The Untold Story of American Independence - Part 3

Townshend Acts Imposed (1767)

 

“The Townshend Acts imposed in the colonies in 1767 were a series of taxes on all goods imported into the United States. These taxes were instituted for a couple of reasons. First, was the ongoing need to raise revenue. However, more important than the revenue was the desire of the parliament to show they had the right to impose the taxes.

 

“In 1766, a new government came into power in Great Britain. This new government, like those before it, came to the conclusion it needed to raise additional money from the colonies. Charles Townshend was the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Townshend immediately began investigating means to increase revenue from the colonies. He came up with the idea of placing a duty on items imported into the colonies. Townshend's plan was to place that taxation only on items that were not critical for trade. He did not want to disrupt any important trade. Townshend ultimately developed a list of items to tax, that included, glass, painter's colors, high quality paper wine and other items. These were all items that were not produced in the colonies and would be difficult to smuggle.

“Townshend also developed a plan to establish a Customs Commission in the Americas to enforce the new taxes. The Tax Commissioners would be colonialists who would receive payment from the crown.

“All this was taking place against the background of the continued refusal of the New York colony to enforce the Quartering Act. Their refusal infuriated many in Britain. As part of the series of acts that Townshend was to propose he included an act called the ‘New York Restraining Act’ to punish New York for their refusal. That part of Townshend's plans were passed by the parliament on May 13th. In June, Townshend presented his plan for taxation to the Parliament. He expected to raise 8,000 Pounds from galls and 5,000 from paper, 9,000 from lead and 3,000 pounds from the duties on painters' colors. The preamble to the act passed was ‘for making a more certain and adequate provision for the charge of administration of Justice, and the support of the civil government and defraying the expenses of defending, protecting and securing said colonies.’ The Parliament passed the laws by the end of June and on July 2 the King signed the bills. Never have revenue bills turned out to be so expensive.”

The Colonists Respond with Boycott (1767)

“If the British expected the Townshend Acts to be accepted by the Americans, they were sorely disappointed. The Townshend Acts further exacerbated the relations between the Americans and the British. American newspapers immediately began to criticize The Acts. The most influential opponent of the Acts was a Pennsylvanian farmer by the name of John Dickinson. Dickinson wrote a series of letters that were published by the Pennsylvania Chronicle and Universal Advertiser. These letters became known as ‘The 12 lettters from a farmer in Pennsylvania’. The first letter appeared on December 2nd 1767. These letters were reproduced in 19 of the 23 colonial newspapers.

“The overriding theme of Dickinson’s letters was that the English had the right to regulate trade. However, Dickinson maintained the English had no right to impose taxes on the colonies, since the colonies were not represented in the parliament. Dickinson suggested in his letters that the colonist petition directly to the King. Dickinson advised that until their grievances were met the colonists should boycott all English goods.

“The Massachusetts Assembly was called into session on December 30, 1767. It met for 16 days, during which time, it debated a resolution attacking the Townshend Acts. At the end of the meeting the Assembly approved a letter written primarily by Samuel Adams that was to be circulated to the other colonies. The letter called on all the colonies to resist the Townshend Acts. The letter stated that the parliament had no right to tax the colonies for the sole purpose of raising revenues, since the Americans were not represented in the parliament.

“The British government responded with outrage to actions of the assembly. The British demanded that the assembly either rescind the letter or the assembly would be disbanded. The British government knew this was a dangerous path to take, but went ahead anyway. The governor requested the presence of British troops in the colony of Massachusetts, which only further inflamed that colony. When the Massachusetts Assembly met again, it was even more-anti British. The only business the Assembly wished to conduct were protests against the Townshend Acts.

“Massachusetts was not the only colony to object to the Townshend Acts. The part of the Acts entitled, ‘The New York Restraining Act’ attracted the most resentment from the New York Assembly, who over the objections of the governor passed a resolution stating that the parliament had no right to suspend a state assembly. The New York legislator further affirmed that the Assembly had the right to correspond with representatives of any other colony, if it wished.

“South Carolina joined the ranks of legislatures protesting the Acts, and was soon the most vociferous of its opponents. Ultimately, it was not the political protest that had the most effect on the British, but it was the boycotts by the colonists. All of the colonies organized boycott committees. With the “encouragement’ of the Sons of Liberty, colonial merchants began boycotting British goods. This effectively cut the American purchases from England by half, seriously effecting British merchants. Between the economic and political boycotts the colonists had become united, as never before, in opposition to the British actions.”

British Troops Land in Boston (1768)

“The actions of the colonist in response to the Townshend Act convinced the British that they needed troops in Boston to help maintain order. Lord Hillsborough, Secretary of State for the Colonies, dispatched two regiments-(4,000 troops), to restore order in Boston in 1768. The daily contact between British soldiers and colonists served to worsen relations.

“The decision by the British to dispatch troops to Boston was one of their worst decisions, in an entire series of bad moves, that helped make the eventual independence of America inevitable. The British government reacted to the Americans, and specifically to the Massachusetts opposition to the Townshend act by dispatching troops to Boston. This might have been the correct policy if the opposition was just made up of a few firebrands. The British, however, misread the opposition, which was wide spread.

“The announcement that British troops were arriving created immediate resentment among the colonists. The idea that British troops were coming, not to defend the colonists in times of war, but the pacify them, seemed inconceivable to many. In addition, the idea that troops of the standing army, many of whom did not have a reputation for high moral standards, would be living in their city on a daily basis filled many Bostonians with dread.

“In the end of September 1768 troop ships, accompanied by British men of war, arrived in Boston Harbor. The troops disembarked and initially encamped on the Boston Commons, as well as, in the Court House, and in Faneuil Hall. Friction immediately broke out when the Governor offered the troops Manufactory House as a barracks. The inhabitants of the Manufactory House refused to be evicted and the troops were forced to find other locations.

“The British officers had no trouble finding lodging and being accepted into the Bostonian Society. This was not the case, however, with their soldiers. The British soldiers were consumers of both large quantities of rum and prostitutes. Both these activities were an anathema to the rather puritan population of Boston. Worse still was the harsh discipline meted out to British soldiers.

“The British had a major problem with desertions. In the first few months of their stay in Boston, 70 troops deserted and found their way into the interior of the colony. Placing sentries on the outskirts of the city to stop deserters did nothing but inflame colonists further. Finally, General Gage, who had taken command of the British troops in Boston, ordered the next deserters be captured executed. That tragic fate fell on a young deserter named Ames. He was executed on the Boston Commons after an elaborate ceremony. This act disgusted the general population of Boston, even more than the regular whipping of British soldiers on the same location for infractions against army rules.

“The colonists' views of the average British soldier varied from resentment to pity. However, while on duty, an almost guerilla war seemed to rage between the soldiers and the colonists. This, of course, eventually resulted in the most well-known and tragic action, known as ‘the Boston Massacre’.

“From the moment the British forces entered Boston to the moment they were forced by colonial troops to leave seven years later, their presence did the British no good. The extended British troop presence only served to bring the day of American independence closer.”

(Note: Unless otherwise stated, the historical information presented in quotations comes from www.historycentral.com.)