*The Lincoln Historical Society*

*“Did You Know … ?”  That in December 1773, Lincoln’s reaction to the
Dumping of the Tea into Boston harbor was rather tepid?*

The town of Lincoln had no voice in the dumping of the tea into Boston
harbor on December 16, 1773, and there is no record that anyone from
Lincoln boarded the ships, broke open the tea chests, and scattered the
contents to the tides.  In today’s terms, the forty-two tons of tea were
worth almost $2 million.

Boston’s Committee of Correspondence sought solidarity from other towns,
for approval of what had been done and pledges not to purchase or consume
any British tea until the tax was repealed.

Lincoln took up the matter at a town meeting on December 27, 1773.  Eleazer
Brooks, a member of the town’s Committee of Correspondence, had drafted a
statement, for the town’s approval, to be sent to Boston.  The rhetoric of
Brooks’ draft was fiery enough in some passages:

“We trust we have courage and resolution sufficient to encounter all the
horrors of war in the defense of those rights and privileges, civil and
religious, which we esteem more valuable than our lives, and we do hereby
assure not only the town of Boston but the world that whenever we shall
have a clear call from heaven, we are ready to join with our brethren to
face the sword, the bayonet, or the mouth of a cannon rather than to be the
slave dupes & fools of any of our own species not distinguished from
ourselves except in a disposition to enslave us.”

Town meeting judged that Brooks’ vivid prose about swords, bayonets,
cannon, slaves, dupes, and fools was a bit over the top.  That was changed
to “we are ready to join with our brethren to face the most formidable
forces rather than tamely surrender up our rights and privileges …”

In other notable ways, the version adopted by town meeting was more
restrained than Brooks’ draft.  There was, for instance, the matter of the
destroyed tea.  Did Lincoln’s town meeting approve such destruction of
private property?  Apparently not, for it deleted specific mention of the
dumping of the tea from Brooks’ draft and left in place this statement:

“… we cannot therefore but commend the spirited behavior of the town of
Boston in endeavoring to prevent the sale of the East India Company’s teas
by endeavoring to persuade the consigners to resign their office or any
other lawful means.”

“Or any other lawful means.”  The destruction of the tea was, of course,
anything but “lawful means.”

And then there was the matter of the pledge not to buy or consume British
tea.  At the town meeting, a document was laid upon a table for signatures
by those pledging their support publicly.  Fifty-one men in town signed the
pledge (and one woman—a story for another time).  An impressive number, but
far short of the eighty-seven men who met the property qualification to
vote in town meeting.  So were the others opposed to the pledge?  Or
reluctant to have their signatures on a public document?  Or did they
simply not bother to attend the town meeting, despite notice that a vote
would be taken on the matter?  Whatever the reason, Lincoln’s tempest over
tea seemed rather tepid.



Donald L. Hafner

The Lincoln Historical Society

December 2024
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