Learn about the Boston Tea Party with this four-page comic and accompanying educational resources from Pop Culture Classroom!

The Boston Tea Party is a historical event taught in schools across the country. It is often heralded as an iconic moment of patriotism and a display of American independence, but it is also a more complicated story than is often taught in schools.

Colorful History #74: The Boston Tea Party tells the story of what happened on the night of December 16, 1773 and explores the importance of The Boston Tea Party as a spark for events leading to the American Revolutionary War.

Students will learn:

• Motivations behind The Boston Tea Party
• Colonists’ frustration with the East India Company
• The Sons of Liberty’s problematic appropriation of indigenous dress
• The impact of the colonists’ actions
• Through the projects and discussion questions included this guide, students can dive further into these issues. They can also learn about the less-discussed nuances of the story, such as the colonists’ desires to undercut British tea monopolies with their own illegal trade, and the motivations and consequences of their appropriation of indigenous attire.

Estimated Lexile Level: 810 -1000

Projects and discussion questions are aligned to Common Core standards for grades 6 –10.

Story by Erin Keepers
Art by Kevin Caron
Lettered by R. Alan Brooks