A Group of Kids and the Boston Tea Party

The third graders sat at the long, pale green lunch table on the far side of the cafeteria. In general, the kids were rowdy, excited to be at lunch. They turned back and forth on the built-in stools, talking rapidly to each other. Conversations ranged from the upcoming soccer game at recess to who had the most Pokemon cards.

On the right end of the table, however, a group of three third-graders was more subdued, thoughtful. Derek had brought his own lunch and had saved his least favorite part of the meal--the carrots--for last. He put a finger to his chin as he munched. “You know, I just don’t get it.”

Charlotte sat directly across from Derek, trying to squeeze the dregs of her juice box from the cardboard. “What don’t you get?”

“Well, we talked about the Boston Tea Party today, remember?”

Matt and Charlotte nodded. They were all in Mrs. Hampton’s class and all sat at the same desk clump. They were the sole members of the “green” group which they had deduced was the advanced group (they had kept this tidbit to themselves to spare their classmates’ feelings). The history lesson this morning had been about the Boston Tea Party, during their segment on the American Revolution.

Derek continued, dipping his carrots in a cup of ranch dressing. “The colonists were upset about how they were being treated by the English monarchy.”

“Yes, that’s my understanding.” Satisfied that the juice box was empty, Charlotte took apart an Oreo and began absentmindedly licking the cream. “In many ways, it’s the event that launched the Revolution.”

“They thought they should have representation in the British Parliament and were upset at the lack thereof.” Matt pursed his lips at a particularly sour gummy worm. “But the whole thing is so sad.”

“That’s what I’m thinking,” Derek said, shaking his head somberly.

“Sad? Why’s that?” Charlotte asked.

“It’s just terrible that all that property got destroyed,” Derek scoffed, licking the ranch off one of his carrots.

“Exactly,” Matt jumped in. “It’s too bad that the colonists felt like they were treated unfairly, but why did they have to destroy that tea? They were a bunch of criminals!”

“They could have written letters to Parliament, or done something peaceful. There was no reason to destroy someone’s livelihood.” Derek’s somber look had turned into a determined grimace.

Charlotte was confused. “They did write letters. They wrote a lot of letters. They sent diplomats to Parliament and spoke in front of the King. But--”

“I don’t even understand why they were upset!” Derek interrupted. “They had just as many rights as other British citizens. In fact, they had more religious freedom! What more did they want?”

Matt jumped in. “Statistically, colonists were more likely to be over-charged by other colonists who were selling smuggled tea than they were by British taxation. So if they wanted to protest anything, it should have been that.” The class had learned that some colonists were smuggling in tea, but were charging exorbitant rates for the stolen merchandise. It was almost as expensive to buy the smuggled tea as it was to buy the highly taxed tea.

“Exactly!” Derek was just getting warmed up. He had completely forgotten the carrots and was now using his fist to squash his empty Capri Sun pouch against the table for emphasis. “What a lot of people don’t understand is that the additional taxes collected by Parliament were to cover the expenses the British government had spent in wars to protect the colonies. They had spent lots of money and gone into debt so that the colonies could survive. In a lot of ways, the colonists should be grateful that Parliament rescued them.”

“I heard some of them weren’t even Sons of Liberty. Some of them weren’t even trying to prove a point. They were just trying to use this ‘mistreatment,” Matt said using air quotes, “as an excuse to loot some tea and cause trouble.”

Charlotte grit her teeth to keep from yelling. “So you don’t think the colonists should have had representation? You think they should have had to keep paying the outrageous taxes without doing anything? How is that freedom?”

Matt looked down at the remains of his lunch. Derek leaned back on his stool and crossed his arms. “They had come a long way from the actual oppression they faced in Britain. It seems almost greedy that they would keep asking for more. And to do that at the cost of 342 chests of tea is just irresponsible.”

Recognizing Charlotte’s shock and the rift that was growing within the group, Matt cleared his throat. “I just think the problem is that the Boston Tea Party riot took attention away from the larger issue. Sure, it’s unfortunate that the colonists didn’t have representation and were getting taxed unfairly. But when they committed this crime, they drew attention away from the true problem.”

Charlotte pulled the juice box straw from her mouth and took a deep breath. “History has shown us repeatedly that there are times when the destruction of property is collateral damage to making the ultimate point. It is often necessary to inconvenience those who are in power enough to incite change.” Charlotte stood up and made her way toward the trash can.

-----

Down the hall, past the gymnasium entrance, across from the faculty bathrooms, the third-grade teachers had just finished their lunches. Miss Manning had brought the stack of essays her students had written in response to the lesson. The children had been asked to write a three-paragraph essay (featuring an introduction, body, and conclusion) on “Why the Boston Tea Party was Important” and the teachers had enjoyed chuckling over some of the Blue Group’s responses. And of course, they had been wowed by the nuanced wisdom of the Green Group. Now, the three teachers were scrolling Facebook, Instagram, and various other social media platforms on their phones. The silence was interrupted by a “huh” from Mrs. Hampton.

Mr. Chad and Miss Manning looked up from their phones. “What’s wrong?” Miss Manning asked Mrs. Hampton.

“Oh, I’m just reading an article about the ridiculous race riots this past weekend. It’s insane.”

“My goodness, isn’t it sad?” Mr. Chad laid his phone on the table and leaned back in his chair. He crossed his legs and sighed. “It’s just terrible that all that property is getting destroyed. They’re criminals, really.”

“Exactly,” Mrs. Hampton jumped in. “It’s too bad that black guy died, but why do they have to destroy those stores and buildings?”

“They could have had marches or protested peacefully. There’s no reason to destroy someone’s livelihood.” Mr. Chad’s somber look had turned into a determined grimace.

Miss Manning was confused. “They have marched. They’ve protested peacefully. They peacefully kneeled for the national anthem, and that made people really mad. But--”

“I don’t even understand why they’re upset!” Mr. Chad interrupted. “They have just as many rights as other American citizens. In fact, they have more rights than white people: their own month, their own scholarships, a black president! What more do they want?”

Miss Manning’s gaze wandered down to the stack of essays about why the Boston Tea Party was so important in the fight for freedom, and wondered how to address the hypocrisy. “So you think it’s okay that people of color are twice as likely as white people to be killed by police? You think they should be scared of the police because of their skin color? You think they’re lying about how they’re treated by police and obstacles they face? How is that freedom?”

Mrs. Hampton looked at the clock above the microwave and began to roll up her burrito foil. Mr. Chad crossed his fingers behind his head. “It’s not like they’re slaves anymore. We haven’t had slavery in this country for…” he did the math in his head, “160 years. They aren’t oppressed anymore, and it seems greedy to ask for more. And to do that by destroying property is immature and irresponsible.”

Mrs. Hampton sighed. “The problem is that this looting and rioting is taking attention away from the actual issue. Sure, what happened to that black man is unfortunate. But when they commit these crimes of theft and looting, they’re drawing attention away from people who are actually trying to make changes.”

Miss Manning used a napkin to clean some vinaigrette off the table as she listened. She stood up and put the cover on her Tupperware. “We just taught our kids about a major time in American history when citizens used the destruction of property to incite change. We celebrate the Boston Tea Party every time we teach it. Why is this different? Don’t miss the message that’s being sent through these actions.” Miss Manning stood up and made her way back to her classroom.