History: About the Boston Tea Party

There have been several incidents throughout history that have altered the direction of a society’s life. The Boston Tea Party is one of these occurrences. There was a tremendous backlash in the aftermath of this incident. However, as time passed, it became clear that this incident would be permanently inscribed in the annals of history. The Boston Tea Party was called after an event in which scores of Americans dressed as Indians sneaked aboard English ships and poured tea into the water as a form of protest (Freedman & Malone, 2012).
As a direct result of this incident, many laws were enacted to punish both the perpetrators of the crime and those who sympathized with them. Moreover, an immediate reaction of England was to cease its exports to America and specifically to the Boston region. As a consequence, the Boston economy started to perform rather dismally. The accounts of the events of that fateful day have been written down in history. However, as might be assumed, history is susceptible to a high degree of bias. There is then need to undertake a process of ascertaining the validity of the historical sources that endeavor to inform on the events of the fateful day.

There is a high risk of distortion when it comes to detailing with the events of the day. Letters, poems, pictures and newspaper articles can all be used to provide an understanding of the events of the day. The intent herein is to investigate on the overall credibility of the chosen sources. Five sources have been selected herein. Therefore, the analysis process will feature these five sources.

Boston Tea Party

Courtesy of the Boston Museum

The picture that has been appended herein has been sourced from the Boston Museum. The picture details a group of people who have some strange Indian attire throwing boxes of what is presumed to be English originated tea. As a consequence, the sea is littered with said boxes. The ship has been taken over by the strangely dressed men. On the docks, a group of people is seeing cheering on the actions of the people taken over the ship.

The painting contains some general errors of misrepresentations. A research into this event has revealed that the people who took over the ship were dressed as Indians. However, the painter has been unable to adequately capture the Indian element of the attire worn by those on-board the ship. Such an error may be attributed to the inadequate clarity of the picture that has been chosen. However, some details have been represented quite well. Therefore, the attire worn by those on the ship ought to have been clearly Indian based.

The picture that has been chosen herein is rather inadequate at highlighting the precise details of that fateful day. Aside from the element of the attire worn by those who boarded the ship, there is need to offer a confirmation of the nationality of the ship. The painting does in no way endeavor to depict the name or nationality of the ship. The initial understanding is that such detail is pivotal in ascertaining the authenticity of the picture as it pertains to the message being put across (Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, 2013).

The Boston Tea Party by Meg10

The second historical source that has been featured herein is a poem so conveniently titled Boston Tea Party. The poet who has been acknowledged for this poem is Meg10. The poem gives an account of the happenings of the fateful day. In addition to this, it strives to provide an understanding of the rationales for the Boston Tea party. It points out that the people were dissatisfied with the interactions with the British. After their pleas for a change in the system fell on deaf ears, they embarked on a mission to bring the fight to the British.

The poet has strived to give too much information about the fateful day much to the detriment of the degree of detail that has been inculcated in the poem. As has been asserted herein, the poet has strived to inculcate a high degree of detail in the poem. The intent of a historical account is to give as much detail about the particular event. However, the poet has been unable to realize this quality. While it is recommendable that the poet included additional information about the core instigators of the Boston tea, it would have been more effective if the poet would have inculcated much more detail pertaining to the actual event that is under discussion (Meg10, n.d.,).

An account of George Hewes

By far, this is amongst the most accurate accounts of the fateful day. The author, George Hewes, was present during the actual occurrence of the event that has been labeled the Boston Tea Party. To some extent, George contributed to the course of events on that fateful day. The account of the day that has been provided by George Hewes is devoid of unnecessary deviations. The account of the day starts immediately by focusing on the fateful day.

Hewes strives to give all the facts about that day. He gives a detailed account of the events of that day. The detailed account has been given in a chronological manner, thus enabling easy comprehension of the events. The quality of this historical account affirms why it has been the basis of numerous secondary sources pertaining to the said event. The only bias that has been identified in this source is the lack of an historical account of the instigators of the Boston tea party. The author opts to only focus on the day events devoid of providing a rationale for the motivations of the perpetrators. With this being said, it is difficult to find a historical account of this event that is characterized by the same level of quality as the account provided by George Hewes (Hewes, n.d).

High Tea in Boston Harbor: Boston

The fourth historical source is a newspaper article attributed to the Boston paper. The paper reports on the events of the week. The newspaper article highlights the reactive actions that had been implemented by the government of the time. The articles start by first outlining the countermeasures that had been implemented by the British government. It then proceeds to highlight the countermeasures that were put in place by the American government.

The newspaper article essentially strives to fashion an awareness of the events that followed the occurrence of the Boston Tea Party. It is just an indispensable tool in the generation of awareness pertaining to the immediate impacts of the Boston tea party. The article ends by citing the observations of one patriot. It can then be postulated that the notions of the writers were inclined to those of the patriots. To some extent, the author is able to instill an element of emotional appeal. The article has adopted a unique approach to discuss the event.

It is quite difficult to offer a critique of the approach adopted. The author has seen it sufficient to simply focus on the countermeasures that were adopted by both governments. The focus has been on the act in abstract form. In this way, the article has been able to build on the awareness of the incident that has been created thus far (PBS, 2004).

Notice from the Chairman from the Tarring and Feathering Committee

The fifth historical source that has been featured herein is a notice attributed to the Chairman of the Committee for Tarring and Feathering. The notice came in the wake of the Boston tea party. Its mere existence seems to affirm the fact that the event did occur. The Chairman points out that the sympathizers of the perpetrators of the heinous acts that occurred in the Boston tea party are at the wrong and as much to blame as the actual perpetrators of the act.

The chairman gives a rather wholesome view of the issue. It is thus difficult to base the quality of recount of the event using only this piece of historical data. However, this source serves to confirm that the event did actually occur. In addition, it can be used to affirm the negative reaction that the incident elicited from the then government players (Jun, (n.d.).

Conclusion

Different historical sources focus on different aspects of the event. On the other hand, different sources pay varying levels of regard to the need to inculcate a high level of detail in their account. Given the high potential for disparity, it becomes crucial to appreciate and understand the need for use of different historical sources in developing a comprehension of a historical event.

DOCUMENT

AUTHOR

DATE

PURPOSE

BIAS

The Boston Tea Party

Freedman R

2012

Personal Narration

There is a risk for distortion when detailing the events of the day

Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum

Boston Museum

2013

painting

No clear depiction of attire

The Boston Tea Party

George Hewes

1773

Personal recount

No account for the instigators of the event

Notice from the Chairman of the Committee for Tarring and Feathering

Joyce Jun

1773

notice

Lack of a clear account of the event

The Boston Tea Party

Meg10.

Not dated

poems

Too much detail to the detriment of the precise account of the event

Boston Chronicles

Pbs

2004

Newspaper Article

Does not give an account of the day’s events. Simply embarks on an analysis of the countermeasures that have been implemented.

References

Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum (2013).“ Boston Museum. Historic Tours of America Inc., Web. http://www.bostonteapartyship.com/

Freedman, R., & Malone, P. (2012). The Boston Tea Party. New York: Holiday House.

http://cmc.opac.marmot.org/Record/.b35891336

Jun, J., (1773).Notice from the Chairman of the Committee for Tarring and Feathering

[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/BostonTeaPartyJoyceNotice.jpg

Hewes, G. (n.d.). Boston Tea Party. Retrieved from The History Place: http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/teaparty.htm

Meg10. (n.d.). The Boston Tea Party. Retrieved from Teen Ink: http://www.teenink.com/poetry/all/article/120956/The-Boston-Tea-Party/

PBS. (2004). Boston Chronicles. Retrieved from Pbs: http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/chronicle_boston1774.html