Boston Tea Party

<p>American resistance to British authority developed with stunning speed 250 years ago in response to George III’s inflexibility. </p>

This 1774 British print depicted Bostonians tarring and feathering Boston Commissioner of Customs John Malcolm. This public warning was a ritual of humiliation that usually stopped just short of serious injury.

<p><span class="deck"> For ten tumultuous years Sam Adams burned with a single desire: American independence from Great Britain.</span> </p>

<p><span class="deck">Badly disguised as Indians, a rowdy group of patriotic vandals kicked a revolution into motion.</span></p>

<p>Enlisting an army of alter egos, Adams used the Boston press to make the case for American independence and to orchestrate a burgeoning rebellion.</p>

<p>The dumping of tons of tea in protest set the stage for the American Revolution and was a window on the culture and attitudes of the time.</p>