Some of the events that led up to the American Revolutionary War happened at Old South Church. For example, five thousand people met at Old South Meeting House just before the Boston Tea Party in 1773. They were trying to decide what to do with the tea that was waiting on ships in Boston Harbor. After the British passed the Tea Act, Bostonians would have to pay taxes on the tea even though they had no say in whether the taxes were fair or not. They tried to have the tea sent back to England, but they were unable to. After this, Samuel Adams got up and said, "This meeting can do nothing more to save the country." This was a secret signal to tell the Sons of Liberty to go destroy the tea. This is how the Boston Tea Party started.