The Edenton Tea Party

Fifty-one women gathered at Elizabeth King’s home on 25 October, 1774. They called themselves the Edenton Ladies’ Patriotic Guild. All of these women composed and signed a document.

Books about the American Revolution often make it sound as if only men participated in the event.

It’s not a surprise, considering the spotlights that fall (quite rightly) on heroes such as George Washington. Men were the ones signing up to fight battles; so many men died, if not in combat, then due to illness.

Revolutionary Mothers by Carol Berkin offers a new perspective to those crucial years during which the colonies were fighting for their rights and, eventually, independence.

This war was a dramatic event, sweeping entire cities into the chaos—men and women.

While women weren’t allowed to enlist, that doesn’t mean they weren’t angered by the taxes imposed by the British. As I learned in Revolutionary Mothers, women might not have been soldiers; there were still plenty of them at war camps.

As a writer, I know how cliche it sounds to make tea the central issue for a post about this topic. The truth is, tea was important. An unassuming beverage that most of us today can drink with no issue did become a symbol of revolt.