113. Thwaites, see Index. Coman, Industrial History of United States, 79-83. Bogart, Economic History of the United States, 34-46. 8. Colonial industries, Bogart, 49–60. Colonial farm implements, 66, 68, 73. Greene, Provincial America, 270-282. 9. Colonial governments. Fisher, Colonial Era, 60; 165–167; 208-211. Thwaites, 53–63. Channing, The United States, 26– 29; 33–38. Hart, Formation of the Union, 5–17. Wilson, The State, 449-469. 10. Source material, James and Mann, Readings in American History, chap. 9. 11. Historical fiction. Cooke, The Virginian Comedians. Hawthorne, Twice-told Tales. Johnston, Audrey. 12. Interesting and valuable are Earle, Child Life in Colonial Days, Home Life in Colonial Days, and Curious Punishments of Bygone Days. The mer cantile system. Beneficial features. CHAPTER X CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION THE navigation laws have been noticed (pp. 85, 86, 135) as an ever-present source of irritation between England and her colonies. These laws were based upon an economic theory known as the "mercantile system."* This included the idea that colonies exist for the benefit of the parent state; they were, indeed, to be protected and fostered by parental care, but in a conflict of economic interests the colonies were to be subordinate. For the benefit of English merchants and ship owners, trade must be controlled by restrictive acts instead of being allowed to take its natural course. The laws regulating colonial manufactures illustrate another idea of the mercantile system; viz., that the manufacturing processes are of greatest value in a country's industry, and consequently these must be confined to the mother country; while her colonies should furnish raw materials and should purchase the manufactured products. From the standpoint of the colonists, on the other hand, competition with the merchants and manufacturers of England and free trade with other countries was their best economic policy, and hence, they reasoned, it was their natural right. Some features of the navigation laws fostered colonial industries. New England shipping received an impetus through the exclusion of foreign vessels from England's commerce. Bounties were paid in England upon the importation of indigo, naval stores, and timber from the colonies. Again, the sugar act of * Adam Smith in his Wealth of Nations (1776) overthrew this theory, and laid the foundations for modern economic thought. 142 1733 was purposely left a dead letter, and much of the most profitable export trade was under no restriction whatever. In judging the navigation acts we should remember that the same principles ruled in all European governments of that time. A comparison of the Spanish (p. 24) and French (p. 118) restrictive systems with English policy will readily show how much more liberal was the last. tion of the The suppression of colonial manufactures (beyond the The execupurely home stage) was in the main successful; but in only navigation limited sections of the colonies was there any economic laws. profit in extensive manufactures. Consequently, little disadvantage was suffered from this restriction. Concerning trade, the opposite was true. All the colonies depended upon European manufactures, and semi-tropical products; and these could be paid for only by colonial exports. Hence the economic necessity of the situation made the violation of the navigation acts profitable. It is estimated that in 1760 nine-tenths of the colonial imports were smuggled. The cost of the English revenue system in the colonies was four times the amount collected. There was regular illicit trade with the West Indies, Mediterranean ports, and Holland. The desire for profit was stronger than law or commercial honor; and when it appeared that the English Government was too careless, or too inefficient, to enforce the laws it was no longer considered culpable to violate them. The connivance of English officers made smuggling easier. The landing of goods in obscure ports and the false declarations as to the destination of vessels and their cargoes are samples of the shrewd tricks that circumvented the laws. During the last French and Indian war there were instances of the seizure of smuggled goods by virtue of "writs of assistance". -a kind of search warrant. In 1661, application was made by Charles Paxton, surveyor of the port of Boston, to the Supreme Court of Massachusetts for authority to use these writs. The right of the court to grant the authority was challenged by certain Boston merchants, on the ground that they were general rather than special warrants. They were directed to any officer into whose possession they might fall; they authorized of The dispute over writs of assistance. Otis's speech. The The sugar act, 1764. ficers to enter and search any place and to seize any goods, merely upon suspicion, instead of particularly describing the places to be searched and the goods to be seized.* The court declared the writs to be legal, and they were subsequently used in the discovery of smuggled goods. The case was argued for the merchants by James Otis, who showed that their issuance would be a violation of the "spirit of the British Constitution," and a reversal of the long historical movement toward individual liberty that occupies such a prominent place in English history. He also declared with much fire and eloquence that the enforcement of the navigation laws meant the subjection of the colonists to obnoxious laws that they had no share in making. His speech had great influence upon the people; for it first clearly defined the issue of Parliamentary supremacy in the colonies. The head of the British ministry was now (1763) George Grenville, an able man, but lacking in breadth of view, tact, and statesman-like qualities. He determined that the inconsistencies in colonial relations and the inefficiency of the Government's control should cease. The three points of his "new policy" were: (1) The enforcement of the navigation laws. (2) The placing of a standing army in the colonies. (3) The partial support of this army by a colonial tax. This policy seemed to be justified by new conditions that followed the Seven Years' War. England's debt (£140,000,000) demanded the severest economy of resources. The danger from the French in America was not over. The years 1763-1764 saw Pontiac's rebellion, when the frontier of the middle colonies was swept by war. At the same time Indian attacks threatened the frontiers of Georgia and the Carolinas. For efficient protection a standing army seemed necessary, and in Grenville's judgment the expense should be shared by the colonists. The sugar act of 1764 announced as one of its objects the raising of a revenue in the colonies. The terms of the molasses act of 1733 (see p. 135) were altered so that if the duties were enforced they would yield considerable *Compare Amendment IV of the United States Constitution and a corresponding clause of your State Constitution. revenue. High duties were levied on other imports. The 1765. Such was the ominous situation into which Grenville The now introduced a most powerful stimulant of discon- Stamp Act. tent-the proposition for a stamp tax to be levied in America. Calling together the colonial agents in London (1764), Grenville announced his purpose of raising one-third of the expense necessary for maintaining 10,000 troops in the colonies. As the agents could propose no satisfactory alternative, in the absence of a central authority in America, Grenville asserted that Parliament must assume the responsibility and enact the least burdensome tax possible. The law (1765) required the use of stamps (or stamped paper) upon legal instruments (such as bonds, leases, etc.), and upon newspapers, bills of lading, playing cards, and almanacs. No part of the money was to be employed otherwise than in defraying the expense of the army in America. The smouldering fires of discontent in America now burst Colonial into flame. Everywhere there were public meetings and opposition. demonstrations of disapproval. In the Virginia House of Burgesses Patrick Henry spoke out colonial sentiments in a burst of oratory. Resolutions drawn up by Henry were adopted, boldly claiming the sole right of taxation to reside in the colonial assemblies. These resolutions had great influence in other colonies. Everywhere in the colonies there were organized patriotic clubs called "Sons of Liberty," and among these a lively correspondence ensued. Meanwhile, citizens entered into agreements not to buy English manufactures, and colonial merchants threatened to pay no debts owed in England until the act was repealed. Riots occurred in *For the origin of the name, see Frothingham, Rise of the Republic, 175-183. Larned, History for Ready Reference, United States, 1765. Bancroft, III, 110-112. |