As James R. Fichter reveals in Tea, both the political maneuvering and cultural meanings of tea had ramifications far beyond the famous chests thrown into Boston Harbor. Fichter's argument boldly pushes back against T.H. Breen and other scholars who have overstated the political impacts of boycotts during the revolutionary era. Fichter instead contends that the tea boycott of 1775 failed to create meaningful political change and even failed to keep people from selling or consuming tea.
Contrary to popular understandings, the road from 1773 tea shipment to 1775 prohibition to the American Revolution was anything but linear. Patriots aspired in 1774 to “impose non-importation by force” , but they rarely enforced tea boycotts. Colonists of all political stripes signed the Continental Association pledging not to buy or consume tea, but sales continued despite formal bans. The beverage was too lucrative, too desirable, and too essential—to the rituals of everyday life and ceremonial occasions like weddings—for many to resist.
