Grades 3–5 · Put the events from the Stamp Act to the First Continental Congress in order. Great for the Dec 16 Tea Party anniversary.

The Road to the Boston Tea Party

First tax on printed materials

Stamp Act

March 22, 1765: Parliament passes the Stamp Act, a tax on printed paper in the colonies, such as newspapers and legal papers. Colonists protest that they have no vote in Parliament: 'No taxation without representation!'

Taxes on various goods

Townshend Acts

1767: Parliament passes the Townshend Acts, taxes on glass, paint, paper and tea brought into the colonies. Many colonists boycott British goods, which means they refuse to buy them.

Soldiers shoot into a crowd

Boston Massacre

March 5, 1770: British soldiers fire into a crowd on a Boston street, and five colonists are killed. The event becomes known as the Boston Massacre.

Tax on tea remains

Tea Act

May 10, 1773: Parliament passes the Tea Act. It lets the British East India Company sell tea cheaply in the colonies, but the tax on tea stays, so many colonists refuse to accept it.

Ship carrying tea to Boston

Arrival of Dartmouth

November 28, 1773: The ship Dartmouth sails into Boston Harbor carrying tea. Colonists will not let the tea be unloaded.

Tea dumped into harbor

Boston Tea Party

December 16, 1773: After a huge meeting at the Old South Meeting House, colonists, some in disguise, board three ships and dump 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. This is the Boston Tea Party.

Punishment for Boston Tea Party

Coercive Acts

1774: Parliament answers with the Coercive Acts, which colonists call the Intolerable Acts. One law closes the port of Boston until the tea is paid for.

Colonies unite in response

First Continental Congress

September 5, 1774: Leaders from twelve colonies meet in Philadelphia at the First Continental Congress to decide how to respond together.