexington and Concord that led to armed resistance by the Patriots. They had to fight for what was right, and what was right was fighting for American freedom from an oppressive government. Eventually, the Patriot leaders wanted to meet to discuss going to war with Britain to gain independence. Further attacks in the South in Virginia and North Carolina led to armed forces within in the colonies to join to fight against the evil royal monarchy. A continental army was created and led by George Washington and to top it all off, Independence was declared by the Patriots in