The Colonization Of North America Part 36

Pennsylvania's protest.--The Pennsylvania a.s.sembly considered that parliament had no right to tax the colony. Jackson, the colonial agent, was instructed to remonstrate against the proposed Stamp Act and to endeavor to secure the repeal or modification of the Sugar Act. Franklin was sent over to a.s.sist Jackson.

Maryland and Virginia.--In Maryland the governor prevented the meeting of the a.s.sembly, but the Virginia council and burgesses prepared an address to the king, a memorial to the lords, and a remonstrance to the commons. The Virginians claimed the rights and privileges that their ancestors had had in England and laid down the fundamental principle of no taxation without representation.

The Carolinas.--North Carolina protested strongly and in South Carolina the a.s.sembly appointed a committee which instructed the colonial agent to complain of the laws of trade. The instructions also declared that a Stamp Act would violate the inherent right of every British subject to be taxed only by his own consent or by his representatives. The governor prorogued the a.s.sembly before a vote could be taken upon the committee's action, but the instructions, nevertheless, were sent.

The Stamp Act.--In spite of colonial protests Grenville pursued his policy, the appeals of the colonies being rejected under the rule that pet.i.tions against money bills should not be received, and in March, 1765, parliament pa.s.sed the Stamp Act. By its provisions stamps were to be placed on commercial and legal doc.u.ments, pamphlets, newspapers, almanacs, playing cards, and dice. The enforcement of the act was placed under the management of English commissioners who were empowered to appoint persons to attend in every court or public office in the colonies to see that the law was enforced. For infringements of the law there were heavy penalties which might be collected through the admiralty courts if the informer or prosecutor so elected. Certain cases of forging and counterfeiting were punishable by death. The revenue derived from the Stamp Act was to be paid into the exchequer to be used for colonial defence.

Quartering Act.--The ministry intended to establish an army of 10,000 men in the colonies and the annual Mutiny Act of 1765 authorized the sending of such troops as might be deemed necessary. This was followed by the Quartering Act As "_the publick houses and barracks, in his Majesty's dominions in America, may not be sufficient to supply quarters for such forces: and whereas it is expedient and necessary that carriages and other conveniences, upon the march of troops ... should be supplied for that purpose_," it was enacted that, if colonial barracks were insufficient, officers and troops were to be quartered in public hostelries. If more room were needed, vacant buildings were to be rented. Troops were to be supplied with fire, candles, vinegar, salt, bedding, cooking utensils, and small quant.i.ties of beer, cider, or rum.

Persons giving houses for troops and furnis.h.i.+ng supplies were to be reimbursed by the province. The colonies were to furnish conveyances at rates fixed by the act, but if the expense exceeded the rate, the province had to make up the deficit.

Colonial opposition.--To the colonies the Stamp Act, the Quartering Act, and the extension of admiralty jurisdiction were unconst.i.tutional.

Trials in the admiralty courts had always been looked upon with disfavor, as they violated the right of trial by jury. The new regulation allowing alleged violators of the trade laws to be taken to Halifax for trial was looked upon as a dangerous innovation. The Quartering Act was viewed as a violation of the const.i.tutional principle that troops were not to be quartered upon the people. The provisions of the law were especially aggravating to New York which, because of the strategic position of the colony, would have to bear an undue part in the support and transportation of troops. But the Stamp Act aroused the greatest furor. All of the elements of discontent united against an act which encroached upon the right of the a.s.semblies to control taxation.

Indirect taxation was not looked upon as taxation. To the colonial economists the navigation acts were merely trade regulations and the right of parliament to regulate commerce was fully recognized. But a direct tax imposed by parliament to support an obnoxious soldiery set in motion the forces of discontent and produced a unity of opposition which surprised the ministers of George III.

The Virginia Resolutions.--Virginia took the lead in opposition. On May 29, 1765, the burgesses resolved themselves into a committee of the whole to consider the steps necessary to be taken in consequence of the Stamp Act. Patrick Henry, the "rustic and clownish youth of the terrible tongue," introduced a series of resolutions which boldly challenged the British government. The preamble stated that, as the House of Commons had raised the question of how far the general a.s.sembly had power to enact laws for laying taxes and imposing duties payable by the people of Virginia, the House of Burgesses, to settle and ascertain the same to all future time, resolved: (1) that the first adventurers and settlers of Virginia brought with them and transmitted to their posterity and to other English subjects who had come to five in the colony all the rights of the people of Great Britain; (2) that these were granted to them by two charters of James I; (3) that taxation of the people by themselves or by their representatives was a distinguis.h.i.+ng characteristic of British freedom without which the ancient const.i.tution could not exist; (4) that the people of Virginia had uninterruptedly enjoyed the right of being governed by their own a.s.sembly in matters of taxes and internal police, a right which had never been forfeited and had been constantly recognized by the kings and people of Great Britain. (5) Therefore it was resolved that the general a.s.sembly had the sole right and power to lay taxes and impositions upon the inhabitants of Virginia, and that every attempt to vest such power in any other person or persons had a tendency to destroy British as well as American freedom; (6) that the inhabitants of Virginia were not bound by any law or ordinance designed to impose any tax upon them other than those imposed by the general a.s.sembly; (7) and that any person who maintained that Virginians were bound to obey such laws not imposed by the a.s.sembly should be deemed an enemy of the colony.

The resolutions precipitated an acrimonious debate in which the democratic members of the western counties supported Henry against the aristocratic leaders. The committee of the whole appears to have adopted the resolutions, but on the following day the burgesses rejected the preamble and the last two resolutions, the other five being pa.s.sed by a slender majority. Henry then left the a.s.sembly and the following morning the conservatives expunged from the record the fifth resolution.

The ma.n.u.script of the entire series, except the third resolution which was omitted by error, was already on its way to the other colonies and was widely published. "Beyond question the Virginia resolves mark an important crisis in the impending revolution."

Resistance and violence.--In June the Ma.s.sachusetts general court, at the suggestion of Otis, sent a circular letter to the other colonial a.s.semblies asking them to send delegates to meet at New York in the following October to consider the danger from the Stamp Act. Before the delegates met fierce opposition appeared in nearly every colony.

Remonstrances came from towns, counties, and a.s.semblies. Newspapers and pamphlets inveighed against the act, and non-importation agreements were made in many localities. a.s.sociations called "Sons of Liberty" sprang up. At first they worked secretly, but they soon announced their committees of correspondence which worked to unify the opposition.

In Boston occurred riots of greater violence than in any other place. On August 14 the stamp distributor's effigy was hung on the "Liberty Tree,"

and after other demonstrations, that night a mob demolished a building which it was believed the collector was erecting for an office. On August 26 the houses of two of the customs officials were sacked and the house of Chief Justice Hutchinson was pillaged and destroyed. At Newport the stamp distributor and a sympathizer found it necessary to seek safety on a British man-of-war. Scenes of violence occurred in the other colonies and the stamp distributors resigned with more haste than dignity.

REPEAL OF THE STAMP ACT

The Stamp Act Congress.--The Stamp Act Congress met at New York on October 7, 1765. Nine colonies were represented, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and New Hamps.h.i.+re failing to send delegates.

Prominent among those in attendance were John d.i.c.kinson of Pennsylvania, John Rutledge and Christopher Gadsden of South Carolina, and James Otis of Ma.s.sachusetts. On October 19 a declaration of rights and grievances, originally drafted by d.i.c.kinson, was adopted. In the declaration the argument was presented that the colonies were ent.i.tled to the inherent rights and liberties of native-born Englishmen, one of which was that no taxes were to be imposed upon them except by their own consent or by their representatives. The colonists were not and from their local circ.u.mstances could not be represented in the House of Commons, their only representatives being those in the colonies who alone had the const.i.tutional right to impose taxes upon them. All supplies to the crown being free gifts of the people, it was unreasonable and inconsistent with the principles and spirit of the British const.i.tution for the people of Great Britain to grant to the king the property of the colonists. Trial by jury was an inherent right of every British subject in the colonies, but the Stamp Act and other laws, by extending the jurisdiction of the admiralty courts, had a tendency to subvert the rights and liberties of the colonists. The duties imposed by recent acts of parliament would be burdensome and grievous, and from the scarcity of specie the payment of them would be impracticable. The recent restrictions would make it impossible to purchase the manufactures of Great Britain. The right to pet.i.tion the king or either house of parliament was also a.s.serted. By an address to the king and by applications to both houses of parliament, they endeavored to procure the repeal of the Stamp Act, of clauses in recent acts which increased admiralty jurisdiction, and of recent acts placing restrictions on American commerce.

Repeal of the Stamp Act.--In July, 1765, Grenville fell from power, but not because of opposition to the Stamp Act. The Marquis of Rockingham, a man of moderate ability, was selected to form the new cabinet. The question of the repeal of the Stamp Act came up in parliament early in 1766. During the debate in the commons on February 13, Franklin, then agent for Pennsylvania and Ma.s.sachusetts, was questioned regarding the colonial att.i.tude, and he made it clear that the Stamp Act could not be enforced. The American cause was strengthened by the powerful support of Pitt and by the protests of English merchants and manufacturers who were losing trade through colonial boycotts. After a momentous debate, the act was repealed.

The Declaratory Act.--Although parliament had given ground it did not surrender, for in the Declaratory Act of March 18, 1766, it a.s.serted its right to tax the colonies. The act declared that the colonies were subordinate unto and dependent upon the crown and parliament, and that the king by and with the consent of parliament had full power and authority to make laws to bind the colonies in all cases. All resolutions, votes, orders, and proceedings in the colonies denying the power and authority of parliament to make laws imposing taxes and regulations were declared null and void.

Other legislation.--The Quartering Act was then renewed, but with certain changes to make it more effective. The imposts on textiles which had previously been collected in America were henceforth to be collected at the point of exportation. The duty on mola.s.ses was changed from three pence a gallon on the foreign product to one penny a gallon on all mola.s.ses brought to the continental colonies.

Colonial rejoicing.--The Declaratory and other acts attracted little attention in America, where there was great rejoicing over the repeal of the Stamp Act. The const.i.tutional principles for which the colonists had contended had in no wise been conceded, but to the colonist his point seemed won. He was soon to be rudely awakened.

THE TOWNSHEND ACTS

Townshend.--In July, 1766, Rockingham fell from power and the Pitt-Grafton Ministry was formed. Unfortunately for the colonies, Pitt was in ill-health and took little part in shaping policies. The strong man of the cabinet was Charles Townshend. He was fully in sympathy with Grenville's ideas, and was responsible for a new series of irritating acts.

Suspension of the New York a.s.sembly.--Trouble had arisen in New York over the enforcement of the Quartering Act. In June, 1766, in reply to Governor Moore's request that provision be made for the expected troops, the a.s.sembly excused itself from compliance but intimated that about 4000 then in the treasury might be used. Later the a.s.sembly pa.s.sed an act making provision for one year for a thousand men and one company of artillery. When a request was made for full compliance with the Quartering Act, the a.s.sembly refused. On December 19 it was prorogued, and on June 15, 1767, was suspended by act of parliament.

Colonial customs commissioners.--Another act provided for a board of commissioners of customs to be established in America. The preamble stated that, as the colonial customs officials had found it inconvenient to apply to the commissioners in England for directions when difficulties arose, and as colonial s.h.i.+ppers were greatly delayed in carrying on business, commissioners were to be stationed in America.

Five commissioners were appointed with headquarters at Boston.

Revenue acts.--A new revenue act was pa.s.sed "for making a more certain and adequate provision for defraying the charge of the administration of justice and the support of civil government, in such provinces where it shall be found necessary, and toward further defraying the expenses of defending, protecting, and securing" the dominions in America. Duties were imposed upon gla.s.s, red and white lead, painter's colors, tea, and paper. Drawbacks were allowed on coffee and cocoanuts, but chinaware was no longer subject to drawback. Writs of a.s.sistance were declared legal.

By another act a drawback for five years was granted on tea reexported from England to Ireland or the colonies.

d.i.c.kinson's "Farmer's Letters."--The Townshend Acts were received with alarm throughout the colonies. "Awed by the suddenness and magnitude of the peril, the colonial leaders acted with circ.u.mspection and rare self-control." The most powerful statement of the colonial viewpoint came from John d.i.c.kinson whose "Farmer's Letters" were read throughout the colonies, were published in London, translated into French, "and were read by everybody in the two capitals of civilization who read anything more serious than a playbill." d.i.c.kinson recognized the vagueness of the const.i.tutional relations of the colonies to the mother country. He urged that a spirit of compromise should prevail and that no abstract theory of sovereignty should be pushed to its logical conclusions. He admitted that parliament possessed legal authority to regulate the trade of the empire, but the recent attempts to raise a revenue he considered a most dangerous innovation. "Great Britain claims and exercises the right to prohibit manufactures in America. Once admit that she may lay duties upon her exportations to us, for the purpose of levying money on us only, she then will have nothing to do but to lay those duties on the articles which she prohibits us to manufacture, and the tragedy of American liberty is finished."

"I would persuade the people of these Colonies ... to exert themselves in the most firm, but the most peaceable manner, for obtaining relief.

If an inveterate resolution is formed to annihilate the liberties of the governed, English history affords examples of resistance by force."

"Let us consider ourselves as ... freemen, ... _firmly bound together_ by the _same rights_, _interests_, and _dangers_ ... What have these colonies to _ask_, while they continue free; Or what have they to _dread_, but insidious attempts to subvert their freedom?... They form one political body, of which each _colony_ is a _member_."

The Ma.s.sachusetts protest--In Ma.s.sachusetts the Townshend Acts were received by a public which was already irritated by the untactful course of Governor Bernard. Soon after the repeal of the Stamp Act he had negatived the election of Otis as speaker of the a.s.sembly, and when that body retaliated by refusing to reelect certain members of the council, the governor had refused to accept six members elected by the popular party. Difficulties had also arisen when the governor demanded compensation for those who had suffered by the Stamp Act riots and when he demanded compliance with the Quartering Act.

The first protest of Ma.s.sachusetts against the Townshend Acts was on October 28, 1767, when the Boston town-meeting renewed the non-importation agreement The General Court convened on December 30 and shortly afterward the acts were read in the a.s.sembly and referred to a committee for consideration. The committee drafted a letter to the colonial agent which reviewed the arguments against taxation and protested against the Townshend Acts. A pet.i.tion to the king and letters to members of the ministry were also prepared. A circular letter to the a.s.semblies in the other colonies, drawn by Samuel Adams, was adopted on February 11, 1768.

The circular letter stated that it seemed necessary that the representatives of the several a.s.semblies should act in harmony "upon so delicate a point" as the recent imposition of duties and taxes. The argument regarding taxation without representation was restated, and objection was made to the payment of the salaries of governors and judges by the crown, to the large powers of appointment given to the commissioners of the customs, and to the Quartering Act. Denial was made that independence was in the minds of the Ma.s.sachusetts representatives and the letter closed with an expression of confidence in the king.

Several of the colonies sent sympathetic replies and Virginia issued a circular letter to the other colonies calling upon them to unite with Ma.s.sachusetts in her pet.i.tion for redress.

Hillsborough's reply.--When the Ma.s.sachusetts protests reached England, they came before a ministry which was prejudiced by letters from royal officials in America. Lord Hillsborough, who had recently been appointed to the newly created position of colonial secretary, laid the Ma.s.sachusetts protests before the cabinet. On April 21 he sent letters to all the colonial governors, with the exception of Bernard, ordering them to ignore the Ma.s.sachusetts circular letter. If the a.s.semblies took notice of it, they were to prorogue or dissolve them. Bernard was commanded to require the Ma.s.sachusetts a.s.sembly to rescind its action and to declare its disapprobation of its recent action. The Ma.s.sachusetts a.s.sembly refused and the other a.s.semblies commended its course.

The customs officials defied.--Acts of violence soon occurred. The wars.h.i.+p _Romney_ was anch.o.r.ed in Boston harbor and the captain angered the people by impressing seamen, one of whom was rescued. On the same day the sloop _Liberty_, owned by John Hanc.o.c.k, arrived with a cargo of Madeira wine. The customs collector was locked up by the crew while the cargo was landed and a false entry made. The _Liberty_ was seized and moored under the guns of the _Romney_. A riot then occurred; the houses of two of the customs officials were damaged and a boat belonging to the controller was burned. The officials fled to the _Romney_ and later took refuge in Castle William. The Boston town-meeting requested the removal of the war vessel, but the governor refused on the ground that such action would be beyond his jurisdiction. At Newport a revenue cutter was burned and at Providence a coat of tar and feathers was administered to a customs official.

Action of the Boston town-meeting and the Ma.s.sachusetts convention.--Before the occurrence of these riotous acts, the ministry had determined to send troops to Boston. When this became known, the town-meeting a.s.sembled in Faneuil Hall and resolved that the inhabitants defend their rights, and they were called upon to provide themselves with arms. When the governor refused to summon the a.s.sembly, the selectmen called a convention of delegates from the Ma.s.sachusetts towns.

Ninety-six towns responded. The governor refused to recognize the convention, but it remained in session for six days and did not adjourn until a statement of grievances had been formulated. On September 28, 1768, the day of adjournment, two regiments arrived at Boston.

Prisoners accused of treason to be tried in England.--The rebellious acts of Ma.s.sachusetts were condemned by parliament which also advised the enforcement of the statute of Henry VIII which allowed the government to bring to England for trial persons accused of treason committed outside of the kingdom. This aroused a storm of protest. In Virginia the burgesses adopted resolutions which a.s.serted that the right of taxation was vested in the House of Burgesses, that pet.i.tioning the sovereign was an undoubted privilege of the colony, and that it was lawful and expedient to procure the concurrence of other colonies "in dutiful addresses, praying the royal interposition in favour of the violated rights of America;" that trials for treason or for any felony or crime committed in the colony should be held in the courts of that colony, and that the sending of suspected persons beyond the sea for trial was derogatory of the right of trial by a jury of the vicinage and deprived the accused of summoning witnesses. The resolutions were sent to the other a.s.semblies. When the governor dissolved the burgesses, the members met in a private house and drew up a non-importation agreement.

Other a.s.semblies approved the Virginia resolutions and non-importation agreements were signed throughout the colonies.

Departure of Bernard.--Ma.s.sachusetts continued to be the center of unrest. The unpopularity of Governor Bernard increased when it became known that he was collecting evidence against Samuel Adams. The public ire grew more intense when some of the governor's letters to the Ministry were published. The council drew up charges against him and the a.s.sembly pet.i.tioned for his recall. In July, 1770, he voluntarily departed, leaving Hutchinson in charge.

The Boston "Ma.s.sacre."--The troops remained in Boston where they were heartily detested. Difficulties between soldiers and townspeople became more and more frequent and in March, 1770, there was a serious collision. On the fifth a sentinel at the custom house was pelted with snow b.a.l.l.s, and when he called for aid the guard came to his a.s.sistance.

A soldier was knocked down, shots were fired by the guard, and several citizens were killed or wounded. Preston, the commanding officer of the guard, surrendered to the civil authorities, and the privates were placed under arrest. The selectmen demanded the withdrawal of the troops to Castle William and Hutchinson hesitatingly complied. When the soldiers were brought to trial, they were defended by John Adams and Josiah Quincy, who obtained acquittal for all but two who were lightly sentenced.

BEGINNING OF ORGANIZED RESISTANCE

Partial repeal of the Townshend Acts.--The Townshend Acts had proved a complete failure. Exports from England to America had dropped from 2,378,000 in 1768 to 1,634,000 in 1769. The customs were yielding little revenue while the colonial military establishment had become extremely expensive. In addition the colonies had been brought close to rebellion. Lord North, who became Prime Minister on January 31, 1770, hoped to end the commotions in America which had been so injurious to English merchants and manufacturers. He accordingly obtained a repeal of the duties on paints, gla.s.s, and paper, but at the suggestion of the king, the tea tax was retained in order to maintain the principle that parliament had the right to tax the colonies. The economic result of the repeal was immediately evident, for in 1770 the English exports to America reached nearly two million pounds sterling and during the next year more than doubled.

Arbitrary att.i.tude of the governors.--The public, however, was kept in a state of agitation by the arbitrary acts of the governors who reflected the royal will. In Georgia the governor vetoed the a.s.sembly's choice for speaker, provoking a controversy which ended in the dissolution of the a.s.sembly. In South Carolina the governor was in frequent quarrels with the a.s.sembly, first over the salaries of the judges, then regarding the veto of an appropriation but, and finally over convening the a.s.sembly at Beaufort instead of at Charleston. Virginia was irritated by the royal instructions which forbade the governor to a.s.sent to any law which would prohibit or obstruct the importation of slaves. In Maryland the governor by proclamation revived a law regulating fees which had expired by limitation, an action which was looked upon as an a.s.sertion of the right to levy taxes.

In Ma.s.sachusetts the General Court, which was to have met at Boston in January, 1770, was called to meet at Cambridge on March 15. The a.s.sembly objected to the change of time and place and demanded a copy of Hutchinson's instructions, but he refused to comply. The a.s.sembly would do no business while thus constrained to hold its sessions away from Boston, and declared that the people and their representatives had a right to withstand the abusive exercise of the crown's prerogative.

Under protest the a.s.sembly finally proceeded to business, but another difficulty immediately arose when the colonial troops were removed from Castle William which was then garrisoned by the regulars. In July, 1771, Hutchinson, who had recently been appointed governor, vetoed a bull which provided for the salaries of the crown officials, an action which called forth a protest from the a.s.sembly which held that royal instructions were thus given the force of law. The following year the a.s.sembly was informed that henceforth the salaries of the governor and judges would be paid by the crown.

The Gaspee affair.--In Rhode Island an event occurred in 1772 which had far-reaching influence. The numerous inlets and islands of Narragansett Bay made smuggling easy, and revenue vessels, though constantly on the alert, experienced great difficulty in detecting the illicit traders.

The revenue boats _St. Johns_ and _Liberty_ were destroyed by men from Newport and the customs officials were annoyed by suits to recover vessels and cargoes which they had seized; Admiral Montagu accordingly ordered that seized vessels be sent to Boston. To Rhode Islanders Dudington, the commander of the _Gaspee_, was especially obnoxious.

According to Trevelyan, "He stopped and searched vessels without adequate pretext, seized goods illegally, and fired at the market boats as they entered Newport harbour. He treated the farmers on the islands much as the Saracens in the Middle Ages treated the coast population of Italy, cutting down their trees for fuel, and taking their sheep when his crew ran short of meat." The injured parties made their voices heard, and the case was laid before the Admiral, who approved the conduct of his subordinate officer, and announced that, "as sure as any people from Newport attempted to rescue a vessel, he would hang them as pirates." On June 9 the _Gaspee_ ran aground seven miles below Providence and during the night the vessel was boarded, Dudington was wounded, he and his crew were put on sh.o.r.e, and the vessel was burned.

The act of violence aroused the British government and orders were sent to the governor of Rhode Island, the admiralty judge at Boston, and the chief justices of Ma.s.sachusetts, New Jersey, and New York to act as a commission of inquiry. The commission held sessions in January and May, 1773, but failed to obtain any evidence.

Local committees of correspondence.--The arbitrary acts of the crown officials, the extension of the royal prerogative, and the _Gaspee_ affair made possible the organization of the radical elements in the colonies. In Ma.s.sachusetts opposition centered in Samuel Adams, "the man of the town meeting," who put forth pamphlet after pamphlet which struck at the encroachments upon colonial rights. "While he restated the old argument against the right of parliament to tax, he closely examined the foundations of the claim of the ministers to govern by royal instructions. He had grasped the idea that the king, lords, and commons, as well as the colonies, were subject to the authority and bound by the limitations of const.i.tutional law." In the a.s.sembly, in the town meeting, through the press, on the street, among the sailors, fishermen, and ropemakers, he advocated the necessity of union. During the contest over the salaries of the crown officials, Adams seized the opportunity to put his ideas into tangible form. On November 2, 1772, in the Boston town meeting he moved that a committee of twenty-one be appointed to state the rights of the colonists, particularly of Ma.s.sachusetts, and to communicate and publish the same to the Ma.s.sachusetts towns and to the world as the sense of Boston "with the infringements and violations thereof that have been or ... may be, made; also requesting of each town a free communication of their sentiments on this subject." By January, 1773, more than eighty towns in Ma.s.sachusetts had committees.