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250 Years Ago … Siege of Boston

Following the battles at Lexington and Concord in April 1775, colonial forces from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island formed a New England army to surround and contain the British forces occupying Boston.

The Siege of Boston was essentially a containment of British forces in Boston laid out by the American militia, later known as the Continental Army on the British held Boston.

Sara Winslow Deming’s journal notes the British were anticipating something, it states, in part (Massachusetts Historical Society),

“On Saterday, ye 15th April [1775] P.M. I had a visit from Mr. Barron. I never saw him with such a countenance. He affected a smiling countenance when he came in. I was glad to see him as ever — I pointed him to a chair, & seated myself, he rose & took the next chair by me, saying “permit me to set by you.”

“I try’d to affect an ease I did not feel, & I tho’t, & still think, that he did the same.  Soon however, a gloom spread over his countenance, — after a short silence, he told me, (I have since recolected, somewhat officeously,) that “the light Infantry, & all the Grenidier Companies were drafted from all the reg.rs & were ordered to be ready to attend whatever duty they might be called to at a minutes warning, & you know I am one.”

“And are you ready? Yes. After another short silence, he proceeded, unasked, to tell me many things tho’ I have since tho’t that he would have given direct answers to any questions I might have ask’d, so far as he was let into their secrets – but I ask’d no question of consequence.”

“Several times I saw him catch in his handkerchief the tears that fell from his eyes. Sometimes, there was a silence of several minutes together, both before & after Mr. Deming came in. It was evident, that his soul labor’d under some heavy pressure.”

“Once with very little introduction, he said, ‘I advise you as a friend to stay in Boston – I think it will be the safest place.’”

Following these skirmishes, British forces under General Thomas Gage garrisoned at Boston, Massachusetts Bay. Subsequently, the American militia surrounded the area in an attempt to contain the British forces. Hence, the siege of Boston started on April 19, 1775.

Sara Winslow Deming’s journal notes, in part (Massachusetts Historical Society), “Early on Wednesday the fatal 19th April, before I had quited my chamber, one after another came runing up to tell me that the kings troops had fired upon & killed 8 of our neighbors at Lexington in their way to Concord.”

“All the intelligence of this day was dreadfull. Almost every countenance expressing anxiety & distress. But description fails here.  I went to bed about 12 this night having taken but little food thro’ the day; having resolv’d to quit the town before the next setting sun, should life, & limbs be spar’d to me.”

“Towards morning, I fell into a sound sleep from which I was waked by Mr. D.g between 6, & 7 o clock informing me that I was Genl Gage’s prisoner — all egress, & regress being cut off between the town & country.”

“Here again description fails. No words can paint my distress — I feel it at this instant (just 8 weeks after) so sensibly, that I must pause before I can proceed.”

A May 6, 1775 letter from John Andrews to William Barrel describes some of the initial impacts to the residents of Boston at the time of the Siege (Massachusetts Historical Society), “You’ll observe by this, that I am yet in Boston, & here like to remain — three of us charterd a vessell a fortnight since to convey us to Halifax as Sam dont think your city Safe by any means,”

“but the absolute refusal of the Governor to Suffer any merchandize to be carried out the town, had determd me to Stay & take care of my effects, together wth the perswasion of Saml & his wife & Ruthy –“

“the latter being perfectly willing & desirous of going without me, as her peace of mind depends entirely upon his leaving the town; in concequence of which have acquiesed, but am affraid it will be a long time before I Shall See her again, if ever.”

“near half the inhabitants have left the town already, & another quarter, at least, have been waiting for a week past with earnest expectation of getting Passes, which have been dealt out very Sparingly of late, not above two or three procur’d of a day, & those with the greatest difficulty.”

“its a fortnight yesterday Since the communication between the town & country was Stop’d, of concequence our eyes have not been bless’d with either vegetables or fresh provisions, how long we Shall continue in this wretched State – God only knows –“

“but that no more blood may be Shed is the earnest wish & prayer of your affectionate friend & Brother.”  Jno. Andrews

After that, the course of the siege was littered with small skirmishes and nothing substantial occurred until May 21. The British forces learned that they needed hay for their horses. Hence Gage ordered an expedition to go to Grape Island and bring back hay to Boston.

The Continentals, however, spotted the troops and called for the militia. At first, the armies engaged in shooting over a long distance, but the militia was able to get their hands on a sloop and sailed to Grape island. Once on land, they set fire to the hay barn and essentially destroyed about 80 tons of hay. Consequently, the Continentals cleared out the cattle, sheep and hay from the islands around Boston.

On June 13, 1775, the leaders of the Continental Army learned that the British forces were planning to fortify the nearby unoccupied hills.

This in turn would give them control of the Boston Harbor. Subsequently, the American forces under the command of Colonel William Prescott immediately occupied the hills.

On June 17, 1775, the British forces learned that the Americans had occupied the hills and they launched an attack against them. The battle came to be known as the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Most of the battle took place on an adjacent hill which later came to be known as ‘Breed’s hill’. Even though the British forces were victorious in battle, they suffered heavy casualties.

Following the Battle of Bunker Hill, the siege of Boston essentially became a stalemate, with both sides hesitant to attack.

The Continental Congress formed the new Continental Army on June 14 and General George Washington was named its commander-in-chief on June 15, 1775.

In early July 1775, General George Washington arrived in Cambridge to take charge of the newly established Continental Army. He had the objective of removing the British forces from Boston. To achieve this he worked to fortify the troops and organize the militia into an army.

Subsequently, in October 1775, General Thomas Gage was replaced by General William Howe as commander of the British forces.

Over the course of the siege, both armies had to deal with a harsh winter which resulted in a lack of resources and personnel issues.  The winter brought an array of problems for both sides.

The Americans were facing a severe shortage of gunpowder. So much so that the soldiers were handed spears to fight with instead of guns in an event of a British attack. On the other hand, the British forces were facing a huge shortage of wood.

Washington wanted to break the ongoing stalemate. However, to achieve this he needed artillery. In November 1775, he ordered Colonel Henry Knox to bring back artillery captured at Fort Ticonderoga. Knox successfully transported more than 60 tons of captured armament from Fort Ticonderoga back to Boston. These supplies also included more than 55 cannons and they reached Boston by late January 1776.

On February 16 and 18 Washington once again tried to convince his generals to launch an attack against the British troops. However, he received the same answer as before. This was because his generals feared that they had lesser manpower and gunpowder than the British forces.

Moreover, instead of going offensive, they believed that it would be better to take over Dorchester Heights once they had sufficient firepower. In their opinion, this would force the British forces to come out of Boston and off of Noddle’s island and then they would be in the open.

Finally, on March 2, 1776, the Continental Army placed some of the cannons in fortification around Boston. They then bombarded the British forces for two days straight. The artillery was strategically placed at Lechmere Point, Cobble Hill in Cambridge, and Lamb’s Dam in Roxbury.

On the night of March 4, 1776, the Continental Army led by General John Thomas marched to Dorchester Heights and fortified it with the artillery. By morning, they had the artillery pointed towards the Boston Harbor and the city.

Fortification of the heights south of Boston began on the night of March 4 and 5, 1776.  On the other side of Boston, in Cambridge, guns bombarded the British-held town as a diversion. Over the next week, the stronghold grew in size and strength.

William Cheever notes in his diary (Massachusetts Historical Society),

5th. [March 1776] Last Night & this morning a very incessant Fireing from 1/2 past 7 in the even’g ’till 6 this morning: without much damage & this day at noon, Gen’l Howe notified that all Persons who intended to follow the Army should give in their names, as he must withdraw his Troops.

The British forces first decided to go on the offensive but soon realized its futility as their cannons could not reach the American forces stationed at a height. Howe then sent troops to dislodge the Continental Army’s guns from Dorchester Heights but a snowstorm hit Boston and that attack never materialized.

The British forces accepted defeat and on March 7.  The siege began on April 19, 1775, and went on for 11-months, following which the British forces left the region and sailed to Nova Scotia. The siege of Boston finally ended on March 17, 1776.

Click the following link to a general summary about the Siege of Boston:

Click to access Siege-of-Boston.pdf

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

250 Years Ago … Shot Heard Round the World

British victory in the Seven Years War (1756-63) sowed the seeds of the American revolt. It freed the colonists from the need for protection against the French threat on their frontier. It also gave free rein to the forces working for independence.

The British wanted to increase taxes and make the colonies pay for their defense. The colonists argued that only their own assemblies, and not the British parliament, had a right to levy taxes. (British National Army Museum)

In 1775 there were about 7,000 British redcoats in America, with around 4,000 in Massachusetts itself.  The royally appointed governor, Thomas Gage, had been granted broadly expanded powers.

Rebellion was in the air.

Acting on intelligence that the militia were stockpiling weapons, Gage ordered British Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Smith to march to Concord and seize the arms.  Smith commanded the 800-strong force, drawn from several regiments, that was sent to seize the arms. An officer with 12 years’ colonial experience, Smith had served in America since 1767.

The rebel intelligence network suggested that the British aim in Lexington was to capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock, two of the most prominent Patriot leaders, but the size of the British army force was large enough to suggest they had bigger goals in mind.

The British soldiers and rebel militiamen raced to Lexington during the night; they confronted each other at Lexington Green – a village common area – just as the sun was rising on the morning of April 19. Captain John Parker, a veteran of the Seven Years’ War, led a contingent of 80 Lexington militiamen, known as minute men because they had to be ready to fight at a minute’s notice.

Most of the militiamen were farmers or tradesmen.  Non-uniformed, they were armed with a variety of firearms including muskets and fowling pieces. (British National Army Museum)

Years later, one of the participants recalled Parker’s words right before the deadly skirmish: “Stand your ground; don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”

On April 19, 1775, initial skirmishes between British regulars and American Patriots marked the beginning of the American Revolution.

… at 5 o’clock we arrived there and saw a number of People, I believe between 2 and 300 … we still continued advancing, keeping prepared against an attack tho’ without intending to attack them …

… they fired one or two shots, upon which our Men without any orders rushed in upon them, fired and put ‘em to flight; several of them were killed.  (Diary of Lt. John Barker, Library of Congress)

 It is unclear who fired the first shot.

A skirmish ensued, during which eight militiamen were killed and only one British soldier wounded.

After order was restored, the British soldiers began the march to Concord, where militias from Concord and the nearby town of Lincoln were waiting. After the British found and destroyed rebel weapons caches, they squared off against the colonial forces at the North Bridge. Outnumbered and outmaneuvered, the British soldiers broke rank and fled, handing the stunned colonists a victory. (Khan Academy)

The march back to Boston was a genuine ordeal for the British, with Americans continually firing on them from behind roadside houses, barns, trees, and stone walls. This experience established guerrilla warfare as the colonists’ best defense strategy against the British.

Total losses were British 273, American 95. The Battles of Lexington and Concord confirmed the alienation between the majority of colonists and the mother country, and it roused New Englanders to join forces and begin the Siege of Boston, resulting in its evacuation by the British the following March.  (Britannica)

Within a week, 16,000 men from the four New England colonies formed a siege army outside British-occupied Boston. In June, the Continental Congress took over the New England army, creating a national force, the Continental Army. Thereafter, men throughout America took up arms. It seemed to the British regulars that every able-bodied American male had become a soldier.  (Smithsonian, Ferling)

Following this, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence and it was signed by 56-members of the Congress (1776.)

The next eight years (1775-1783) war was waging on the eastern side of the continent.  The main result was an American victory and European recognition of the independence of the United States.

Some 100,000 men served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Probably twice that number soldiered as militiamen, for the most part defending the home front, functioning as a police force and occasionally engaging in enemy surveillance.  (Smithsonian, Ferling)  Though never more than 48,000 served at a time. (Military-com, Stilwell)

The formal end of the war did not occur until the Treaty of Paris and the Treaties of Versailles were signed on September 3, 1783 and recognized the sovereignty of the United States over the territory bounded roughly by what is now Canada to the north, Florida to the south, and the Mississippi River to the west.

The last British troops left New York City on November 25, 1783, and the US Congress of the Confederation ratified the Paris treaty on January 14, 1784.

Between 25,000 and 70,000 American Patriots died during active military service.  Of these, approximately 6,800 were killed in battle, while at least 17,000 died from disease. The majority of the latter died while prisoners of war of the British, mostly in the prison ships in New York Harbor. (Veterans Museum)

Lexington and Concord led many Americans to support the ‘revolution’. For John Adams, these battles were the moment ‘the Die was cast, the Rubicon crossed’. They also showed that American citizen soldiers could stand up to redcoats; something previously doubted by many on both sides.

It was the turning point in the future of the continent and an everlasting change in what would become the United States.

It was Ralph Waldo Emerson who coined the phrase ‘Shot Heard Round the World’ and used it his 1837 poem, ‘Concord Hymn,’ that he wrote for the dedication of a battle monument at the site of the North Bridge.

Click the following link to a general summary about Lexington and Concord – “The Shot Heard Round the World”:

Click to access Shot-Heard-Round-the-World.pdf

Click to access Lexington-and-Concord-–-‘The-Shot-Heard-Round-the-World-SAR-RT.pdf

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

250 Years Ago … One if by Land, Two if by Sea

Paul Revere served as a messenger, “In the year 1773 I was imployed by the Select men of the Town of Boston to carry the Account of the Destruction of the Tea to New-York; and afterwards, 1774, to Carry their dispatches to New-York and Philadelphia for Calling a Congress; and afterwards to Congress, several times.” (Revere to Belknap, 1798, Massachusetts Historical Society)

In 1774 and 1775, the Boston Committee of Correspondence and the Massachusetts Committee of Safety employed Paul Revere as an express rider to carry news, messages, and copies of important documents as far away as New York and Philadelphia.

“In the Fall of 1774 & Winter of 1775 I was one of upwards of thirty, cheifly mechanics, who formed our selves in to a Committee for the purpose of watching the Movements of the British Soldiers, and gaining every intelegence of the movements of the Tories. We held our meetings at the Green-Dragon Tavern.”

“We were so carefull that our meetings should be kept Secret; that every time we met, every person swore upon the Bible, that they would not discover any of our transactions, But to Messrs. Hancock, Adams, Doctors Warren, Church, & one or two more.” (Revere to Belknap, 1798, Massachusetts Historical Society)

On the evening of April 18, 1775, Dr. Joseph Warren summoned Paul Revere and gave him the task of riding to Lexington, Massachusetts, with the news that British soldiers stationed in Boston were about to march into the countryside northwest of the town.

“In the Winter, towards the Spring, we frequently took Turns, two and two, to Watch the Soldiers, By patrolling the Streets all night. The Saturday Night preceding the 19th of April, about 12 oClock at Night, the Boats belonging to the Transports were all launched, & carried under the Sterns of the Men of War. (They had been previously hauld up & repaired).”

“We likewise found that the Grenadiers and light Infantry were all taken off duty. From these movements, we expected something serious was [to] be transacted. On Tuesday evening, the 18th, it was observed, that a number of Soldiers were marching towards the bottom of the Common.”  (Revere to Belknap, 1798, Massachusetts Historical Society)

According to Warren, these troops planned to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock, two leaders of the Sons of Liberty, who were staying at a house in Lexington. It was thought they would then continue on to the town of Concord, to capture or destroy military stores – gunpowder, ammunition, and several cannon – that had been stockpiled there.

In fact, the British troops had no orders to arrest anyone – Dr. Warren’s intelligence on this point was faulty – but they were very much on a major mission out of Boston. (Paul Revere House)

“I was sent for by Docr. Joseph Warren, of said Boston, on the evening of the 18th of April, about to oClock;”

“When he desired me, ‘to go to Lexington, and inform Mr. Samuel Adams, and the Honl. John Hancock Esqr. that there was a number of Soldiers, composed of Light troops, & Grenadiers, marching to the bottom of the Common, where was a number of Boats to receive them; it was supposed, that they were going to Lexington, by the way of Cambridge River, to take them, or go to Concord, to destroy the Colony Stores.’”  (Revere Deposition, 1775, Massachusetts Historical Society)

Warren had also asked another rider, William Dawes to go to Lexington.

“When I got to Dr. Warren’s house, I found he had sent an express by land to Lexington – a Mr. Wm. Daws.”  (Revere to Belknap, 1798, Massachusetts Historical Society)

Revere contacted an unidentified friend (probably Robert Newman, the sexton of Christ Church in Boston’s North End) and instructed him to hold two lit lanterns in the tower of Christ Church (now called the Old North Church) as a signal to fellow Sons of Liberty across the Charles River in case Revere was unable to leave town.

“The Sunday before, by desire of Dr. Warren, I had been to Lexington, to Mess. Hancock and Adams, who were at the Rev. Mr. Clark’s. I returned at Night thro Charlestown; there I agreed with a Col. Conant, & some other Gentle men, in Charleston …”

“… that if the British went out by Water, we would shew two Lanthorns in the North Church Steeple; & if by Land, one, as a Signal; for we were aprehensive it would be dificult to Cross the Charles River, or git over Boston neck. I left Dr. Warrens, called upon a friend, and desired him to make the Signals.”  (Revere to Belknap, 1798, Massachusetts Historical Society)

The two lanterns were a predetermined signal stating that the British troops planned to row “by sea” across the Charles River to Cambridge, rather than march “by land” out Boston Neck.

Revere proceeded the short distance to Boston’s North End waterfront. There two friends rowed him across the river to Charlestown. Slipping past the British warship HMS Somerset in the darkness, Revere landed safely.

After informing Colonel Conant and other local Sons of Liberty about recent events in Boston and verifying that they had seen his signals in the North Church tower, Revere borrowed a horse from John Larkin, a Charlestown merchant and a patriot sympathizer. While there, a member of the Committee of Safety named Richard Devens warned Revere that there were a number of British officers in the area who might try to intercept him.

At about eleven o’clock Revere set off on horseback. After narrowly avoiding capture just outside of Charlestown, Revere changed his planned route and rode through Medford, where he alarmed Isaac Hall, the captain of the local militia, of the British movements.

He then alarmed almost all the houses from Medford, through Menotomy (today’s Arlington) – carefully avoiding the Royall Mansion whose property he rode through (Isaac Royall was a well-known Loyalist) — and arrived in Lexington sometime after midnight.

“In Medford, I awaked the Captain of the Minute men; & after that, I alarmed almost every House, till I got to Lexington.”

 In Lexington, as he approached the house where Adams and Hancock were staying,  Sergeant Monroe, acting as a guard outside the house, requested that he not make so much noise.

“Noise!” cried Revere, “You’ll have noise enough before long. The regulars are coming out!” According to tradition, John Hancock, who was still awake, heard Revere’s voice and said “Come in, Revere! We’re not afraid of you”.  (Paul Revere House)

Five Riders

Because of the epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Paul Revere is often credited as the sole rider who alerted the colonies that the Regulars (British) were coming.

Yet, despite this tale, there were many riders who went out the night of April 18 and in the years following, warning the colonists of the approach and movement of the British forces.

Dozens of messengers raced on horseback to spread the word. (LA Times)  Five have been named; four men and one woman made late night rides, alerting the early Americans of what dangers lay ahead. They were Paul Revere, Samuel Prescott, Israel Bissell, William Dawes and Sybil Ludington.

Click the following links to general summaries about One if by Land, Two if by Sea:

Click to access One-if-by-Land-Two-if-by-Sea-SAR-RT.pdf

Click to access One-if-by-Land-Two-if-by-Sea.pdf

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

250 Years Ago … Give Me Liberty, Or Give Me Death

The Second Virginia Convention met March 20, 1775 inland at Richmond — in what is now called St. John’s Church. Delegate Patrick Henry presented resolutions to raise and establish a militia, and to put Virginia in a posture of defense. Henry’s opponents urged caution and patience until the crown replied to Congress’ latest petition for reconciliation.

Relations between the colonists and the government back in Great Britain had steadily deteriorated over the decade since the Stamp Act was passed in 1765. Violence related to the Tea Act and the Boston Tea Party in 1773 led to the imposition of the Coercive or Intolerable Acts a year later.

On September 5, 1774, the first Congress in the United States met in Philadelphia to consider its reaction to the British government’s restraints on trade and representative government after the Boston Tea Party raid. In all, 56 delegates from 12 colonies came to Philadelphia including John Adams, his cousin Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, Roger Sherman, John Jay, John Dickinson, Richard Henry Lee, and George Washington.

During their session in Philadelphia, which ended after about seven weeks of debates, the group agreed to a boycott of British goods within the colonies as a sign of protest, spelled out in the Continental Association. The Association also called for an end of exports to Great Britain in the following year if the Intolerable Acts weren’t repealed.

Henry spoke to the second Virginia convention in March 1775, to discuss the events in Philadelphia and the need to form armed militias in Virginia in case British troops attempted to control the area.

Patrick Henry, (born May 29 [May 18, Old Style], 1736, Studley [Virginia]—died June 6, 1799, Red Hill, near Brookneal, Virginia, U.S.), brilliant orator and a major figure of the American Revolution.

Patrick Henry was the son of John Henry, a well-educated Scotsman who served in the colony as a surveyor, colonel, and justice of the Hanover County Court.

Before he was 10, Patrick received some rudimentary education in a local school, later reinforced by tutoring from his father, who was trained in the classics.

As a youth, he failed twice in seven years as a storekeeper and once as a farmer; and during this period he increased his responsibilities by marriage, in 1754, to Sarah Shelton.

The demands of a growing family spurred him to study for the practice of law, and in this profession he soon displayed remarkable ability.

Within a few years after his admission to the bar in 1760 he had a large and profitable clientele. He was especially successful in criminal cases, where he made good use of his quick wit, his knowledge of human nature, and his forensic gifts.

In 1765, at the capitol in Williamsburg, where he had just been seated as a member of the House of Burgesses (the lower house of the colonial legislature), he delivered a speech opposing the British Stamp Act.

During the next decade Henry was an influential leader in the radical opposition to the British government. He was a member of the first Virginia Committee of Correspondence, which aided intercolonial cooperation, and a delegate to the Continental Congresses of 1774 and 1775. (Britannica)

On the 23rd, Henry presented a proposal to organize a volunteer company of cavalry or infantry in every Virginia county. By custom, Henry addressed himself to the Convention’s president, Peyton Randolph of Williamsburg.  (Colonial Williamsburg)

Henry’s speech on that day served to finalize support in Virginia to oppose any British military intervention in that colony; but what remains unknown is what Henry actually said in his speech. 

Years later, biographer William Wirt in 1817 reconstructed the speech based on the recollections of Thomas Jefferson and others. Wirt’s account ends with the famous lines, “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” (Constitution Center)

The convention passed the resolution offered by Henry to form militias to defend Virginia, and in the following month, fighting broke out at Lexington and Concord between British troops and the colonists, marking the official start of the Revolutionary War. (Constitution Center)

Henry was appointed commander of the Virginia forces, but his actions were curbed by the Committee of Safety; in reaction, he resigned on February 28, 1776. Henry served on the committee in the Virginia Convention of 1776 that drafted the first constitution for the state.

He was elected governor the same year and was reelected in 1777 and 1778 for one-year terms, thereby serving continuously as long as the new constitution permitted. As wartime governor, he gave Gen. George Washington able support, and during his second term he authorized the expedition to invade the Illinois country under the leadership of George Rogers Clark.

After the death of his first wife, Henry married Dorothea Dandridge and retired to life on his estate in Henry county. He was recalled to public service as a leading member of the state legislature from 1780 to 1784 and again from 1787 to 1790. From 1784 to 1786 he served as governor.

He declined to attend the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention of 1787 and in 1788 was the leading opponent of ratification of the US Constitution at the Virginia Convention. Henry was reconciled, however, to the new federal government, especially after the passage of the Bill of Rights, for which he was in great measure responsible.

Because of family responsibilities and ill health, he declined a series of offers of high posts in the new federal government. In 1799, however, he consented to run again for the state legislature, where he wished to oppose the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions, which claimed that the states could determine the constitutionality of federal laws; he won.  He died on June 6, 1799 at his home, Red Hill, before he was to have taken the seat. (Britannica)

Click the following links to a general summaries about Give Me Liberty, Or Give Me Death:

Click to access Give-Me-Liberty-Or-Give-Me-Death-SAR-RT.pdf

Click to access Give-Me-Liberty-Or-Give-Me-Death.pdf

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

About 250 Years Ago … No Taxation Without Representation

As we approach the semiquincentennial (250th) anniversary of the forming of the United States, here is a brief summary of issues and actions that led to the Revolution and the Revolutionary War … this is about No Taxation Without Representation.

The settlers who migrated to and/or resettled in the colonies of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut paid little to nothing in taxes during the first few decades of their establishment. The English government imposed almost no taxes.

The chartered companies that established the colonies initially collected only quitrents, a land tax originally paid by freemen to the Crown or to the company that held a charter from the Crown. The quitrent, an annual payment of a fixed rate of several shillings for each hundred acres of land, secured a freeman’s title to his land; it was paid in lieu of the services traditionally required by feudal custom.

The early colonies were sparsely settled and even more sparsely administered. The few officials who served did not receive official salaries until sometime in the 1640s. Their compensation came from fees for services rendered. These included issuing court papers, keeping records, arresting and punishing criminals, and issuing licenses.

In the early years, voluntary contributions supported spending on civic activities and church ministers. Too many free riders induced leaders to make contributions compulsory.

Taxpayers were recognized for their contributions; in Dedham, for example, the largest taxpayers received the best seats in church.  The small sums collected by colonial governments were spent largely on roads, churches, and schools.

Reflecting the values of the day, a prominent nineteenth-century historian, Richard T. Ely, wrote that “one of the things against which our forefathers in England and in the American colonies contended was not against oppressive taxation, but against the payment of any taxes at all” (emphasis added).

But taxes were not long in coming.

Growing populations in the colonies necessitated defensive measures against Indians and other European intruders, along with the need to build and maintain roads, schools, prisons, public buildings, and ports and to support poor relief. A variety of direct and indirect taxes was gradually imposed on the colonists.

In 1638, the General Court in Massachusetts required all freemen and non-freemen to support both the commonwealth and the church. Direct taxes took two forms: (1) a wealth tax and (2) a poll, or head tax, which in some instances evolved into or included an income tax.

Taxation from the British Parliament

Many authors credit the phrase “No Taxation without representation” to the Boston lawyer and legislator James Otis, Jr. (1725-1783), based on how John Adams recalled Otis’s argument in the writs of assistance case in 1761.

Adams wrote a letter to Otis’s biographer William Tudor, Jr., in 1818. After quoting that letter at length Tudor wrote in his book:

“From the navigation act the advocate [Otis] passed to the Acts of Trade, and these, he contended, imposed taxes, enormous, burthensome, intolerable taxes; and on this topic he gave full scope to his talent, for powerful declamation and invective, against the tyranny of taxation without representation.”  (Emphasis added)

(As noted, Otis did raise the issue of where legislatures could fairly tax subjects – but he didn’t use the memorable words “no taxation without representation.”)

This was followed up by declarations at the Stamp Tax Congress in New York in October 1865.  The Stamp Act Congress passed a ‘Declaration of Rights and Grievances.’  This claimed that American colonists were equal to all other British citizens, protested taxation without representation, and stated that, without colonial representation in Parliament, Parliament could not tax colonists. In addition, the colonists increased their nonimportation efforts.

In part, they declared,

“That it is inseparably essential to the freedom of a people, and the undoubted right of Englishmen, that no taxes be imposed on them, but with their own consent, given personally, or by their representatives.”  (Article III)

“That the people of these colonies are not, and from their local circumstances cannot be, represented in the House of Commons in Great-Britain.” (Article IV)

“That the only representatives of the people of these colonies, are persons chosen therein by themselves, and that no taxes ever have been, or can be constitutionally imposed on them, but by their respective legislatures.” (Article V)

“No Taxation Without Representation,” in the context of British American Colonial taxation, appears in  the February 1768 London Magazine’s headline, on page 89, in the printing of Lord  Camden’s “Speech on the Declaratory Bill of the Sovereignty of Great Britain over the Colonies.”

Taxation Without Representation Led to War

The American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) was sparked after American colonists chafed over issues like taxation without representation, embodied by laws like The Stamp Act and The Townshend Acts. Mounting tensions came to a head during the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, when the “shot heard round the world” was fired.

It was not without warning; the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770 and the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773 showed the colonists’ increasing dissatisfaction with British rule in the colonies.

The Declaration of Independence, issued on July 4, 1776, enumerated the reasons the Founding Fathers felt compelled to break from the rule of King George III and parliament to start a new nation. In September of that year, the Continental Congress declared the “United Colonies” of America to be the “United States of America.”

France joined the war on the side of the colonists in 1778, helping the Continental Army conquer the British at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781. The Treaty of Paris ending the American Revolution and granting the 13 original colonies independence was signed on September 3, 1783. (History-com)

Click the following link to a general summary about No Taxation Without Representation:

Click to access No-Taxation-Without-Representation-SAR-RT.pdf

Click to access No-Taxation-Without-Representation.pdf

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