Ham on Wry Award--The Boston Tea Party

A Depiction of the Boston Tea Party December 16,1773

The Boston Tea Party erupted as a result of furor over the shipment of tea from the East India Compnay and prompted the dumping of the entire cargo into the Boston Harbor.  The Boston Tea Party Historical Society cites the words from a handbill posted November 29, 1773 throughout Boston,  "Friends! Brethren! Countrymen!--That worst of plagues, the detested tea, shipped for this port by the East India Company, is now arrived in the harbor."  This was not, however, the beginning of the protest. Colonial merchants, some of them smugglers, played a significant role in the protests. Although the Tea Act  of 1773 made legally imported tea cheaper, it threatened to put smugglers of Dutch tea out of business.  It also affected legitimate tea importers that the East India company had not named as consignees by potentially causing their financial ruin.

Except for Massachusetts, all the other colonies had mounted a successful campaign to convince the East India Company consignees to either resign their posts of return the tea to England.  However, Massachusetts Governor Hutchinson stood firmly against such action and convinced the consignees there not to resign, leading to the eventual tea dumping in Boston Harbor.  So, what was the big deal?  Colonists believed that only their elected officials had authority to levy taxes, not the British.  Thus, "The Sons of Liberty" were fighting against taxation without representation when they marched down to Griffin’s Wharf, boarded the three tea ships sitting in Boston Harbor, and threw 342 crates of tea into the water.  The so-called Tea Party of today bears little resemblance to the people who ignited a fire in the bellies of colonists who chafed under Britain's rule and set the Revolutionary War in motion.

The Tea Party has lost some of its credibility with reasoned, informed Americans because it expresses anger with no viable plans to improve the lot of the middle and lower classes.  "The Sons of Liberty" would have scoffed at the causes that Tea Party members support.  In a world where children are dying of starvation, sold into slavery, beaten and killed by those who should keep them safe, and lost in a foster care system overwhelmed by mounting caseloads, Tea Party members focus on banning abortion.  Michelle Bachmann states she would eliminate the capital gains tax, and they cheer.  Most Americans don't pay taxes on capital gains because they haven't amassed enough money to hit the baseline.  It certainly doesn't fall under the concept of taxation without representation.

Ham on Wry.believes that the Tea Party should hold a convention in Boston and bump up against a culture that actually understands the true meaning of liberty.  Mitt Romney must have forgotten every lesson he learned there, because he now supports ideas that were never part of his previous platform.  A New York Times/CBS News pol released earlier this week shows that 40% of respondents have an unfavorable opinion of the Tea Party.  Well, it's about time!  "The Sons of Liberty" can rest in peace.