The ‘Blers are Coming: History Club Brings the Boston Tea Party to Loyola

Instead of studying for upcoming midterm exams, going to class or working, some Loyola students decided to do something a bit more unusual Sept. 24. Loyola community members gathered at Lake Michigan to throw tea — and a British soldier — into the lake during Loyola History Club’s Boston Tea Party Reenactment event.

The Boston Tea Party was a political protest held Dec. 16, 1773, where American patriots threw containers of tea into the Boston Harbor to show their dissent in being taxed on goods like tea despite not having representation in the British Parliament. The event was a crucial step leading up to U.S. independence from Great Britain. 

Reenactments of the event have been popular in the past — the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum holds a historical reenactment of the event daily. The History Club decided to put a Chicago-themed spin on the event, ditching the Boston Harbor for the familiar Lake Michigan.

Before heading to the lake, students participated in a scripted act in room 141 of the Crown Center, home to the history department. Some acted as historical figures like Thomas Porter, James Brewer and Samuel Adams, while other students yelled colonial insults like “fie” in protest of a faux British soldier who taunted attendees as they entered the room. 

Just as Americans were taxed back in 1773, students were required to hand a coin to one of the club’s members before they were allowed to grab tea and cookies supplied at the event.

“A British soldier! No time for disguises, after him!” Anna Hanson, a fourth-year history major and the club’s president, yelled. Students quickly followed suit, pursuing the soldier toward the lake. 

At the lake, five volunteers from the crowd pushed the soldier into the lake, while others threw in tea and leaves.

Hanson said the reenactment was part of a push by the club to get more students involved with history. Given the important role of history in building politically conscious citizens, the club hopes more students keep history in mind.

The event got praise from some faculty in the department who cheered as the event went on. Chair of the History Department Ben Johnson gave a shout-out to the executive board members who organized the event in an email to history majors the following day. 

The History Club executive board said it plans to hold more reenactments in the future.