The Patriot Post® · America 250: Gathering Support for Action

If Charles Townshend, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, thought that the series of acts bearing his name and designed to raise more than 40,000 pounds per year to pay the salaries of the British agents in the colonies would be implemented without resistance, he was mistaken. (It would not be his last mistake.)

Boston, the greatest object of his anger and retribution, responded with the Massachusetts Circular Letter, authored by Samuel Adams and James Otis Jr., both Sons of Liberty and vocal opponents of oppressive legislation imposed on the colonies. Passed by the Massachusetts House of Representatives in the late winter of 1768, the letter postulated two major points: 1. Parliament was the supreme legislative body across Britain and the Empire, and 2. English colonists were entitled to the full protections of the British Bill of Rights and other documents providing broadly for the “rights of Englishmen.”

Since the latest round of taxes had been imposed without any representative voice from the colonies, it was unenforceable. Indeed, the Magna Carta had established the implied right of “no taxation without representation.” Adams, in writing, did not suggest that colonial representatives should be seated in Parliament; instead, the colonies would agree to be taxed by their own provincial — and loyal to the crown — assemblies, already existing in each colony.

After the passage of the Massachusetts Circular Letter, it was “circulated” to the legislative bodies of the other 12 colonies and printed on broadsides and in newspapers, urging a unified position.

Lord Hillsborough, the British Secretary of State for the Colonies, realized the dangers associated with any united action among the very separate colonies and ordered the Massachusetts Assembly to rescind the circular. When the Assembly refused by a vote of 92-17, Royal Governor Francis Bernard dissolved the representative body and ordered members to peacefully return to their homes.

Instead, mobs and violence broke out across Boston, and the Crown dispatched more troops to the city. The announcement that more British troops were marching and sailing toward Boston inflamed the situation, and more rioting occurred. Four regiments of Boston soldiers arrived in October 1768, and within five months, the tension would lead to a major event between the soldiers and the citizens of Boston.

As the Circular Letter worked its magic in weaving together the disparate colonies, Boston once more took the lead in the conflict. On August 1, 1768, more than 60 Boston merchants and traders met and signed a document that would become known as the Boston Non-Importation Agreement. Inspired by an event decades earlier in Ireland that had been publicized by the author, Jonathan Swift, the rebellious merchants decided that if reason would not impact Parliamentary action, perhaps an economic impact would.

Interestingly, most English would never have considered using “Irish” tactics, but many of the most prominent Bostonians, even while acknowledging that they were English colonists, were beginning to identify with the Irish rebels.

The Boston merchants argued that Parliament had used economic penalties to force the colonies into compliance, impacting shipping, agriculture, commerce, and independence. From the Stamp Act to the Coercive Acts, Parliament had used pressure to extract funds from the colonies to pay its own debts and replenish its treasury.

As the taxation had impacted the stability of individuals and communities, John Dickinson joined the fray by anonymously authoring a series of essays, “Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania.” The Massachusetts Circular Letter had added to the arguments regarding taxation. Nothing had changed; instead, additional troops had been dispatched.

It appeared to the merchants that the only option left was a boycott of British goods. If the British purse was emptied, then perhaps Parliament would listen. Additionally, the local merchants hoped that other merchants across the colonies and their English counterparts would join the boycott.

What did they agree to as a part of the boycott? Boston merchants would not import any new goods during the fall of 1768 or during the early winter of 1769, except for coal, salt, fish hooks, and fishing lines. Tea, paper, and glass would not be imported at any time. The agreement would remain in place until the taxes were removed.

What was the outcome?

Next time…