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U.S. Census Bureau History: The 1773 Boston Tea Party
On December 17, 1773, American colonists outraged over a British tax on tea boarded
three merchant ships in Boston Harbor and threw 342 chests of tea overboard that
were valued at approximately $1.7 million today.
Photo courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Corcoran Collection (Gift of Lorillard Tobacco Company).
On December 16, 1773, colonists in Massachusetts boarded three merchant ships and dumped 342 chests of British tea into Boston Harbor. The "Boston Tea Party" was the culmination of simmering anger over revenue-generating taxes levied on the colonists without granting them representation in Parliament. King George retaliated with passage of the Coercive ("Intolerable") Acts—laws so burdensome that the colonists organized the First Continental Congress in September 1774, fired the first shots of the American Revolution in 1775, and declared their independence from the crown in 1776. Fifteen years after the Boston Tea Party, ratification of the U.S. Constitution established the United States of America.
Between June 1767 and March 1768, Great Britain's Parliament passed a series of laws—called the Townshend Acts—that increased taxes, pressured colonists to comply with earlier laws, favored the British East India Company over colonial merchants, and attempted to stop colonial smuggling. The laws angered colonists who had no voice in Parliament to protest the passage of any laws or the levying of taxes designed to raise money solely from the American colonies. Anger soon turned to revolt after Parliament passed the Tea Act in May 1773. The Tea Act permitted the East India Company to export untaxed tea from their overflowing warehouses to the colonies. Colonial merchants (and smugglers) would be at a competitive disadvantage as shiploads of cheap East India tea flooded American ports.
In September and October 1773, seven ships carry nearly 300 tons of East India Company tea set sail for wholesale consignees in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston. Protesters in the latter three cities forced the tea's consignees to refuse the shipments. Customs officials seized the unclaimed tea in Charleston, while the Philadelphia and New York tea ships returned to England with there cargo. The tea ship Dartmouth was first to arrive in Boston Harbor at the end of November 1773. Boston merchant John Hancock attempted to persuade the tea's consignees to surrender claims to the ship's cargo and argued that anyone who purchased tea was an "Enemy to America." All but two of the Boston-bound tea consignees resigned claims to the cargo. The two reluctant consignees were the sons of Massachusetts governor and loyal monarchist Thomas Hutchinson. He demanded that the tax be paid and tea unloaded. On November 29, hundreds of colonists attended a meeting at Boston's Faneuil Hall led by Sons of Liberty leader Samuel Adams. When the boisterous meeting concluded, colonists drafted a resolution imploring Dartmouth's captain to refuse paying the tea tax and return to England with the East India Company's tea. Learning of the request, Governor Hutchinson prohibited Dartmouth from leaving Boston and demanded the tax be paid within 20 days of the ship's arrival in Boston Harbor. As the days passed, colonists guarded the docks to make sure no one unloaded Dartmouth's cargo.
As Dartmouth's 20-day deadline approached, the Eleanor and Beaver arrived in Boston Harbor laden with even more East India Company tea. On December 16, thousands packed into Boston's Old South Meeting House. Learning that Governor Hutchinson had again refused to allow the ships to leave, the Sons of Liberty in attendance left the meeting determined to settle the tea's fate once and for all. Disguising themselves as American Indians, the colonists boarded the three tea ships that evening. Over the next 3 hours, they broke open 342 crates of tea—approximately 92,000 pounds and valued $1.7 million today—into Boston Harbor. The fourth tea ship bound for Boston, the William had run aground near Cape Cod, MA, earlier in December. Samuel Adams urged nearby colonists to destroy that ship's cargo, but Governor Hutchinson succeeded in unloading the tea and had it stored inside Boston's fortified Castle Island. When colonists later learned that merchants had paid tax on William's tea and transferred it to Boston in March 1774, the Sons of Liberty broke into their warehouses and shops and destroyed all they could find.
Opinions were sharply divided over the Sons of Liberty's actions following the Boston Tea Party. Many colonists—including founding fathers John Adams, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson—were inspired by the courage displayed by the New England colonists. Colonists loyal to the British monarchy and British government officials were shocked by the rebellious and destructive behavior. In response, the British Parliament passed the Coercive Acts of 1774 ("Intolerable Acts") to punish colonists, especially those in Massachusetts. These four laws included the Boston Port Act, which resulted in a Royal Navy blockade of Boston Harbor that closed the port to trade beginning in June 1774; the Massachusetts Government Act which granted the royally-appointed governor of Massachusetts more power over the colony; the Act of the Impartial Administration of Justice which favored British officials charged with crimes committed while enforcing law or suppressing riots; and the Quartering Act, which required local governments to house and feed British troops stationed in the colonies.
Intended to break the will of the rebellious Massachusetts colonists and teach a lesson to others who might consider rebelling against King George III, the Intolerable Acts instead united the colonies against Great Britain. Within months of the implementation of the acts, delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies began meeting in Philadelphia, PA. Between September 5 and October 26, 1774, this First Continental Congress drafted a list of grievances, organized a boycott of British goods, asked King George III to address their concerns, and requested that the Intolerable Acts be repealed. The delegates agreed to meet again in 1775 if their grievances were not satisfactorily addressed. Weeks after the April 19, 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord 
, delegates gathered for the Second Continental Congress (1775—1781). This second meeting of colonial delegates declared independence from Great Britain in 1776, drafted the 1777 Articles of Confederation, managed the American Revolution, and functioned as the provisional government of the United States until March 1, 1781 .
The American Revolution ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783. In May 1787, all 13 colonies sent delegates to Philadelphia, PA. Four months later, they sent the U.S. Constitution to the states for ratification. It became the official framework of our nation's government on June 21, 1788.
in Boston, MA, estimates that hundreds of colonists participated in the December 16, 1773, destruction of tea in Boston Harbor. Some of these participants included: Boston silversmith Paul Revere; wheelwright Francis Akeley, who was the only person jailed for participating in the tea party and died during the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill; 16-year-old Samuel Cooper who later fought in the Battles of Bunker Hill, Germantown, Monmouth, Trenton, and Brandywine; newspaper publisher Benjamin Edes; American Revolution and Shay's Rebellion veteran Amos Lincoln; French and Indian War, American Revolution, and War of 1812 veteran and Massachusetts convention delegate Thompson Maxwell; Thomas Melville, grandfather of Moby Dick author Herman Melville; cobbler and founder of Gardner, MA, Joseph Payson; and "Daughters of Liberty" member Sarah Bradlee Fulton who suggested the colonists disguise themselves as Mohawk Indians and helped paint their faces and prepare costumes.; then see the city's historic 200-gallon tea kettle which began steaming in the 1870s as an advertisement for the Oriental Tea Company. Next, enjoy a "hot cuppa" during "Teapot Day" in Tea, SD. Visit the historic tea plantations and a world-famous tea garden on Wadmalaw Island in Charleston County, SC. Visit the shops and restaurants in Teaneck, NJ. Marvel at the view of Boulder Mountain from Teasdale, UT. Travel down Tea Road to the census designated place of Tea, in Brush Creek, MO. Drink traditional oolong or green tea at the historic tea houses in the Chinatown neighborhood of San Francisco, CA. Savor "hand-picked" tea in Mars Hill, NC. Visit the historic Japanese Tea House and monitor the tea growing experiments at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu County, HI. Stop by "The World's Largest Teapot" in Chester, WV. Then take selfies at Teapot Rock in Natrona County, WY, which lent its name to the nearby Teapot Dome oil field and the Teapot Dome Scandal that rocked President Warren G. Harding's administration and sent Secretary of the Interior Albert Bacon Fall to prison. reported more Americans drank coffee every day than any other beverage including bottled and tap water. In August 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis report U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services showed that nearly the United States imported $4.1 billion of green coffee from January to August 2023, compared to approximately 1.8 billion of "tea, spices, etc." during the same period. During that same time, coffee imports also exceeded imports of nuts ($1.8 billion), cocoa beans ($622 million), cane and beat sugar ($1.6 billion), and dairy products and eggs ($2.3 billion).
Colonists known as the "Sons of Liberty" dressed as Mohawk American Indians participated in the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773. Despite the large number of
participants and witnesses, Francis Akeley was the only colonist arrested and imprisoned for taking part in the protest against British taxation. Akeley died 18
months later during the June 17, 1775, Battle of Bunker Hill.
Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution.
This Month in Census History
On December 8, 1953, the Census Bureau announced that a special census it conducted confirmed that a special census conducted after the 1950 Census confirmed that Los Angeles, CA, was the nation's third most populous city.
Los Angeles became the nation's second most populous city by 1990.
Today, Los Angeles remains the second most populous city in the United States. Its population of 3,822,224 in 2022, was second only to New York City, NY, which numbered 8,335,897.
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Colonial Americans
Between 1610 and 1789, there were 38 censuses of the American colonies. Between 1610 and 1710, the colonial population grew from 350 to 331,711 people. The population reached nearly 1.2 million by 1750 and more than 2.1 million in 1770.
In 1770, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania had the largest colonial populations. That year, 447,016 people lived in Virginia; 240,057 people lived in Pennsylvania; and Massachusetts had 235,308 inhabitants.
The populations of the remaining "13 Original Colonies" were Maryland, 202,599; North Carolina, 197,200; Connecticut, 183,881; New York, 162,920; South Carolina, 124,244; New Jersey, 117,431; New Hampshire, 62,395; Rhode Island, 58,196; Delaware, 35,496; and Georgia, 23,375.
The largest cities in colonial America were the bustling ports of Boston, MA; New York, NY; and Philadelphia, PA. In 1769, Philadelphia, PA, had 28,042 inhabitants; Boston, MA, had 15,520 in 1770; and New York, NY, had 21,863 in 1771.
When the United States conducted its first census in 1790, the nation had a population of 3,929,214.
Virginia (747,610), Pennsylvania (434,373), North Carolina (393,751), and Massachusetts (378,787) were the most populous states in 1790.
The largest colonial port cities remained the new nation's largest at the time of the 1790 Census and included: New York City, NY (33,131); Philadelphia, PA (28,522); Boston, MA (18,320); Charleston, SC (16,359); and Baltimore, MD (13,503).
After more than 230 years, the population of New York City, NY, has been ranked as the largest in the United States. The city had 515,547 people in 1850; 5,620,048 in 1920; and 8,008,278 in 2000.
Today, the population of New York City, NY, is estimated to be 8,335,897.
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For the Record
When Lemuel Cook died in 1866 at the age of 106, he was the longest-living military veteran of the American Revolution.
Cook was born in September 1759 in Litchfield County, CT. At age 16, he enlisted in the Continental Army and was assigned to the 2nd Continental Light Dragoons. He was wounded during the 1777 Battle of Brandywine and 1781 Virginia Campaign.
After the war, Cook farmed in Plymouth, CT, Clinton, NY, Pompey, NY, North Bergen, NY, and finally settled in Clarendon, NY, with his wife and 10 children. He not only witnessed the 1781 surrender of British General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, VA, but also lived to see the United States defeat Great Britain a second time during the War of 1812, and the beginning and end of the American Civil War.
Cook participated in the nation's first census in 1790 while he was living in Montgomery County, NY. Fifty years later, he identified himself as a veteran when the census first collected veterans data in 1840.
Cook died at his Clarendon, NY, home on May 20, 1866.
Other long-lived veterans of the American Revolution included Samuel Downing (1764–1867); William Hutchings (1764–1866); Daniel Waldo (1762–1864); and the war's last surviving confirmed veteran, John Gray (1764–1868).
Four years after his father died in the 1776 Battle of White Plains, 16 year-old John Gray enlisted at Fairfax County, VA. Like Cook, Gray was also in Yorktown, VA, when General Cornwallis surrendered. Gray's active service was just 6 months, so he did not receive a veterans pension. A special act of Congress provided Gray a $500 annual pension in 1867. He died 1 year later in Noble County, OH.
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