week 9 - the townshend acts Flashcards
what did the third act establish?
strict and often arbitrary machinery of customs collection in the american colonies, including additional officers, searchers, spies, coast guard vessels, search warrants, writs of assistance, and a board of customs commissioners at boston, all to be financed out of customs revenues.
how much did franklin estimate the duties would raise?
approximately 40,000 pounds, with most of the revenue coming from tea
how many troops had arrived in boston by 1769 and why?
2,000
to restore order—a large number considering only about 16,000 people lived in boston at the time.
massachusetts circular letter
of the 120 members of the massachusetts house, 92 refuse to rescind this circular letter and their action inspires john dickinson to once again take up his pen—this time to write a new song to the words of an old british military tune.
the liberty song is printed on ballad sheets and sung throughout the colonies in a show of mutual support for resistance.
why did loyalists support the townshend acts?
soldiers were there to protect the colonies
quartering act
colonists had to provide candles, beer and firewood - imported beer was expensive
sir henry moore
ny governor refused to acknowledge the army’s need or existence of the statute
revenue act 1767
tax on glass, lead, painters’ colours, and paper and duties upon wine, fruits, white and green glass - had to be imported, since the colonies did not have the manufacturing base to produce them.
gave custom officials wide latitude to enforce the taxes and levy punishments on smugglers. custom officials could use a rule already in effect, “writs of assistance” the writs waded into a grey area of legality as the right to secure one’s private property on their own property had already been an established right of every british citizen
angry response from colonists, who deemed the taxes a threat to their rights as british subjects.
use of writs of assistance was significantly controversial since the right to be secure in one’s private property was an established right in britain
hoped the new duties would not anger the colonists because they were external taxes
franklin had stated, “i never heard any objection to the right of laying duties to regulate commerce; but a right to lay internal taxes was never supposed to be in parliament, as we are not represented there.”
critics of parliament on both sides of the atlantic saw this tax policy as an example of corrupt politicians giving preferable treatment to specific corporate interests, creating a monopoly. the sense that corruption had become entrenched in parliament only increased colonists’ alarm.
to ensure compliance, townshend introduced the commissioners of customs act of 1767, which created an american board of customs to enforce trade laws
march I766 - rockingham had considered permitting the colonies to import wines and assorted fruits directly from spain and portugal without first stopping in england. the colonies would pay a duty upon importation. townshend incorporated the plan into his program. in november he requested the customs house to give him an account of the value and “number of pieces of chinaware exported from england. the value of china averaged more than £51,000 annually for the past three years on a total of about one million pieces of china. since it carried a drawback when exported to the provinces, it provided an attractive taxable item
non importation agreement
not import any other goods than they already had imported or ordered that fall.
they would not import any kind of goods from the next year’s january. however, they decided to exclude some of the critical supplies, such as salt, coals, fish hooks and lines.
refused to import any of the goods, overtaxed by the townshend act, mainly tea, glass and paper.
they would suspend this agreement only if the taxes were removed.
daughters of liberty - helped to manufacture goods when the non-importation agreements came into effect and caused deficits of british goods, especially textiles. spinning wool into yarn, knitting yarn into cloth. decided to join the initiative of boycotting tea, and instead of it, used different herbs and plants like mint or raspberry. many times, these women run either a household or even a small shop - make a choice of which goods to buy and which to boycott.
signed by 60 merchants and traders. after two weeks, there were only 16 traders who did not join the effort - many southern merchants and traders with loyalist leanings refused to cooperate.
reduced british exports by 1/3
non importation agreement
boston refused to import: cheese, mustard, chinaware, silk, anchors
new york refused to buy from any merchant even if american who didn’t support non importation agreement
by june 1768, non importation had spread to every colony apart from new hampshire
theophilius lillie refused to sign - Mr. W. Dennie, one of the Committee, spread the handbills immediately throughout many of the Country towns
british exports declined by 38%
massachusetts circular letter
1768 - lord hillsborough sent four thousand british troops to boston to deal with the unrest and put down any potential rebellion there.
constant reminder of the assertion of british power over the colonies, an illustration of an unequal relationship between members of the same empire.
as an added aggravation, british soldiers moonlighted as dockworkers, creating competition for employment. boston’s labour system had traditionally been closed, privileging native-born labou rers over outsiders, and jobs were scarce.
many bostonians, led by the sons of liberty, mounted a campaign of harassment against british troops. also helped protect the smuggling actions of the merchants; smuggling was crucial for the colonists’ ability to maintain their boycott of british goods.
liberty riots
10th june 1768
evening of may 9, 1768, involved customs collectors boarding one of hancock’s ships, the liberty. found 25 pipes of madeira wine (arranged to be unloaded during the middle of the night. Thus, when officials agents boarded the ship the next day, the entire cargo was not there - would not have to pay taxes on all of it.), a figure far less than the ship was capable of carrying. customs officials thought that the shipment was similar to the previous case of malcolm’s wine smuggling
tidesmen confirmed that none of the cargo had been unloaded during the night.
royal navy seized the liberty
later that evening, a crowd reassembled and gathered and began searching for the customs official. not found at home, they began breaking windows. 3000 thousand men pulled a pleasure boat owned by harrison from the water, dragged it through the streets, condemned it in a mockery of the customs process used against smugglers, and then they burnt the boat.
british officials to request more troops to be brought into boston to occupy the city.
customs board
commissioners of customs act - 29th june 1767
headquartered in boston with 5 customs commissioners
created to enforce shipping regulations and increase tax revenue. previously, customs enforcement was handled by the customs board back in england. due to the distance, enforcement was poor, taxes were avoided and smuggling was rampant.
enforcement increased, leading to a confrontation with smuggling colonists. Incidents between customs officials, military personnel and colonists broke out across the colonies, eventually leading to the occupation of boston by british troops.
only 45 customs districts where official entry/clearance might be obtained
