US History

U.S. History Study Guide

©2018 of 194 5.9 The Townshend Duties In 1767, Chancellor Charles Townshend dominated government affairs at this time and had assumed leadership of the government. Townshend proposed taxing imports into the American colonies to recover Parliament’s lost revenue, and issued the Revenue Act of 1767. Referred to as the Townshend Duties, the Revenue Act taxed glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea entering the colonies. The profits from these taxes were to be used to pay the salaries of the royal governors in the colonies. Opposition to the Townshend Duties The Townshend Duties created political havoc. Again the colonists went to boycotting British goods. The colonial boycott pushed many British merchants and artisans in Britain to argue to Parliament to repeal the Townshend Duties. Sailors joined the resistance by rioting against corrupt customs officials. Many customs officials took advantage of the vague and confusing wording of the Townshend Act to claim that very insignificant personal items of a sailor were undeclared cargo. The customs officers then seized entire ships based on that charge. Often, they pocketed the profits and used the law for their personal gain. Tar and Feathering As ant-sentiment grew from the Stamp Act and Townshend Duties more active and violent expressions were displayed. Tar and feathering were used on tax collectors, a mob of colonist would grab the individual, strip him naked, then more liquid hot tar on his body, then dump feathers on him, and thereafter parade his body around town in a cart. The tar was incredibly hot that it would tear massive amounts of skin off the victim. This barbaric practice was looked down upon by many of the patriot elite and exploited by the British as reasons why they must use a forceful hand on handling the colonies. Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer In December 1767, the colonist John Dickinson published, Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer, in the Pennsylvania Chronicle. The letters argued against the legality of the Townshend Duties and soon appeared in nearly every colonial newspaper. They were widely read and gained support against the Townshend Duties. Opposition to the Townshend Duties spread, as colonial assemblies denounced the act and petitioned Parliament for its repeal. Dickinson argued against the power Parliament had to tax the colonists without representation. 5.10 Boston Massacre In 1768, there was a lot of anti-British sentiment in the colonies, particularly in Boston. To help secure stability, the British sent 1,700 troops to control the disobedient citizens. Tension, again, flared with the Boston Massacre in March 1770, when an unruly mob bombarded British troops with rocks and dared them to shoot. The tables were turned when an unknown source yelled, "fire!”. The British soldiers then fired upon unarmed colonists leaving five colonists dead. Historians today place most Achieve Page 60