Running Head: BOSTON TEA PARTY

 

 

Boston Tea Party

Student Name

Institution

 

Date

 

 

Q 1.

One critical thinking strategy that Thomas Hutchinson and Samuel Adams used was to develop intellectual courage. Both of them were determined and became belligerent, vowing not to surrender. The other strategy was having confidence in reason. Thomas Hutchinson was had confidence based on reason to defend the law while Samuel Adams had confidence in reason of protecting the businesses of American tea producers.

Q2.

Critical thinking in history helps in understanding why events took place that way they did. It also helps in determining how events are interdependent on each other. For those historical events that were not documented, a creative thinker can be able to build hypothesis about them. To come up with related theories as to what led to some historical events, critical thinking helps one to extract ideas from some unknown facts. It can therefore help historians to connect past events with some current situations (Moore, & Parker, 2008).

Q3.

 The moral judgment made by Thomas Hutchinson of supporting the British policies on the import of the tea was in one way based on his desire to follow the law and also because some of the consignments belonged to his sons. On the other hand, the basis for the moral judgment made by Samuel Adams was that allowing the tea would drive local American tea producers out of business. His aim was therefore to protect the American citizens who were producing tea.

Q4.

Thomas Hutchinson took the step of refusing to allow ship Dartmouth to leave without paying the duties. He then encouraged the tea consigners, who were his sons not to give up on bringing in the tea. Samuel Adams on the other hand took the step of sending a warning of the hostile acts of Great Britain, and this resulted into protest by the members of public. His main action that led to success of the plan was where his followers poured the tea into the waters (Doeden, 2005).

Q5.

One of the acts that Thomas Hutchison did that hindered his critical thinking was by being competitive with others. Critical thinking requires one to only compete with himself since one doesn’t know what others are capable of. In this case, Thomas Hutchison did not know that the crowd was capable of pouring the tea into the waters. Samuel Adams one the other hand had an irrational attitude which did not allow him to figure out the consequences. He did not first think of how the public will destroy the tea. To avoid this, Thomas Hutchison could have reasoned with the public since it was for the benefit of the majority. Samuel Adams could have also decided on other fair actions rather than pouring the tea into the waters (Moore, 2010).

Q6.

One distinction that that I could not overlook is that correctness of the acts of both Thomas Hutchison and Samuel Adams. This is because each of them was acting with a purpose. Thomas Hutchison was acting to protect the law which Samuel Adams was acting at the interest of the members of the public. I could not make this distinction since each of them had justifiable reasons and the actions of both did not result positively.

Q7.

 One of the strategies of critical thinking that is used in evaluating the provided material is previewing. I first tried to get the sense of the content before actual reading. This gave me an idea of what is in the material. The other strategy is contextualizing. This has helped me to understand relate the impact of the British act in the modern context. With the business activities in the modern world, I can imagine the impact that the act could have caused (Hughes & Lavery, 2004).

Q8.

 To avoid the crisis that took place and the loss that followed, the most proactive method would have been to cal for a discussion on the issues. This could have been between Thomas Hutchison and the protesters led by Samuel Adams. However, the situation was worsened by the act of Thomas Hutchison going against what other colonies had agreed. He should have not let the tea to ruin the business of the Americans just in favour of his sons’ consignments.

Q9.

To regain high levels of curiosity in history and other subjects, the solution is to concentrate not only on the facts in the story, but more on the reasons that led to those facts. For example in the case of the Boston Tea Party, I would concentrate more on what led to the protests by the members of the public who were led by Samuel Adams.  I also concentrated on the facts the led to Thomas Hutchison’s behavior. This makes me to be more curious.

Q10.

The main element that led to the ideas of the American colonists was to have control over the economy of its American colonies. Britain had given its colonies several freedoms but this did not include exemption form paying taxes. This was their aim as they introduced monopoly over tea. The American colonists’ act was also led to by the need for independence. America was also able to produce its tea but Britain insisted on its own. The Boston Tea Party was therefore a result of search for independence (Walker, 2007).

 

References

Doeden, M. (2005). The Boston Tea Party. Mankato: Capstone Press.

Moore, B. & Parker, R. (2008). Critical Thinking. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Hughes, W. & Lavery, J. (2004). Critical thinking: an introduction to the basic skills. Wolfville: Broadview Press.

Moore, D. (2010). Critical Thinking and Intelligence Analysis. California: DIANE Publishing.

Walker, I. (2007). The Boston Tea Party. Minneapolis: ABDO Publishing.