This is a study of the formulation of British policy towards the American colonies during the crucial period between the Boston Tea Party of December 1773 and the American Declaration of Independence in July 1776. It is set against the background both of British public opinion and of the developing resistance movement in America. Peter Thomas examines the constraints on British policy-making, and analyses the failure of the colonists either to respond to British overtures or to produce positive proposals of their own. He shows how the crisis escalated as the Americans moved from constitutional demands to a military response, and finally took the decision to separate from Britain.

Tea Party to Independence is a scholarly and comprehensive exploration of one of the most important phases of American history. It completes Professor Thomas's acclaimed study of British relations with the American colonies, begun in British Politics and the Stamp Act Crisis 1763-1767 (Clarendon Press, 1975) and The Townshend Duties Crisis 1767-1773 (Clarendon Press, 1987).