Why Boston 1

Ashley Cox Frederic Wilson November 9, 2013 History 1700

Why Boston? In every American history class, the colonial city of Boston will be discussed in terms of its contribution to the American Revolution. In most classes Boston will be largely discussed as if it is the only colonial city or state that was in opposition to Great Britain in the colonies. This isnt the case of course; every state except Georgia and North Carolina sent an official statement to parliament stating that they opposed the tax laws passed and implemented by Great Britain.1 But history sources seem to center largely on Boston as the source for all the discontent in America. And at first glance the historical facts would seem to agree. Some of the most wellknown events in the Revolutionary War happened in Boston: the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, Paul Reveres midnight ride, the shot heard round the world, and the battle at Bunker Hill. Each of these events if not taking place directly in Boston, then happening in its harbor and the smaller towns surrounding it. Why does everything seem to center around Boston for the beginning of a Revolutionary War that sparked an entire nation into rebellion? Is Boston really so rebellious, or has history just over emphasized the facts? The truth of the matter is that it is somewhere in between. Boston was a lit match in the 1760s and 1770s. Though it wasnt the only lit match in the Americas, Boston did burn the brightest for a period of time and has received the most attention for it. The focus is on Boston
1

Morgan, Edmund S. "Colonial Ideas of Parliamentary Power 1764-1766." The William and Mary Quarterly 5 (1948): 311-241.

Why Boston 2

because it exploded first, making Boston both everything, and nothing special at the same time. Most history classes tend to put the focus on Boston because the economic and political atmospheres were ideal for a rebellion and indeed a rebellion took place. Boston was also unique in the fact that it was occupied by British soldiers for nearly two years, making a friction between the two people until it exploded. The friction in Boston began in the political sphere of the Americas after the French and Indian war. On a global scale the French and Indian war was a small fist fight in the famed Seven Years War occurring in Europe, and while the colonist felt that they had defeated a large enemy nearly on their own, it was Great Britain who fought and paid for the war. In a great irony though, the war had seemed to damage the vanquished less than it did the victor.2 Within twenty-five years Great Britain lost control of her colonies, and lost a war to France and Spain whom it had worked so hard to conquer during the French and Indian war. Great Britain problems arose first arose in politics. The Colonist saw themselves very differently than the British saw them. The colonist felt that because many of them were descendants of English immigrants or even recently from England, that they were British citizens with the same equal rights as any citizen living in Great Britain at the time. In their congress held to discuss the stamp act they stated that, His Majestys liege subjects in these colonies, are entitled to all the inherent rights and liberties of his natural born subjects within the kingdom of Great-Britain.3 The English however treated the Americas as a territory they had conquered. They viewed the original immigrants as the radical religious parties whom they had safely expelled
2 3

Anderson, Fred. "The Real First World War, and the Making of America." American Heritage 56 (2005) Resolutions of the Stamp Act Congress. Resolutions of The Stamp Act Congress (January2, 2009): 1. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed November 9, 2013).

Why Boston 3

from the country and had been keeping an eye on for the last century. These radicals were not necessarily equal citizens because they had chosen to leave the mother country and to live in a territory conquered for England. They also did not fully represent themselves in Parliament so their needs and interests had to be looked after by a wiser and older monarchy. And of course these different views led to different expectation in executive policies.4 Britain felt it had the right to tax and quartered troops in its territory. The Colonies felt that Britain was treating them unfairly and unjustly. In nearly every colony riots erupted over the stamp act and boycotts ensued against imported British items. The governor of New York petitioned British troops to have a presence in the city to stop protestors.5 Boston was not alone in its feelings of betrayal. While friction built on the political scale, it also grew in the economic distress felt by the common people. While all the colonies experienced a post war depression Boston was hit very hard by this depression. Boston had been in a depression before the war and had experienced a brief economic boost from the war.6 But afterwards with no military expenditures and an increased unemployment rate from soldiers, along with massive war debts the colony began to cry for help. By the end of the war, the average Boston Taxpayer faced a 60% increase in town and province taxes, a levy that was higher than anywhere else in the empire, including England, and unmanageable for many of Bostons citizens.7 When news reached Boston about the impending stamp act Bostonians had suffered through five years of a depressed economy and calamity. The Seven Years War had left a large

4 5

Edward, Herrmann. Boston, Bloody Boston. The History Channel. 2006. Web. (Accessed November 2013). Archer, Richard. As If an Enemys Country: The British Occupation of Boston and the Origins of Revolution . Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. (Accessed November 9, 2013). pg. 8 6 Archer. pg. 7-8 7 Archer. pg. 8

Why Boston 4

provincial debt as well as widows and fatherless children.8 Under such circumstances any new tax was pressing and overwhelming no matter how little of an increase it was. The Boston riots became severe. And when politics failed to get Parliaments attention, the common people most affected by the economy took action into their own hands. In a mockery, they publicly hung dummies with a strong resemblance to stamp collectors, and then held a funeral processions for them. The fear inspired by this event caused all the stamp collectors to reconsider their jobs, and then resign. Nearly everyone in Boston was affected by the stamp act and so the movement and anger against it was large.9 Boston couldnt and wouldnt take any more taxes. With no one brave enough to collect stamps anymore the government of Boston shut down.10 Much like the recent shut down, the leaders could still get together to discuss courses of action but without an agreement no course of action could be taken. With courts and harbors closed the people rejoiced that they had stopped the stamp act. At least there was celebration until British soldiers arrived. Governor Hutchinson had petitioned General Gage for military backup because he feared his authority would be overrun. And when those soldiers arrived it became an entirely different ball game. Many historians point to the fact that Boston was forced to harbor soldiers for seventeen months and Boston acted as if it were an occupied country for those seventeen months as a cause of friction that ignited war. And certainly this helped. But New York was occupied by British soldiers the previous August. British soldiers had also occupied the country while fighting the Seven Years War. Simply having British soldiers in the midst of the colonies was nothing new to the people and the same occupation didnt ignite flames in New York.

8 9

Archer. pg. 45 Archer. pg. 39-37 10 Archer. pg. 35

Why Boston 5

Thats not to say that the soldiers didnt have an effect on the community in fact far from it, as their presence added to the already well burning flames of rebellion. But it was the soldiers presence on top of the economic and political strain that broke the camels back. Had occupation happened in any one of the colonies surely the strain would have given way the same as it did in Boston. Contrasting the previous one hundred years, the soldiers presence would seem to have been unbearable in Boston. Unlike New York, when the soldiers came to be a police force, this time the soldiers came in response to their actions, making their presence seem like a punishment which indeed it was. General Gage told the officers in Massachusetts to Quash this Spirit at a Blow, without too much regard to the Expense.11 He treated them as rebels to be harshly dealt with and the Bostonians reacted as rebels. As Britain continuously refused to acknowledge their rights, the whisperings of breaking away began to surface more readily. It was not merely the presence of soldiers that the Bostonians hated, it was their actions. As a city originally settled by the Puritans, the moral piety of their society was still important to them one hundred years later. These roots manifested themselves in the Newspapers who informed the public mind on the many atrocities of the British occupation. The Journal of the Times one of the many newspapers in Boston at the time, expressed their fears stating that, our enemies are waging war with the morals as well as the rights and privileges of the poor inhabitants.12 Though Boston did strive for moral rights it was a sea city and had seen its fair share of human vices. Sailors from all over the world invaded their ports, and Boston had dealt with it.

11 12

Archer. pg. 94 Archer pg. 129-130

Why Boston 6

But the soldiers were not welcomed by the citizenry; they were poor, and many were unmarried, alienated, and lonely. Cheap rum often was their comfort The military didnt introduce vice to Boston, but raised it to new levels.13 With the added presence of soldiers in the town, often fierce struggles broke out in the streets which the Bostonians were only too happy to blame on the British. Fights frequently broke out between the soldiers and the currently unemployed sailors who felt the soldiers were stealing their jobs. Crime rates increased in the city following the four British regiments arrival. The Journal of Times often reported on full, and sometimes exaggerated accounts, of sexual harassment towards women who were in danger of walking the streets.14 With puritan ideals still imbedded in their society the fighting in the streets, the drunkenness, the thefts and the sexual harassment seemed horrific and evil, and in every case the soldiers were left with the blame. This attack on morals proved too much on top of every other strain and the resulting Boston massacre left no doubt in the minds of Americans that they could be at odds with their mother country. But such incidents could have easily taken place in any of the other cities. South Carolina was heavily influenced by Presbyterian Clergy. Their leaders called for a revolution just as much as the newspapers and lawyers of Boston did. Presbyterian men of the cloth delivered sermons that were successful in stirring their hearers to look with favor on revolt.15 Thomas Reese a minister in Salem, Black River, South Carolina subtly preached against the king when he told his congregation that, No principles of religion, virtue or humanity can restrain the wretch, whose ruling passion is the lust for power. He will sacrifice all these to his beloved object. Hold up a crown, or a kingdom, or even an inferior object to such a man, and he
13 14

Archer pg. 129 Archer. pg.129-131 15 Stokes, Durward T. "The Presbyterian Clergy in South Carolina and the American revolution." The South Carolina Historical Magazine 4 (1970): 270-282.

Why Boston 7

will stop at no act of cruelty, however horrid, which he thinks may forward his designs.16 Religious roots against the British crown could be found just as strongly outside of Boston as within. Had British troops occupied South Carolina surely they would have resisted the moral plunge that seemed to follow the British soldiers. But the British troops were called from New York to Boston, and Boston has become the start of the revolutionary fire. With so many strains against the Bostonians it isnt surprising that they snapped. The impact on Boston was greater than in other colonial cities, and hence there was greater alienation.17 This alienation from Great Britain made it easy to foster ideas of separation and eventually they began to fight back. It started as a rebellion in search of new political leaders who would fight for the common people, instead of falling all over themselves to please the king. It turned into a revolution because the king and parliament would not appoint nor approve of leaders who would oppose them, and would then outlaw any groups getting together to discuss such actions against them. When the Bostonians discovered that the British would not treat them equally, they knew they would treat themselves equally so they fought for their rights and freedoms. The shot heard round the world was the sound of this snapping. Boston finally fought back against their perceived injustices which was which was unheard of in the colonies and the rest of the world. Once the rest of the colonies saw what Boston was doing and how they were being treated many of their sympathies feel in line with the Bostonians because they felt similar grievances. Boston became an example as to how they could begin to rebel. Boston was both special and not special at the same time. They were not the first to rebel and gain attention for it, but they were the first to be punished severely for it. They were not the first colony to publicly
16 17

Stokes. pg. 282 Archer. pg. 228

Why Boston 8

voice their anger and frustration towards the king. But they were the first united group of people to stand for freedom from the king. Boston was special because it led the way. It created a model that could be followed and improved upon and everyone looked to Boston for encouragement. But Boston could just have easily been New York, or Charleston. Boston was no different than any other colony in the strains it experienced, yet it experienced those strains all at once. And the result created a revolution that surprised the world.

Why Boston 9

Bibliography Morgan, Edmund S. "Colonial Ideas of Parliamentary Power 1764-1766." The William and Mary Quarterly 5 (1948): 311-241. Anderson, Fred. "The Real First World War, and the Making of America." American Heritage 56 (2005) Resolutions of the Stamp Act Congress. Resolutions Of The Stamp Act Congress (January2, 2009): 1. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed November 9, 2013). Archer, Richard. As If an Enemys Country: The British Occupation of Boston and the Origins of Revolution. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. (accessed November 9, 2013). Stokes, Durward T. "The Presbyterian Clergy in South Carolina and the American Revolution." The South Carolina Historical Magazine 4 (1970): 270-282. Edward, Herrmann. Boston, Bloody Boston. The History Channel. 2006. Web. (Accessed November 2013).