<P> While Samuel Adams tried to reassert control of the meeting, people poured out of the Old South Meeting House to prepare to take action . In some cases, this involved donning what may have been elaborately prepared Mohawk costumes . While disguising their individual faces was imperative, because of the illegality of their protest, dressing as Mohawk warriors was a specific and symbolic choice . It showed that the Sons of Liberty identified with America, over their official status as subjects of Great Britain . </P> <P> That evening, a group of 30 to 130 men, some dressed in the Mohawk warrior disguises, boarded the three vessels and, over the course of three hours, dumped all 342 chests of tea into the water . The precise location of the Griffin's Wharf site of the Tea Party has been subject to prolonged uncertainty; a comprehensive study places it near the foot of Hutchinson Street (today's Pearl Street). </P> <P> Whether or not Samuel Adams helped plan the Boston Tea Party is disputed, but he immediately worked to publicize and defend it . He argued that the Tea Party was not the act of a lawless mob, but was instead a principled protest and the only remaining option the people had to defend their constitutional rights . </P> <P> By "constitution" he referred to the idea that all governments have a constitution, written or not, and that the constitution of Great Britain could be interpreted as banning the levying of taxes without representation . For example, the Bill of Rights of 1689 established that long - term taxes could not be levied without Parliament, and other precedents said that Parliament must actually represent the people it ruled over, in order to "count". </P>

Who were two of the patriots that led the throwing of tea into the boston harbor