158

Reactions to the Boston Port Act outside of Massachusetts

As punishment for the destruction of the tea in Boston, Parliament closed Boston’s port by naval blockade as of June 1, 1774, until the tea was paid for. News of Parliament’s action spurred discussion and action all around the American colonies.

DOCUMENT 1

George Washington Writes to George William Fairfax, 1774

Washington describes the transformation of the Virginia Assembly, shut down by the royal governor, into a new legislative body meeting at a tavern. In one long, breathless sentence he voices his concerns about the Boston Port Act and the threats facing Virginia.

Williamsburg, June 10, 1774 . . . [The Assembly] Members convend themselves at the Raleigh Tavern & enterd into the Inclosd Association which being followed two days after by an Express from Boston accompanied by the Sentiments of some Meetings in our Sister Colonies to the Northwd the proceedings mentiond in the Inclos’d Papers were had thereupon & a general meeting requested of all the late Representatives in this City on the first of August when it is hopd, & expected that some vigorous measures will be effectually adopted to obtain that justice which is denied to our Petitions & Remonstrances; in short the Ministry may rely on it that Americans will never be tax’d without their own consent that the cause of Boston the despotick Measures in respect to it I mean now is and ever will be considerd as the cause of America (not that we approve their cond[uc]t in destroyg the Tea) & that we shall not suffer ourselves to be sacrificed by piecemeal though god only knows what is to become of us, threatned as we are with so many hoverg evils as hang over us at present; having a cruel & blood thirsty Enemy upon our Backs, the Indians, between whom & our Frontier Inhabitants many Skirmishes have happend, & with who(m) a general War is inevitable whilst those from whom we have a right to Seek protection are endeavouring by every piece of Art & despotism to fix the Shackles of Slavry upon us.

Source: George Washington to George William Fairfax 10–15 June 1774, The Papers of George Washington, The University Press of Virginia. Copyright © 1995 by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia.

DOCUMENT 2

An Anonymous Philadelphian Implores Boston to Pay for the Tea, 1774

A self-described “friend to the cause of America” argues that paying for the tea is in the best interests of justice and liberty, using repetition for effect.

To the Inhabitants on the Town of BOSTON, and Province of MASSACHUSETTS-BAY.

My Dear BRETHREN,

IN Messi’rs Mills and Hicks’s Gazette of the 20th of June, I observed with great concern a paragraph with the signature of “Consideration,” calculated to deter you from paying for the tea, a measure at this alarming juncture highly necessary and what every REAL friend to the cause of America must think your indispensible duty. While we contend for liberty, let us not destroy the idea of justice. A trespass has been committed on private property in consequence of the Resolves of your town. Restore to the sufferers the most ample compensation for the injury they have received—convince your enemies that their property is secure in every Port on the British Continent—Convince them that you do not regard the value of the article destroyed—that you only deny the right of taxation. Let not the annals of your history be sullied by a refusal—pay for the tea—it will rejoice your friends—it will convince your adversaries that the cause you are attach’d to is a righteous and just cause. Convince them that you regard honesty as much as liberty, and that you detest libertinism and licentiousness. . . . Then can you with a degree of confidence call on your friends to stand by and protect you—your enemies, if any there be, you may defy to prejudice you. I beseech you, by every thing you hold dear—I conjure you, as you value a union of the colonies, pay for the tea; it is but justice, pay for it, let nothing retard it; it is an expedient, which ought to have been effected e’er this; we lament that it yet remains undone. . . .

These are the sentiments of the Pennsylvanians, and the anxious prayer of A PHILADELPHIAN.

Source: The Massachusetts Gazette and the Boston Weekly News-Letter, 14 July 1774, p. 2. Also at http://www.masshist.org/revolution/image-viewer.php?item_id=691&mode=large&img_step=2&tpc=#page2

DOCUMENT 3

A New Hampshire Town Offers Sympathy and Support to Boston, 1774

Kingston, New Hampshire, was one of hundreds of towns to pledge assistance to Boston.

Sept. 14, 1774

Gentlemen,

The inhabitants of Kingston, in the Province of New Hampshire, see with deep concern the unhappy misunderstanding and disagreement that now subsists between Great Britain and these American Colonies, being fully sensible that the happiness of both countries depend on an union, harmony, and agreement to be established between them on a just, equitable, and permanent foundation. But when we consider the new, arbitrary, and unjust claims of our brethren in Great Britain, to levy taxes upon us at their sovereign will and pleasure, and to make laws to bind us in all cases, whatsoever, we view and consider ourselves and our posterity under the operations of these claims, as absolute slaves: for what is a slave, but one who is bound in all cases whatsoever by the will and command of another. And we look on the late unjust, cruel, hostile, and tyrannical Acts of the British Parliament, respecting the Massachusetts Bay in general, and the Town of Boston in particular, as consequences of these unrighteous claims, and from them clearly see what the whole continent has to expect under their operation.

But when we consider the military forces, both by sea and land, sent in an hostile manner to enforce, with the point of the sword, and mouths of cannon, those acts and claims, we esteem it an high infringement of your rights and privileges, and an insult upon all North America, and are fully persuaded that unless there is a speedy alteration of those measures, a total disaffection will soon take place, and Britain, instead of being our best friend, will be looked upon as an enemy; and then a final separation in all respects will no doubt soon follow, the thoughts of which fill our minds with trouble, anxiety, and concern.

Source: “Correspondence in 1774 and 1775 between a Committee of the Town of Boston and Contributors of Donations for the Relief of Sufferers by the Boston Port Bill,” in Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, vol. 4, 4th ser. (1858), pp. 74–76.

Questions for Analysis

Recognize Viewpoints: Why does the Philadelphia correspondent urge that the tea must be paid for? How does his position on the destruction of the tea compare to Washington’s? To the townsmen of Kingston?

Analyze the Evidence: Both Washington and the townsmen of Kingston invoke fears of slavery and enslavement. What do they mean? What do they not mean?

Ask Historical Questions: Could it be said that the Boston Port Act was the most radicalizing British action in the entire run-up to the American Revolution? Why or why not?

Consider the Context: Which of these three documents most clearly anticipates that a separation from Britain might lie in the future? Why?