The Hidden History of the Boston Tea Party

The history of the Boston Tea Party is a hidden one. Why? Since it was a clandestine operation, all sorts of rumors and legends grew up around the event—many collected decades after the American Revolution had ended.

At its core, however, the night of December 16, 1773, when colonials dumped tea from British ships into Boston Harbor, was more than a fight over tea and taxes. It was a struggle over the very nature of democracy and self-governance. Where does legal authority actually come from? Who gets to decide which laws are valid? What role does nonviolent (or violent) protest play in bringing about change?

For that matter, how does one even throw a 400-pound chest of tea overboard?

These and other questions are answered in The Hidden History of the Boston Tea Party, an Audible Original by noted author and historian Adam Jortner. In six engaging lectures, he unravels the secrets of that fateful night and reveals surprising truths about everything from the role tea played in colonial America to the everyday lives of American colonists in Boston to the challenges the Boston Tea Party presents for Americans in the 21st century. This nuanced historical analysis takes you beyond broad strokes and caricatures to offer a complex perspective on a decisive moment when the American colonists stood firm on the principle that there cannot be liberty without self-government.