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| Who Burned the Peggy Stewart? |
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Author: Kathleen Wilson, Germantown Elementary School, Anne Arundel County Public Schools
Grade Level: Upper Elementary
Duration: 1 period |
Overview:
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In the lead-up to Maryland's independence from Britain, two factions arose to protest Britain's monopoly on trade and shipping: On the one side was the wealthy gentry, which sought to combat British economic policy through peaceful
means like petitions. On the other side were the radical Patriots, who responded to Loyalists' pro-British activities with mob action and, at times, violence.
Seeing the ineffectiveness of the gentry's peaceful protests, the radicals decided to take matters into their own hands during the 1770s. When Anthony Stewart
anchored the Peggy Stewart in Annapolis Harbor in 1774, he hoped to make a large profit by selling his cargo of tea on the black market (a patriotic boycott against
British tea was in effect at the time). A public meeting, led by conservative gentry, judged that Stewart should burn his cargo of tea and write a public apology for attempting to evade the boycott. The mob, on the other hand, was unsatisfied with that resolution and forced Stewart to burn his own ship. He did so, and fearing for his life, fled with his family to England.
This lesson explores the spectrum of opinion among Maryland colonists, and the different strategies used to protest British tax and trade policies. Students will begin to see the complexity of American patriotism and the role of "crowd action" during the revolutionary period.
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