This work investigates the complex political, economic, and social catalysts that culminated in the 1773 destruction of tea in Boston Harbor. Benjamin Woods Labaree, a noted historian of the American colonial period, utilizes extensive primary source documentation and archival records to reconstruct the events leading up to the protest. He argues that the event was not merely a spontaneous outburst of anger, but the result of a long-standing breakdown in the relationship between the British Parliament and the American colonies. The text provides a rigorous examination of the mercantile policies and legislative tensions that defined the era.

Historians and scholars frequently cite this work as a definitive, foundational text regarding the specific events of the Boston Tea Party. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which provides a comprehensive and scholarly account of the period.