Document for December 16th:
"The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor. 1773."

Larger Version

"The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor. 1773." Copy of lithograph by Sarony & Major, 1846., 1931 - 1932 (ARC Identifier: 532892); The George Washington Bicentennial Commission, 1931 - 1932; Records of Commissions of the Legislative Branch, 1928 - 2006; Record Group 148; National Archives

In protest of new restrictions on the tea trade imposed by the British government, colonial revolutionaries known as the "Sons of Liberty" disguised themselves as Mohawks and boarded several cargo ships anchored in Boston harbor on the evening of December 16, 1773, emptying hundreds of chests of tea into the water. The British government would respond with the "Intolerable Acts" and by closing the Port of Boston, escalating the situation closer to war.

More Pictures of the Revolutionary War...
Share, comment and suggest new documents at the Today's Document Tumblr Blog