American History Hit: The Boston Tea Party

Host: Don Wildman
Guest: Professor Benjamin Karp, Brooklyn College
Date: December 18, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the rich and tumultuous history of the Boston Tea Party, exploring what really happened on the night of December 16, 1773—one of the most iconic acts of defiance in early American history. Host Don Wildman is joined by Professor Benjamin Karp, author of Defiance of the Patriots, to separate the facts from the myths. The discussion uncovers the planning, the people, and the political context behind this turning point in the American Revolution, with a particular focus on why the event unfolded as it did and how it resonated through history.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Setting the Scene: Boston in Crisis

• Backdrop: Boston is tense, with thousands gathering at the Old South Meeting House on December 16, 1773, to decide what to do about three shiploads of British tea anchored in the harbor, under strict British customs law (01:32).
• Context: The meeting is packed, tempers flaring over "taxation without representation," and the Royal Navy looms nearby, enforcing the Crown’s authority (03:00-04:00).
• Ships Involved:
  • The Dartmouth (arrived Nov 28)
  • The Eleanor (Dec 2)
  • The Beaver (Dec 15, just out of smallpox quarantine) (05:00)
• Quote:

  "Tensions are high on the issue of how to effectively defy the British tax still being levied on American tea imports in the wake of tax breaks to the British tea traders, the East India Company...another example of the Crown's unfair impositions on the Americans." — Don Wildman (03:40)

The Meeting House Debate & The Catalysts

• Key Figures: John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Dr. Joseph Warren, Dr. Thomas Young (07:16).
• Meeting Dynamics: The gathering was not an official Boston town meeting but an assembly "of the body of the people"—including people from surrounding towns (07:16).
• Samuel Adams' Role:
  • He famously declares, "This meeting can do nothing more to save the country," possibly acting as a pre-arranged signal (07:40).
  • Debate: Was this a secret signal to initiate the Tea Party?
    "We don't know, because people who participated...kept it secret for another 50 years…if the notes aren't there, there's nothing for historians to read." — Prof. Benjamin Karp (09:47)

The Action: The Night of the Tea Party

• Preparation & Secrecy:
  • Evidence of prior coordination; about 100 men don disguises as Native Americans (09:47).
  • "They were prepared for this eventuality...if we can’t send [the tea] back and we can’t land it, the only choice is to destroy it." — Prof. Benjamin Karp (09:47)
• The Crew:
  • Mostly young men and teens, mixed occupations—some merchants, many craftsmen and laborers, all men as far as records show (11:13).
  • No high-profile figures like Samuel Adams participated directly in the destruction; they ostentatiously remained at the meeting for plausible deniability (12:20).
  • "Principal leaders basically stayed behind at the front of the meeting...very ostentatiously staying behind so that the most recognizable figures ... had plausible deniability." — Prof. Benjamin Karp (12:20)

The Act of Destruction

• Boarding the Ships:
  • Divided into three groups, they move with discipline and order (15:14).
  • Ship’s captain provides keys and candles; no harm to the ship or crew—only the tea is targeted (16:55).
  • They hoist and smash open 342 chests—46 tons of tea—dumping it into the harbor; some joke that they're brewing “one large cup of tea for the fish” (16:55).
• Violence?
  • The event is mostly nonviolent, though one man, Charles Connors, is beaten for attempting to steal tea, and later shamed publicly (19:38).
  • "They were destructive of property, but mostly not destructive of persons." — Prof. Benjamin Karp (19:38)
  • Supports theory of discipline: "We are only destroying this one commodity that we find constitutionally offensive." (18:10)

The Political and Social Aftermath

• Why Dress as Native Americans?
  • Disguise was not for anonymity ("everyone knew who these guys were"), but to send the message: do not identify us, and to shield the town itself from blame. It also had symbolic meaning, representing a break from both British and Indigenous identities (21:19).
  • "It's a way of saying we are not European, but we are also not Native. We are something in between." — Prof. Benjamin Karp (21:19)
• Public Perception:
  • The community primarily looked on—the Tea Party involved hundreds or thousands as onlookers; the night's events were an open secret (12:20).
• Aftermath Logistics:
  • Some tea washed ashore or bobbed up with the tide—apprentice boys were sent to disperse the remaining tea (22:38).
• Value:
  • 46 tons (92,000 pounds, ~18.5 million cups), worth £10,000 then (~$1 million in 2023 dollars)—a huge economic blow to the East India Company (20:35).
• Duration:
  • Preparations and tension lasted from early November to December 16, 1773 (20:22).

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Setting the Stage:

  "This meeting can do nothing more to save the country."
  — Samuel Adams, as quoted by Don Wildman and discussed for its possible secret meaning (07:40)

• On Oral History and Secrecy:

  "People who participated in the Boston Tea Party basically kept it secret for another 50 years."
  — Prof. Benjamin Karp (09:47)

• On the Disguises:

  "The disguises weren’t actually meant to conceal anybody’s identities...it's meant to send the message: don’t tell anyone who we are."
  — Prof. Benjamin Karp (21:19)

• On Discipline and Purpose:

  "We are not just wantonly destroying things and we are not thieves. We are only destroying this one commodity that we find constitutionally offensive."
  — Prof. Benjamin Karp (18:10)

• On George Hughes, a Participant:

  "He was at the Boston Massacre. He participated in the Boston Tea Party, he helped to precipitate the tarring and feathering of John Malcolm...the Forrest Gump of revolutionary Boston."
  — Prof. Benjamin Karp (15:45)

• On the Community Aspect:

  "Hundreds, thousands, maybe even thousands of people still went down to the wharves to watch this happen. So there is broader community involvement."
  — Prof. Benjamin Karp (12:20)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Boston’s Climate and Prelude: 01:32–07:16
• Insiders at the Meeting, Secret Signals: 07:16–09:47
• Who Were the Tea Partiers? 11:10–12:04
• Who Stayed Behind? Deniability: 12:20
• Boarding and Dumping the Tea: 15:14–16:55
• Was it Nonviolent? 19:38
• Dress and Symbolism: 21:19
• Aftermath and Fallout: 22:38

Conclusion & Teaser for Next Episode

The episode concludes with a reflection on how the Boston Tea Party transformed from an act the British called treason into a foundational story of American patriotism, and hints at the next episode's deeper discussion: why tea was such a contentious topic, broader colonial reactions, and the British reaction—the so-called "Coercive Acts" or "Intolerable Acts."

This summary captures the insight, energy, and vivid storytelling of Don Wildman and Benjamin Karp as they re-examine the Boston Tea Party with nuance and scholarly clarity—making a pivotal night in American history feel immediate and deeply human.