1 November 1765 in Boston: Church bells tolled, shops were closed, ships lowered their flags in the harbor to half-mast, all of which occurred all along the American Colonial coast. Effigies of PM Grenville and a member of Parliament that was born in New Hampshire that was believed to have proposed the Stamp Act were hanging from the Liberty Tree. An organized mob in the several thousands moved towards the Boston government buildings. The procession kept going, passing the government buildings to the gallows, at which point the effigies were torn in pieces and flung into the crowd, and then . . . nothing. The Boston newspapers stressed the calm that followed, which was designed to reinforce the false idea that “outsiders” were the instigators and the rioters during 26 August 1765.
On 4 November 1765, Samuel Adams wrote an anonymous editorial, labeling Grenville, Parliament, and King George III as “wise” and more than ready to hear the appeals of the Colonies. After that, he lambasted MA government leaders, starting with Bernard, as those most to blame for the Stamp Act and the trampling of liberties. General Thomas Gage and some British regiments were stationed in North America, but as Bernard correctly surmised, Gage’s force was only large enough to provoke, not to protect, which was the factor that kept Bernard from asking London for Gage’s troops.
Adams viewed the Stamp Act as a blessing in disguise, unlike virtually everyone else who viewed the act as Pandora’s Box. To Adams, the Stamp Act exposed the fragility of Colonial rights, privileges, and liberties, as well as specific people that wanted to take them away. Adams thought that if the Colonies were united in the opposition to the Stamp Act, King George III would start to listen to their legitimate complaints.
On 4 November 1765, Samuel Adams wrote an anonymous editorial, labeling Grenville, Parliament, and King George III as “wise” and more than ready to hear the appeals of the Colonies. After that, he lambasted MA government leaders, starting with Bernard, as those most to blame for the Stamp Act and the trampling of liberties. General Thomas Gage and some British regiments were stationed in North America, but as Bernard correctly surmised, Gage’s force was only large enough to provoke, not to protect, which was the factor that kept Bernard from asking London for Gage’s troops.
Adams viewed the Stamp Act as a blessing in disguise, unlike virtually everyone else who viewed the act as Pandora’s Box. To Adams, the Stamp Act exposed the fragility of Colonial rights, privileges, and liberties, as well as specific people that wanted to take them away. Adams thought that if the Colonies were united in the opposition to the Stamp Act, King George III would start to listen to their legitimate complaints.
Bernard submitted Adams’ most recent editorials to London in order to show what he was up against in Boston and MA. At the same time, Adams, and those like him in the Colonies, kept up their efforts to try and make themselves heard in London. MA Governor Bernard and Lt. Governor Hutchinson kept writing their screeds to London, insisting that the resistance to the Crown rested on the head of only a few “political scribblers”, chiefly Samuel Adams, who “spit their venom” against Parliament and the Crown. Adams countered those arguments by writing that Parliament had the best intentions towards the Colonies, but with the Atlantic Ocean as the barrier, might not have the most accurate information in terms of what was actually occurring. Also, Adams wrote that Parliament may have misconstrued the interests and motives of the Colonists.
5 November 1765, “Guy Fawkes Day” (Pope’s Night) in Boston: To Bernard’s horror, the two bands of Bostonians that clashed in the streets every 5 November this time united, and the fingerprints of Adams’ influence seemed clear to Bernard. What Bernard witnessed was an expertly choreographed truce between thousands, and to the MA governor’s consternation, he couldn’t get the militia to lift a finger. Bernard, the Royal Governor of MA, was horrified at the prospect of a “formal democracy” as a result of the large mob. It seemed to Bernard that the citizens of Boston intended to operate independently from Britain.
5 November 1765, “Guy Fawkes Day” (Pope’s Night) in Boston: To Bernard’s horror, the two bands of Bostonians that clashed in the streets every 5 November this time united, and the fingerprints of Adams’ influence seemed clear to Bernard. What Bernard witnessed was an expertly choreographed truce between thousands, and to the MA governor’s consternation, he couldn’t get the militia to lift a finger. Bernard, the Royal Governor of MA, was horrified at the prospect of a “formal democracy” as a result of the large mob. It seemed to Bernard that the citizens of Boston intended to operate independently from Britain.
9 December 1765 in Boston: It was announced that a boycott had been organized to oppose the Stamp Act, which meant no orders for goods from Britain would be made, as well as purchases of goods that had already been shipped, until the Stamp Act was repealed. Similar boycotts were organized in NYC and Philadelphia, and “Boycott Fever” spread through the Colonies. Hutchinson thought the boycott was nothing more than wishful thinking, in that the Colonies had to import virtually everything they needed from Britain, such as nails, paint, silver, mirrors, etc. In other words, almost all of the finished goods that the Colonies used and needed were imported from Britain, where the Colonies exported raw materials, such as lumber; all of which produced a very favorable balance of trade for Britain.
16 December 1765: Parliament met to discuss the repeal of the Stamp Act, but decided to adjourn for the year. On 17 December 1765, Samuel Adams was selected to chair a committee in the MA House to petition Bernard. At around that time, the distributor of the stamps and stamped paper resigned, which meant that no stamps could be procured. Businesses and justice were at a standstill, with the newly-formed groups in opposition to the Stamp Act (e.g. the Sons of Liberty and the Loyal Nine) wondering why the courts couldn’t reopen without stamped paper.
The Loyal Nine, who were very well connected with the MA House and the originators of the Sons of Liberty, invited both Samuel and John Adams to dine with them. The Loyal Nine had a question for John Adams, which was how to interpret the constitutional issues facing them, such as were judges actually the ones that should decide whether or not the courts reopened. John Adams was thrilled to be involved and tasked, and he asked if the courts were closed, didn’t that mean that MA was now adrift from Britain, no longer owing the Crown allegiance.
16 December 1765: Parliament met to discuss the repeal of the Stamp Act, but decided to adjourn for the year. On 17 December 1765, Samuel Adams was selected to chair a committee in the MA House to petition Bernard. At around that time, the distributor of the stamps and stamped paper resigned, which meant that no stamps could be procured. Businesses and justice were at a standstill, with the newly-formed groups in opposition to the Stamp Act (e.g. the Sons of Liberty and the Loyal Nine) wondering why the courts couldn’t reopen without stamped paper.
The Loyal Nine, who were very well connected with the MA House and the originators of the Sons of Liberty, invited both Samuel and John Adams to dine with them. The Loyal Nine had a question for John Adams, which was how to interpret the constitutional issues facing them, such as were judges actually the ones that should decide whether or not the courts reopened. John Adams was thrilled to be involved and tasked, and he asked if the courts were closed, didn’t that mean that MA was now adrift from Britain, no longer owing the Crown allegiance.
The Stamp Act had electrified and united the Colonies, and the stamped paper sat in unpacked bales. Protests, in the eyes of those in opposition to the Stamp Act, had been heroic, passionate, intellectual, and creative. There was widespread grassroots resistance to the Stamp Act, such as women refusing to get married or have children (marriage and birth certificates had to be on stamped paper to be considered legal). Crown officers responsible for enforcing the Stamp Act disappeared into the countryside, not wanting to be hassled or attacked.
John Adams asked Samuel Adams for help in finding James Otis, Jr., and he took John to the secret weekly meeting of the Monday Night Club, which was the inner circle of the Sons of Liberty. The Monday Night Club was responsible for secret communications, how information appeared in newspapers, as well as being shadowy “influencers”. The bonds of the group were strong, and no one in the group impressed John Adams more than his cousin Samuel Adams, with his calm-yet-passionate logic combined with an inflexible stand for the cause. John Adams liked what he saw and heard, and he allowed himself to be recruited into the group, although at the time he didn’t really understand that he had actually been cleverly drafted.
Samuel Adams worked hard under the radar to build connections and to recruit. Adams was perhaps the only person in Boston that was on good terms with groups (even gangs) that were rivals with other groups. Adams was consistent, in that he didn’t want his increasing number of associates and recruits to go the way of the mob. As 1765 transitioned to 1766, Adams seemed to be everywhere and nowhere, building opposition to the Stamp Act and support for MA liberties. Parliament had passed the Stamp Act, knowing it was probably unreasonable and unenforceable. However, Parliament didn’t officially address their suspicions until January 1766, and even at that point didn’t take into account the unrest the Stamp Act had caused in the Colonies.
John Adams asked Samuel Adams for help in finding James Otis, Jr., and he took John to the secret weekly meeting of the Monday Night Club, which was the inner circle of the Sons of Liberty. The Monday Night Club was responsible for secret communications, how information appeared in newspapers, as well as being shadowy “influencers”. The bonds of the group were strong, and no one in the group impressed John Adams more than his cousin Samuel Adams, with his calm-yet-passionate logic combined with an inflexible stand for the cause. John Adams liked what he saw and heard, and he allowed himself to be recruited into the group, although at the time he didn’t really understand that he had actually been cleverly drafted.
Samuel Adams worked hard under the radar to build connections and to recruit. Adams was perhaps the only person in Boston that was on good terms with groups (even gangs) that were rivals with other groups. Adams was consistent, in that he didn’t want his increasing number of associates and recruits to go the way of the mob. As 1765 transitioned to 1766, Adams seemed to be everywhere and nowhere, building opposition to the Stamp Act and support for MA liberties. Parliament had passed the Stamp Act, knowing it was probably unreasonable and unenforceable. However, Parliament didn’t officially address their suspicions until January 1766, and even at that point didn’t take into account the unrest the Stamp Act had caused in the Colonies.
Meanwhile, without any hard facts, it was assumed in the Colonies that Parliament was getting ready to repeal the Stamp act, especially since Grenville had been replaced as Prime Minister by Lord Rockingham. By that point, even Hutchinson admitted that the Stamp Act boycotts had taken a severe toll. The Colonial boycotts had affected British businesses far more than Colonial convenience. If Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, it would be due to the impact of the boycotts, not the demands of Colonial rights.
Adams expected news from Britain by mid-April 1766, and he remained very busy, coordinating various groups in other Colonies, such as RI and NY, in order to communicate a collective Colonial position regarding liberty. This association, via newspapers, communicated that the Colonial compact (contract) was with the Crown, not Parliament, since each colony had willingly chosen that the King was their sovereign. Since the Colonial compact was only with the Crown, Adams’ argument continued, the Colonies were not accountable to Parliament, or the people of Great Britain.
At the end of March 1766, MA started to hear reliable rumors that PM Lord Rockingham supported the repeal of the Stamp Act. The House of Commons opposed the repeal, which was mostly due to the fact that Britain knew very little about the Colonies, what was going on across the Atlantic, and really didn’t care to learn about either. Colonists such as Adams understood that ignorance and the lack of caring would lead to condescension, with Britain viewing the Colonists as primitives, such as the Scots and Irish.
Adams expected news from Britain by mid-April 1766, and he remained very busy, coordinating various groups in other Colonies, such as RI and NY, in order to communicate a collective Colonial position regarding liberty. This association, via newspapers, communicated that the Colonial compact (contract) was with the Crown, not Parliament, since each colony had willingly chosen that the King was their sovereign. Since the Colonial compact was only with the Crown, Adams’ argument continued, the Colonies were not accountable to Parliament, or the people of Great Britain.
At the end of March 1766, MA started to hear reliable rumors that PM Lord Rockingham supported the repeal of the Stamp Act. The House of Commons opposed the repeal, which was mostly due to the fact that Britain knew very little about the Colonies, what was going on across the Atlantic, and really didn’t care to learn about either. Colonists such as Adams understood that ignorance and the lack of caring would lead to condescension, with Britain viewing the Colonists as primitives, such as the Scots and Irish.