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Townshend Acts
Townshend Acts
1767–1768
The Townshend Acts were a series of acts passed by the British Parliament in 1767 and 1768. Colonial resistance to the Acts led to Parliament sending troops to Boston in 1768. Less than two years later, Redcoats would fire into an angry mob and kill colonists in the event known as the Boston Massacre.
Charles Townshend was the British Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Townshend Acts bear his name.
Summary of the Townshend Acts
Summary of the Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were based on the premise that Parliament had the authority to govern the colonies as it saw fit, including laws that controlled taxes, courts, and government. Although colonists held to the slogan “No Taxation Without Representation,” Parliament gave itself the authority to govern the colonies by passing the Declaratory Act in 1766.
The general purpose of the acts was to establish a revenue flow from the colonies to Great Britain and to tighten Britain’s control over colonial governments. Neither tactic was very effective. Colonists responded to the acts by boycotting British goods and the Massachusetts legislature drafted a Circular Letter asking other colonial legislatures to join a resistance movement.
Details About the Townshend Act of 1767
Details About the Townshend Act of 1767
The Townshend Acts imposed duties on items such as paint, paper, glass, lead, and tea imported into the colonies.
Besides raising money to help the struggling British economy and defraying the expenses of administering the colonies, the revenue derived from the duties was to be used to pay the salaries of royal officials, including governors, in the colonies, thus making those officials more answerable to the crown.
Colonial Reaction to the Townshend Acts
Colonial Reaction to the Townshend Acts
Boston passed a Non-Importation Agreement on August 1, 1768, in protest of the Townshend Acts.
Parliament dissolved the Massachusetts legislature in 1768 for public resistance to the Townshend Acts.
Enforcement of the Townshend Acts in Boston required the deployment of British troops to the city.
The Townshend Acts prompted Philadelphia lawyer John Dickinson to publish his famous Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, which argued that Parliament had the right to control imperial commerce but did not have the right to tax the colonies.
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