Mr. Cadenhead - 7th Grade Social Studiesp. 1 of 4
“The Midnight Tea Party” Historical Fiction Performance Task
Name: ______Date: ______Class #: ______
Document #1 (fiction): Excerpt from “The Midnight Tea Party”
(Adapted by Mr. Cadenhead from “The Midnight Tea Party”, by Rosetta Lee, )
This fictionalized account of the Boston Tea Party describes how American Patriots, who were protesting against British rule, attacked and vandalized a trading ship in Boston Harbor in the days leading up to the American Revolutionary War.
- Sons of Liberty: Patriotic organization that fought for the American independence from Britain
- Inn: Hotel and tavern (bar)
- Unkempt: poorly dressed
- Unruly: angry and dangerous
- Royal Governor of Massachusetts: Person appointed by the King of England to rule Massachusetts
Normally, Steven kept quiet about his opinions on politics, especially when the King’s soldiers came to the inn. He knew better than to curse at them, or to throw them out. Refusing to serve the King’s men could get you imprisoned or hung. Steven's father had been shot and killed by a solder because he had thrown the Royal Governor of Boston out of the inn. The soldier who shot his father had been tall, lean, with four scars under his right eye. Steven had been dreaming of taking revenge on that man ever since.
"Oy!" a customer at the desk called him from his thoughts. “I’m going back home to Maryland, I'm here to check out."
'Yes sir." Steven dashed to the desk.
“There’s big trouble brewing out there in the streets today,” said the man,. “What do you think about all these British solidiers in town?”
“I try not to get involved in politics” said Steven carefully. “We appreciate your stay. Did you have a comfortable time here?"
"Quite." The man smiled. "This is the best inn within the colony of Massachusetts."
“We pride ourselves of that, sir. Come again!" He watched the man disappear into the streets. Steven sat at the desk. All was quiet. He checked the calendar: December 11th, 1773.
At that moment, Steven heard the sound of a gunshot. His mother came running in. "Steven!" She seemed distressed. "Come quickly! The Royal Governor is making an announcement for all to hear, son!"
They both ran out to the main square. An angry crowdwas yelling at the Royal Governor of Boston. He was standing in the middle of the square surrounded by armed British soldiers. The polished gold buttons on his coat and his powdered white wig made him stand out among the the unkempt and unruly crowd. A soldier fired another gunshot into the sky to quiet the crowd.
"Greeting citizens of our fair city!" He boomed over the crowed. “As you know, the king has past the Tea Tax law! These soldiers are here to ensure that the people of Boston follow the law! To your great interest, three ships full of tea for all English gentlemen will be arriving in Boston on the 16th of December!"
“We don't want your ships!" Steven’s mother shouted. "England has no right to tax us! Send the ships back!"
"You’ll keep quite if you know what’s good for you!” The governer shouted back. He turned away in disgust, followed by the soldiers.
"Go back to England,” the crowd roared. “Go back to England and take your rotten tea with you!”
"Get back to the inn, Mother" Steven shouted over the crowed. "I need to find Mr. Revere and the others!" Unknown to all but his mother, Steven was a member of the “Sons of Liberty”. The Sons of Liberty were a secret organization of patriots which wanted to rebel against England. They had secret members throughout all thirteen colonies. Steven ran through the crowd towards Paul Revere’s silversmith shop. Mr. Paul Revere had the same idea, the two collided on the street outside the shop.
"Good day sir!" Steven straightened his posture.
"Come quickly," said Paul. They both ran to the old church.
The old Boston Church quickly filled up with men. They were all members of the Sons of Liberty. Steven was the youngest there. He was seventeen years of age. Most men were in their mid-twenties and up. All the men agreed that something had to be done about the Tea Tax.
Andrew Macabody, the oldest one there stood up and said:"We must protest against this law!”
“But how?” Shouted another man, “We all know what happens to men who disobey the King’s orders."
"We’ve got to make sure that Tea never gets off of the ships." Steven spoke up. “We will wait until the 16th, and then attack the vesselsin the harbor and throw the tea overboard. I mean, there are at least a hundred of us."
"Quite right," Paul Revere agreed. "And Perhaps some friendly Indians might even assist us in the assault on the ships."
"Indians?” Mr. Macabody asked, “Why would the Indians want to help us?”
Steven and the rest of the men looked to Mr. Revere. Whatever the silversmith had in mind, it was going to be fun, for the man had a mischevious smile on his face.
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The night of the 16th was very cold. The streets were quiet, except for the clippity-clops of a few horses hooves. The ships had just come into harbor. As a few snowflakes fell, a hundred Sons of Liberty disguised as Mowhawk Indians creptsilently onto the docks.
"This is insanity." Mr. Macabody whispered as they crept along. “Sneaking around at night disguised as Indians is just plain insanity!"
"Then why don’t you go home?" Paul Revere asked with a smile.
Steven smiled too. Then he whispered. "If we’re going to attack, the time is now. Let's go."
The "Indians" moved in closer. The ships were now secured. A war cry sounded from Mr. Revere. All the others joined in as they ran onto the ships. Guns were fired on deck. There was a struggle, but the "Indians" who were armed with axes, succeeded in their mission. They broke up the boxes, and threw the tea overboard. The salty harbor was soon filled with floating tea. A crowd who had come to see the commotion began to cheer them on from the shore: "Rally Indians! Bring your axes, and tell King George we'll pay no taxes!"
Steven was chopping open a box with his axe, when a bullet landed an inch away from his arm. He whirled around to see a British soldier coming towards him. He instantly recognized the four scars under the soldier’s right eye. This was the soldier who had killed his father! Steven saw red, rage burned inside of him, and he leapt onto the man. Steven knocked the rifle out of the man's arms. This man was stronger than Steven had expected, but it didn't matter. He finally mustered up enough strength to knock the soldier flat on his back on the deck. Steven picked up his axe, ready to strike.
"Steven Weatherspoon!" Mr. Revere pulled him back.
"But he murdered my father! He deserves to die!"
"Let him go!" Paul Revere said, "Never kill out of anger. If you ever must kill a man, do it to defend your country, not to take revenge!”
"Yes, sir." Steven said reluctantly. He left the soldier laying there and they both dashed for the side of the ship and jumped into the cold waters of Boston Harbor.
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The next day Steven was back at the inn with Paul Revere when a regular customer, Mr. Jacobs walked in.
"Good day, Steven. Good day, Paul.” Mr. Jacobs said, “Did you two hear about the Indians attacking the ships and dumping the tea into the harbor last night?"
Steven smiled. He knew he would have to keep his involvement a secret. It was still too dangerous for the The Sons of Liberty to come out of hiding. "Yes," Paul replied. "I even heard a few men calling it the “Boston Tea Party."The three men laughed.
Mr. Jacobs gave both men a knowing look: "It’s a good thing no ‘Indians’were captured or killed during your little tea party.” He hesitated, then continued “What I mean to say is, I’m glad your both safe. I’mglad it's over."
The three men were quite for a moment. Then Paul Revere said: “You're wrong about it being over. It may be quite for the moment, but that's only because that's the calm of the storm. There's bigtrouble coming… I can feel it."
1 / Lines 1 through 5 contribute to the reader’s understanding of the story by / 2 / Why does Paul Revere have a “mischievous smile” on his face (line 70)? / Allowing the reader to immediately understand the motivation behind Steven’s actions / / He does not intend to share his plans with the Sons of Liberty
/ Showing how the law effected the people of Boston / / His knows that the colonists are tired of paying high taxes for British tea
/ Showing why people need to keep their thoughts to themselves / / His believes that his plan for attacking the British tea ships in Boston Harbor will amuse people
/ Sharing with the reader the frustration Stephen feels about his father’s death / / He does not know what Steven is thinking.
1 / The physical description of the Royal Governor of Boston (lines 26-29) is meant to show / 2 / Which of the following best describes an important theme of this story?
/ That he cares too little about his appearance. / / The importance of taking revenge against the people who do harm to your family
/ How he relies on his soldiers to get his point across / / The need to identify with a cause that is bigger than yourself
/ That he is out of touch with the concerns of ordinary Bostonians / / The dangerous consequences of challenging authority
/ That he does enjoy his job / / The importance of keeping secrets from people you don’t know
Short Response Question: How do lines 1-37 show how Steven and his family felt about living under British rule? Give two examplesfrom the text to support your answer.
2 Point
Grading Rubric /
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2 Points: Response is clear and readable and author clearly provides two pieces of evidence
1 Points: Author provides one piece of evidence
0 Points: Author provides Insufficient evidence and /or writing is unclear