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The Townshend acts were four acts that were passed by Parliament to have authority and rule of the colonies

The Suspending Act disallowed the New York Assembly from getting together and discussing business and the second act the Revenue Act tried to regulate trade which made England wealthy

The third act had strict rules for the customs collection in the American colonies( officers, searchers, spies, coast guard vessels and search warrants)

The fourth Townshend act allowed the East India Company to compete with the Dutch and England gave the company a refund for the loss of tea exported to the colonies

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Massachusetts Historical Society - Hannah Morris

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Massachusetts Historical Society - Hannah Morris

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- The colonists are being taxed on imports into the colonies.

-The colonists are being taxed by Parliament without being represented.

- They are writing a letter to all the legislative assemblies on the continent and British administrators are trying to stop the letter and stop the other colonies from supporting it.

-John Dickinson wrote a song called “The Liberty Song” which was printed on ballad sheets and sung throughout the colonies to show resistance.

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Introduction

Early in 1766, Dr. Benjamin Franklin, of Philadelphia is one of many called to testify in London as the Members of Parliament struggle to understand why Americans had so forcibly resisted the Stamp Act. These British legislators hope to avoid a repeat of the furious reaction across the Atlantic as they ponder how to generate revenue from the colonies and remind those colonies of Parliament's right to tax-and control-them.

A year after the repeal of the Stamp Act and less than two months before Parliament passes the new Townshend Revenue Acts, a sense of what is to come is conveyed by Member of Parliament Thomas Whately as he hints to his correspondent (who will become a new customs commissioner) that "you will have much to do." This time the tax will come in the form of a duty on imports into the colonies, and the collection of those duties will be fully enforced.

On 29 June 1767 Parliament passes the Townshend Acts. They bear the name of Charles Townshend, Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is-as the chief treasurer of the British Empire-in charge of economic and financial matters. With the repeal of the Stamp Act, money is needed for "defraying the expenses" of administering the colonies in America. The Acts create a new Customs Commission and punish New York for refusing to abide by the Quartering Act of 1765.

Bostonians meet in Faneuil Hall the next October to consider a petition brought by fellow townsmen. It addresses a key issue raised by the Act-"the excessive use of foreign superfluities" -and the extent to which this has increased the colonists' reliance on and subjugation to Britain.

From Philadelphia come a series of twelve letters from "a Farmer in Pennsylvania." They are first printed in The Philadelphia Chronicle and circulated to nearly all the other colonial newspapers and appear in pamphlet form in both America and England. They are among the most widely read publications of the period. The "Farmer" is John Dickinson, a London-educated lawyer who has been a member of Pennsylvania's assembly. As New York is being punished by the Townshend Acts, Dickinson warns that "the cause of one is the cause of all." In a subsequent letter, he examines the constitutionality of the Townshend Acts and declares the new import duties "a dangerous innovation." The colonists are being taxed by Parliament without being represented in Parliament. And they are Englishmen and deserve the rights of Englishmen!

Resistance to the Townshend Acts takes many forms, and involves an expanding network of individuals, families, neighbors, communities, and colonies from New England to Georgia. "Ladies of the first quality" do their share and newspaper reports use their example to inform and inspire readers to take action. The Massachusetts House of Representatives (part of the General Court) addresses a circulatory (or circular) letter "to a sister colony" and sends it to all the other legislative assemblies "on this continent" in February 1768. British administrators order the Massachusetts House to stop the circulation of the letter and forbid the other colonies to support it, but the damage is done.

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.

Massachusetts' royal governor Francis Bernard dissolves the colonial assembly of Massachusetts-the General Court. "Deprived of the Councils of a General Assembly," angry Bostonians call for a convention of Massachusetts towns in September 1768 to decide on next steps. And in far away Charlestown, South Carolina, support for this aggrieved sister colony to the north comes in a most dramatic fashion by means of "45 candles ... and

And then on 1 October, British troops begin to arrive in Boston.

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Early in 1766, Dr. Benjamin Franklin, of Philadelphia is one of many called to testify in London as the Members of Parliament struggle to understand why Americans had so forcibly resisted the Stamp Act.

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In the Townshend Revenue Act there were taxes on glass, plain, lead, paper and tea and because there was a lot of colonial hostilities they also created the Stamp Act; the British had the idea of raising 40,000 shillings that year

John Hancock one of the citizens of Boston violated the trade regulations and some of the officials from England came to his shop to encounter him

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The Townshend Revenue Act

Taxes on glass, paint, oil, lead, paper, and tea were applied with the design of raising £40,000 a year for the administration of the colonies. The result was the resurrection of colonial hostilities created by the Stamp Act.

Reaction assumed revolutionary proportions in Boston, in the summer of 1768, when customs officials impounded a sloop owned by John Hancock, for violations of the trade regulations. Crowds mobbed the customs office, forcing the officials to retire to a British Warship in the Harbor. Troops from England and Nova Scotia marched in to occupy Boston on October 1, 1768. Bostonians offered no resistance. Rather they changed their tactics. They established non-importation agreements that quickly spread throughout the colonies. British trade soon dried up and the powerful merchants of Britain once again interceded on behalf of the colonies.

THE TOWNSHEND REVENUE ACT
June 29, 1767
AN ACT for granting certain duties in the British colonies and plantations in America; for allowing a drawback of the duties of customs upon the exportation from this kingdom, of coffee and cocoa nuts of the produce of the said colonies or plantations; for discontinuing the drawbacks payable on china earthen ware exported to America; and for more effectually preventing the clandestine running of goods in the said colonies and plantations.

WHEREAS it is expedient that a revenue should be raised, in your Majesty's dominions in America, 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 as it shall be found necessary; and towards further defraying the expenses of defending, protecting and securing the said dominions; ... be it enacted.... That from and after the twentieth day of November, one thousand seven hundred and sixty seven, there shall be raised, levied, collected, and paid, unto his Majesty, his heirs, and successors, for upon and the respective Goods here in after mentioned, which shall be imported from Great Britain into any colony or plantation in America which now is or hereafter may be, under the dominion of his Majesty, his heirs, or successors, the several Rates and Duties following; that is to say,

For every hundredweight avoirdupois of crown, plate, flint, and white glass, four shillings and eight pence.

For every hundred weight avoirdupois of red lead, two shillings.

For every hundred weight avoirdupois of green glass, one shilling and two pence.

For every hundred weight avoirdupois of white lead, two shillings.

For every hundred weight avoirdupois of painters colours, two shillings.

For every pound weight avoirdupois of tea, three pence.

For every ream of paper, usually called or known by the name of Atlas fine, twelve shillings. ...

IV

...and that all the monies that shall arise by the said duties (except the necessary charges of raising, collecting, levying, recovering, answering, paying, and accounting for the same) shall be applied, in the first place, in such manner as is herein after mentioned, in making a more certain and adequate provision for the charge of the administration of justice, and the support of civil government in such of the said colonies and plantations where it shall be found necessary; and that the residue of such duties shall be payed into the receipt of his Majesty's exchequer, and shall be entered separate and apart from all other monies paid or payable to his Majesty ...; and shall be there reserved, to be from time to time disposed of by parliament towards defraying the necessary expense of defending, protecting, and securing, the British colonies and plantations in America.

V

And be it further enacted ..., That his Majesty and his successors shall be, and are hereby, impowered, from time to time, by any warrant or warrants under his or their royal sign manual or sign manuals, countersigned by the high treasurer, or any three or more of the commissioners of the treasury for the time being, to cause such monies to be applied, out of the produce of the duties granted by this act, as his Majesty, or his successors, shall think proper or necessary, for defraying the charges of the administration of justice, and the support of the civil government, within all or any of the said colonies or plantations....

X

And whereas by an act of parliament made in the fourteenth year of the reign of King Charles the Second, intituled, An act for preventing frauds, and regulating abuses, in his Majesty's customs, and several other acts now in force, it is lawful for any officer of his Majesty's customs, authorized by writ of assistance under the seal of his Majesty's court of exchequer, to take a constable, headborough, or other public officer inhabiting near unto the place, and in the daytime to enter and go into any house, shop cellar, warehouse, or room or other place and, in case of resistance, to break open doors, chests, trunks, and other pakage there, to seize, and from thence to bring, any kind of goods or merchandise whatsoever prohibited or uncustomed, and to put and secure the same in his Majesty's storehouse next to the place where such seizure shall be made; and whereas by an act made in the seventh and eighth years of the reign of King William the Third, intituled An act for preventing frauds, and regulating abuses, in the plantation trade, it is, amongst otherthings, enacted, that the officers for collecting and managing his Majesty's revenue, and inspecting the plantation trade, in America, shall have the same powers and authorities to enter houses or warehouses, to search or seize goods prohibited to be imported or exported into or out of any of the said plantations, or for which any duties are payable, or ought to have been paid; and that the like assistance shall be given to the said officers in the execution of their office, as, by the said recited act of the fourteenth year of King Charles the Second, is provided for the officers of England: but, no authority being expressly given by the said act, made in the seventh and eighth years of the reign of King William the Third, to any particular court to grant such writs of assistance for the officers of the customs in the said plantations, it is doubted whether such officers can legally enter houses and other places on land, to search for and seize goods, in the manner directed by the said recited acts: To obviate which doubts for the future, and in order to carry the intention of the said recited acts into effectual execution, be it enacted ..., That from and after the said twentieth day of November, one thousand seven hundred and sixty seven, such writs of assistance, to authorize and impower the officers of his Majesty's customs to enter and go into any house, warehouse, shop, cellar, or other place, in the British colonies or plantations in America, to search for and seize prohibited and uncustomed goods, in the manner directed by the said recited acts, shall and may be granted by the said superior or supreme court of justice having jurisdiction within such colony or plantation respectively...

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Taxes on glass, paint, oil, lead, paper, and tea were applied with the design of raising £40,000 a year for the administration of the colonies. The result was the resurrection of colonial hostilities created by the Stamp Act.

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The Parliament taxed imported items such as glass, tea, lead, paint, and paper.

The board of customs commissioners was supposed to be a better way of organizing the customs system but merchants thought that it was a way to get a new bureaucracy.

Daughters of Liberty protested against British tea and clothing which fell 40%

British custom officials accused shipowners and merchants of smuggling so they confiscated ships and goods.

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You are already too well acquainted with the melancholy and very alarming Circumstances to which this Province, as well as America in general, is now reduced.

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Sam Adams wanted to create the committee of correspondence to communicate with other colonial assemblies, and educate people about their political rights.

No taxation without representation means that British Parliament didn’t have the right to tax them because they didn’t have representation politically.

British custom officials collected taxes and prosecuted smugglers so it can turn violent.

Merchants created a non important agreement which stopped all imports of British goods and the British responded by sending naval and military officials to Boston to enforce the Acts.

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In 1767, a new wave of taxes on the American colonists led to renewed protest, and the formation of committees of correspondence to rally opposition to British policies.

The Townshend Acts, passed in 1767 and 1768, were designed to raise revenue for the British Empire by taxing its North American colonies. They were met with widespread protest in the colonies, especially among merchants in Boston.

The Townshend Acts renewed a fierce debate over the British Parliament's right to tax the colonies.

In 1772, Boston revolutionary Samuel Adams urged the creation of a committee of correspondence to communicate with other colonial assemblies, educate townspeople about their political rights, and rally opposition to British rule.

Colonial opposition to the Townshend Acts

After a century and a half of salutary neglect of its North American colonies, Britain sought to impose tighter control over them.

After the Seven Years' War ended in 1763, leaving the British Empire in financial distress, the British Parliament sought to fill its coffers by taxing the colonies. The Stamp Act, which levied taxes on all printed material in the North American colonies, had provoked so much unrest that Britain was ultimately forced to repeal it. At the same time, however, the British Parliament passed the Declaratory Act, which asserted Britain's ultimate right of control over the colonies. The repeal of the Stamp Act stopped the protests and rioting, and the colonists did not at first oppose the Declaratory Act-until the British began to enforce it.

In 1767, Charles Townshend, Britain's chancellor of the exchequer, imposed a series of new taxes designed to raise revenue. All imports of glass, lead, paint, and tea were to be taxed, new customs officials were to be sent to the colonies to collect, and courts of admiralty were created to prosecute violators and smugglers. These actions became known as the Townshend Acts, and they unleashed another wave of protest in the colonies.

The acts renewed a fierce debate over whether the British Parliament had the right to tax the North American colonies solely for the purpose of raising revenue. The colonists protested, "no taxation without representation," arguing that the British Parliament did not have the right to tax them because they lacked representation in the legislative body. They asserted that only colonial assemblies elected by themselves should have the power to impose taxes.

The British responded with the theory of virtual representation, which held that the members of British Parliament were duty-bound to protect the interests of British citizens and subjects alike, including the colonists. When the colonial assemblies of New York and Massachusetts denied Parliament's right of taxation and urged the other colonies to resist, the Crown-appointed governors of the colonies dissolved the assemblies, touching off a struggle between executive authorities and the representatives of the people.

Colonists organized boycotts of British goods to pressure Parliament to repeal the Townshend Acts. As British customs officials arrived to collect taxes and prosecute smugglers, colonial opposition intensified, resulting in street demonstrations and protests that sometimes turned violent.

The Townshend Acts were especially reviled in Boston, where the Customs Board was headquartered. Merchants in Boston signed a nonimportation agreement, which suspended all imports of British goods. Merchants in New York and Philadelphia followed with their own nonimportation pledges. The British responded by sending naval and military officials to Boston to enforce the Acts, setting the stage for the Boston Massacre in 1770.

Committees of correspondence

Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson, who had been appointed by the Crown, sought to compose a faction of pro-British Loyalist officials and thereby widen support for Britain's mercantilist taxation policies. In 1772, Boston revolutionary Samuel Adams responded by urging Massachusetts to employ a committee of correspondence to contact townspeople and stay apprised of events occurring at town meetings throughout the area. The purpose of such a committee was to rally opposition to British policies, to educate the townspeople of Massachusetts about their constitutional rights and the British threats to those rights, and to encourage townspeople to become more politically active. By 1774, every colonial assembly had created a committee of correspondence.

Adams's effort was successful. The committee forged unity among the towns and intensified their resistance to British rule. This burgeoning republican spirit would flower as the revolutionary crisis unfolded. Although pro-British Loyalists like Governor Hutchinson claimed that the committees deceived naïve country dwellers into fomenting rebellion, in reality, the people of Massachusetts were engaging with political ideals and debating the proper form, function, and scope of government. The ideology of republicanism was taking root in the critical colony of Massachusetts, which would prove a leader in the American Revolution.

What do you think?

In your own words, explain the role and function of the committees of correspondence.

Why do you think Massachusetts became a leader in the American Revolution?

What was the most consequential outcome of the Townshend Acts?

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The Townshend Acts and the committees of correspondence (article) | Khan Academy

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Learn for free about math, art, computer programming, economics, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, finance, history, and more. Khan Academy is a nonprofit with the mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.

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The Townshend Acts were a series of laws passed by the British which the colonists thought super unfair and showed it by boycotting the goods

One of the acts that caused a lot of riots in the colonies was the Stamp Act and groups of colonists called the Sons of Liberty led to protests and their slogan was “No Taxation without Representation”.

Exchequer Charles Townshend didn’t like the fact that they repealed the Stamp Act so they passed the Townshend Acts which taxed imported goods like lead, paint, paper and tea and also set up a customs agency in Boston

He thought that these acts would be a bit more agreeable to the colonists then the Stamp Act because they were only taxing imported goods form the importers

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The colonists saw the Townshend Acts as an abuse of power and the Townshend Acts created more tensions between the British and the colonists

Benjamin Franklin told the British that the colonists would start manufacturing their own goods and so Charles Townshend taxed china, glass, lead, paint, paper and tea because he thought that it would be difficult for the colonists to produce this on their own

Charles Townshend thought that these acts would ensure the loyalty the colonists had to the British but instead the colonists responded with protests and boycotting the goods

The Townshend Acts led to British soldiers coming to the colonies which riled the colonists up even more and led to the Boston Massacre in 1770; soon though the British took down the Townshend Acts except for the one on tea

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Townshend Acts - Definition, Facts & Purpose | HISTORY

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The Townshend Acts were a series of unpopular measures, passed by the British Parliament in 1767, that taxed goods imported to the American colonies. The laws heightened the tensions between Great Britain and the American colonists and were a precursor to the Revolutionary War.

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What were the Townshend Acts? - video Hannah Morris

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What were the Townshend Acts? - video Hannah Morris

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Charles Townsen British Treasurer thought that Britain can make more money by taxing imports from colonies than paying taxes on local items.

The crown went to collect all the taxes but they rioted about being taxed on imports that they need so the British Army went to help maintain order in Boston Harbor.

This caused the Boston Massacre on March 5th 1770 when 8 soldiers fired into a crowd of protestors killing 5 people.