The Edenton Tea Party was a political protest in Edenton, North Carolina, in response to the Tea Act, passed by the British Parliament in 1773. Inspired by the Boston Tea Party and the calls for tea boycotts and the resolutions of the first North Carolina Provincial Congress, 51 women, led by Penelope Barker, met on October 25, 1774, and signed a statement of protest vowing to give up tea and boycott other British products "until such time that all acts which tend to enslave our Native country shall be repealed."^[1] The boycott was one of the events that led up to the American Revolution (1775–1781).^[2] It was the "first recorded women's political demonstration in America".^[3]

Background

The British had implemented taxes and policies against Colonial Americans^[3] to offset the money spent by the British during the French and Indian Wars (1754–1763).^[4] They also taxed the square footage of colonist's homes, but they did not represent the colonists in the British Parliament.^[5] When the Tea Act of 1773 was passed by the Parliament, colonists became especially angry. The act gave the British East India Tea Company a monopoly in the colonies.^[3] Tea was important to colonists for a couple of reasons. Drinking tea was safer than drinking water, although they did not know at that time that it destroyed germs in the water. It was also a sign of sophistication and luxury.^[5] In addition, it was a long-standing daily tradition of the British, and colonial social events "were defined by the amount and quality of tea provided".^[6]

The money that the British gathered from the colonists was to be used to make judges and governors loyal to the British and prove that the British led the thirteen colonies.^[5]

The First Continental Congress passed non-importation resolutions in 1774 to boycott British teas and textiles.^[3] At that time, the ideal woman was "fragile, fair, not particularly bright, and certainly not interested in public affairs".^[7] It was expected that woman would marry and have children, and thus focus on their roles as wives and mothers over sometimes short lives, and to the exclusion of being involved in political issues. By the 18th century, many women were able to read newspapers, which were published more in a more widespread than earlier. Through the newspapers, women learned about political affairs.^[8]

Since women would be required to find substitutes for British tea, cloth, and other taxed goods, it was crucial to have their support during the boycotts and protests organized and popularized by men.^[7] Colonial women boycotted all British imports and even formed groups and signed resolutions, like the Edenton Tea Party, to encourage other women to protest against taxes without representation. Unlike the men of the Boston Tea Party, the women did wear costumes to hide who they were.^[5][9] There were similar tea parties in other ports. Protesting and boycotting allowed women opportunities to act as patriots, standing with men on this political issue.^[9] Historian Carol Berkin states,

Women and girls were partners with their husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons in the public demonstrations against the new British policies and, if they were absent from the halls of the colonial legislatures, their presence was crucial in the most effective protest strategy of all: the boycott of British manufactured goods.^[10]

The succession of taxes and policies against the colonists led to the Revolutionary War (1775–1781).^[7][11]

Edenton, listed on ship's papers as "The port of Roanoke", was an international port for the transit of goods between the Colony of North Carolina, Europe, and the West Indies. Two-masted schooners had left the port with tobacco, corn, salt fish, lumber, and turpentine. When her husband, Thomas Barker, learned of her plans, he tried to dissuade her.^[12]

Edenton Tea Party

Barker was known as a patriot of the Revolution and ten months after the famous Boston Tea Party, she organized a Tea Party of her own. Penelope wrote a statement proposing a boycott of British goods, like cloth and tea. Followed by 50 other women, the Edenton Tea Party was created.^[2][13]

On October 25, 1774, Barker and her supporters, Edenton Ladies Patriotic Guild, met at the house of Elizabeth King to sign the Edenton Tea Party resolution that protested the British Tea Act of 1773.^{[2][13][a][b]}

The petition stated,

We the Ladyes of Edenton, do hereby solemnly engage not to conform to ye pernicious Custom of Drinking Tea, or that we, the aforesaid Ladyes, will not promote ye wear of any manufacture from England, until such time that all Acts which tend to enslave this our Native Country shall be repealed.^[13]

As we cannot be indifferent on any occasion that appears nearly to affect the peace and happiness of our country, and as it has been thought necessary, for the public good, to enter into several particular resolves by a meeting of Members deputed from the whole Province, it is a duty which we owe, not only to our near and dear connections who have concurred in them, but to ourselves who are essentially interested in their welfare, to do every thing as far as lies in our power to testify our sincere adherence to the same; and we do therefore accordingly subscribe this paper, as a witness of our fixed intention and solemn determination to do so.^[17]

They recommended that women serve buttermilk, apple cider, and spring water instead of tea.^[18] At the event, they drank a tea made from mulberry leaves, lavender, and locally grown herbs.^[3] The Edenton Tea Party was a landmark, not because of the stances taken—boycotts were common across the Thirteen Colonies—but because it was organized by women.^[19] It was the "first recorded women's political demonstration in [Colonial] America".^[3][20] Barker continued to protest throughout the Revolutionary War.^[3]

Aftermath

The petition was published in colonial newspapers and London. Barker also sent a letter to London.^[21][22]

The reaction in England was mostly derogatory and dismissive, as seen in engraver Philip Dawe's satirical depiction of the event.^[19] The women were mocked in the London papers.^[3][23] A political cartoon entitled "Edenton Tea Party" was published and released in London on January 16, 1775.^[13] The cartoon portrayed the women as bad mothers with loose morals and received misogynistic ridicule.^[3][23]

The women were praised as patriots by the Colonial American press.^[3] Other women followed suit by swearing off tea.^[18] Southern women danced in ballgowns made from homespun fabric (that started with the homespun movement). Northern women had spinning bees for the production of homemade material.^[23] A ship-load of imported East India Company tea was locked away in a port in Charles Town (now Charleston, South Carolina) for months because it could not be sold with the tax.^[18] At the start of the Revolution,^[24] a group of patriots captured the tea and sold it to other patriots to fund the rebellion against the British.^[18] They had also ousted royal officials and agents at the time.^[18] The Daughters of Liberty, like the Sons of Liberty, boycotted British goods.^[25]

There was little written about the Edenton Tea Party for some time. The first book written about the event was The Historic Tea Party of Edenton, 1774: Incident in North Carolina Connected with Taxation written by Richard Dillard in 1892. In 1907, Mary Dawes Staples wrote an article entitled The Edenton Tea Party, which was published by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).^[26] Mitchell, in 2015, performs an extensive review of the events of the Edenton Tea Party in "Chapter Three: Uncovering the Events of October 24, 1776" in Treasonous Tea: The Edenton Tea Party of 1774.^[27]

In 1908, a plaque was dedicated by the Daughters of the American Revolution of North Carolina and placed in the state Capitol Building in Raleigh, North Carolina. It honored her leadership at the Edenton Tea Party.^[28] In 1940, a marker was placed at West Queen Street (US 17 Business) in Edenton by the North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program. It states, "Women in this town led by Penelope Barker in 1774 resolved to boycott British imports. Early and influential activism by women."^[15]