The year was 1773, and the American colonies had been subjected to an increasing number of punitive taxes by the British Crown. The final straw was a special tariff concession to the British East India Company to sell tea in America. The American colonies launched a popular boycott against the company and turned away its ships. In Boston, however, local agents of the company permitted three cargo ships to land filled with tea. On the evening of December 16, 1773, with crowds of people looking on, 150 Sons of Liberty led by Sam Adams dramatically boarded the ships, broke open the tea chests, and heaved them into the harbor. As the electrifying news of the Boston "tea party" spread, other seaports followed the example and staged similar acts of resistance of their own-paving the way for the Declaration of Independence to follow less than three years later W.D. Cooper. "Boston Tea Party." The History of North America. London: E. Newberry, 1789. Engraving. Plate opposite p. 58. Courtesy Library of Congress.

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