Writing a Letter to a Friend in England - Essay Example

Eldridge HIST 1301- FALL Boston Massachusetts 8 November, 1774 Dear Dr. Smith, I hurried to the dock on hearing of the arrival of the HMS Plymouth, and collected my parcel of mail in great anticipation. I was not disappointed, as I found your letter among my other subscriptions. The arrival of a letter from England is always a cause for celebration, even though the eagerly awaited news reaches us only after three months (longer in the winter), and is anything but ‘new’! It was good to hear from you that you and your dear family are in the best of health and spirits. My dear friend, you are right when you observe that we are living in a period of great political turmoil. I regret to tell you that here, in the colonies, public opinion continues to grow against controls imposed by the Mother Country. As a medical practitioner, I am exposed to a variety of views, ranging across the spectrum of political opinion: from those calling for peaceful negotiations to others calling for an outright revolution. I will attempt to address, to the best of my ability, your doubts on these issues. I think you will agree with me when I say that the cause of the present troubles can be traced to England’s state of near bankruptcy at the end of the French and Indian Wars. The first major irritant to hitherto cordial relations between the colonies and England was The Proclamation of 1763, preventing us access to the Western lands. In the light of an ever-increasing population, this appeared to be manifestly unwarranted. Of course, we chose to ignore the Proclamation. At this juncture, The Grenville Program of 1764-1765, which we hear had great support in England, was salt to our wounds. The Sugar Act of 1764, imposing additional duties on sugar, and doubling the duty on imported goods, was manifestly unfair from our point of view: particularly as the taxable list included almost everything we produce. You can imagine the number of cases of confiscation and litigation arising from this! Matters were made worse by the changes to the Navigation Acts, giving a single Vice-Admiralty court in Halifax, Nova Scotia, jurisdiction over all of the American colonies in trade matters. The legal costs, and the cost of travelling from Boston to Nova Scotia, to say nothing of the cost in time, were a major cause of complaint among the traders here. I am sure that expecting the defendant to post a bond to cover all expenses for both sides, would not be acceptable in England! Boston witnessed many town meetings calling for a united opposition to these Acts. I must admit that I was a willing participant in these meetings. An additional benefit of my attendance was that we (a group of educationists and doctors) were able to pacify the hot-heads who kept calling for some violent action in protest against the Acts. My friend, surely you will agree that expecting us to house and supply British troops at our personal expense, as mandated by the Quartering Act of 1765, was manifestly unfair. When most of us consider ourselves to be loyal subjects of His Majesty, the presence of a significant number of troops is itself a sign of suspicion and unwanted tight control. The Act has turned our perception of control into that of repression. Of course, it was the Stamp Act of the same year which finally turned the tide of public opinion decisively against England, and alienated the majority of colonists against the Mother Country. The paying of a direct tax to England flies in the face of every legislative tradition. I support the colonial position that it is a form of ‘taxation without representation.’ A tax on all printed material: including playing cards and college diplomas! My friend, how could the British Parliament pass such an Act? The Act succeeded in creating a unified opposition, led by the influential lawyers, merchants and newspaper publishers in Boston, who were most affected by its terms. The popular anger aroused by the Stamp Act resulted in the beginnings of mob violence. The Sons of Liberty, an underground organization composed of middle-class and street elements, used violence and intimidation to force all of the British stamp agents to resign and to stop American merchants from ordering British trade goods. My friend, I fear that the Stamp Act has vitiated the atmosphere of the colonies, and made the prospect of large-scale violence very real. In fact, Boston witnessed several mob attacks: I had my hands full with broken limbs and concussed heads. Thank God, there were no fatalities! My friend, you know my peace-loving disposition from our days in college. However, although I abhor all forms of violence, I must confess to you that I can sympathize with the spirit of revolt which motivates our young colonists. The Stamp Act Congress, called together in New York City, in 1765, was a very laudable attempt to negotiate peacefully with England within the imperial system. The call for a boycott of British goods met with an enthusiastic response among Boston’s merchants. You will be better informed than I am as to the effect of the boycott in England. I heard from my nephew in London that a large mob attacked Parliament itself in the wake of the resultant closure of factories. The repeal of the infamous Stamp Act was greeted with great relief in the colonies, and engendered good will towards England. We anticipated an end to the estrangement with England. However, this was not to be. You must understand that, in the euphoria of the Repeal, we remained unaware of the growing animosity in England towards the perceived recalcitrance of the colonists to share the burden of taxation in hard economic times. The goodwill generated by the repeal of the Stamp Act was short lived, and was speedily dissipated by the Declaratory Act of 1766, giving the British government total power over the laws governing the American colonies: ‘in all cases whatsoever.’ The simmering resentment over the perceived step-motherly treatment meted out to the colonies by the Mother Country came to a head with the Townsend Duties of 1767. At least the Grenville Program envisioned raising money from the colonies to support expenditure in the colonies. The Townsend Duties ask us to pay for England’s domestic expenditure! Resentment was widespread, as the taxed items included paper, tea, glass, lead and paints, all of which are common articles of import for us. The Writs of Assistance mandated by the Act were much misused. I personally know of a case where the home of a tavern keeper was subjected to a search only because he turned out a drunken Redcoat from his rooms for abusive behavior the previous evening. The Governors Fund and the dissolution of colonial assemblies definitely smacked of an attempt to undermine our legislative liberties. I think you have seen from the tenor of my letter that my sympathies are now firmly on the side of my fellow-colonists. My friend, much as I hate violence, I cannot condone the restriction of my liberties. Violence now became an integral part of the opposition to British colonial policies. Led by gangs of the Sons of Liberty, Boston became the nerve center of violent opposition. The thousands of British troops sent here only escalated the confrontation. The tragedy of the Boston Massacre of 1770 could definitely have been avoided if the captain of the Redcoats had exercised greater restraint. I was passing by on that day, and my opinion is based on my eye-witness testimony. After all, the mob was indulging in verbal harassment: catcalls and jeers break no bones! The soldiers could have fired into the air to disperse the crowd. Instead of which, to my disbelief and horror, the Redcoats fired point-blank into the crowd! Five colonists were killed. My attempts at first aid saved a few of the injured from more serious harm. The trial and conviction of the soldiers did little to calm public outrage in Boston. Likewise, the repeal of the Townsend Act was seen as a move to avert further violence, and not a gesture of reconciliation. The following three year period of relative calm did not restore colonial confidence in the relationship with England. The simmering discontent boiled over with the Tea Act of 1773. Although the Act actually made the price of tea cheaper for us, the elimination of middlemen enraged the American merchants. These merchants incited a gang of The Sons of Liberty to dress as Mohawk Indians and board a ship with a cargo of tea at Boston harbor. The tea was dumped into the water as a sign of protest against the Tea Act. Personally, I think the entire episode was a mistake: the merchants could have first tried to negotiate with the East India Company. However, it received the approbation of the majority of Bostonians. ‘The Boston Tea Party’ pushed England into dropping all pretense of reconciliation. The velvet gloves were off. The passing of the Coercive Acts of 1774 has firmly taken the colonies to a point of no return. This out rightly punitive act, which we Bostonians rightly term the Intolerable Acts, have closed Boston port, prohibited public meetings, mandated free quartering of Redcoats in private homes, and put English officials above colonial justice. To add salt to our wounds, the Quebec Act has extended the Canadian border into territory traditionally claimed by Massachusetts. Boston is now agog with discussions about last months’ Continental Congress in Philadelphia. There is unanimous support for the radical measures adopted by the Congress. The Suffolk Resolves, promoting armed resistance to the Coercive Acts, has seen young men joining the new militias in droves. Likewise, there is a massive public mandate for the Continental Association: I expect the boycott of English goods to be absolute in Boston. Everywhere one goes, there is talk of ‘self-rule’ and the right to liberty. The atmosphere here is surcharged with anger. I fear that just a little provocation from the British forces will be enough to light the flames of revolution. My friend, the Boston massacre saw the beginning of my conversion from loyal subject of the King to independent colonist. The Coercive Acts have completed my conversion. I think that it is time for us colonists to adopt a new identity as Americans. Both sides have erred at different times. But, I now believe that the estrangement between the colonies and Great Britain is beyond remedy. I still pray that armed confrontation with England will not be necessary and politicians on both sides of the Atlantic can work out an agreement which will be satisfactory to all. However, as the calls for liberty grow louder, my hopes of a peaceful resolution of the conflict dim. Let us hope that my fears of an imminent armed conflict prove false. Seasons greetings and a Happy Christmas to you and your family! With warm regards, Charles Warren. Read More