Townshend+Revenue+Act

= //Townshend Revenue Act// = = //﻿// = === Why? After the repeal of the Stamp Act, the Chatham ministry was under the impression that colonists would accept external taxes, and thus enforced the Townshend Revenue Act. This was, however, a misunderstanding of the colonial objection to the Stamp Act. Colonists actually considered that any tax laid by Parliament to raise revenue was unconstitutional. ===

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=== //What?// Charles Townshend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, placed duties on paper, paint, lead, glass, and tea that were imported into the colonies. These items were not produced in North America and colonists were only allowed to buy them from Great Britain. Though the orginal purpose for the revenue was to raise help pay the cost of maintaining an army in North America, Townshend decided instead to use the revenue to pay the salaries of some colonial governors and judges. The American Board of Customs Commissioners was established to better collect the new taxes. ===

=== //Result:// In November 1767, the Act became operative with little opposition. In December, John Dickinson, a Philadelphia lawyer, wrote //Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania,// which was printed in nearly every colonial newspaper. These letters insisted that there is no distinction between internal and external taxes, and that both should be resisted. Finally, in 1768, Massachusetts began to resist the taxes. The colony first sent a petition to a king to repeal the Act, and then sent the letter to other colonies, asking them to join the resistance movement. Nonimportation was also taken up, though it was not entirely efficacious. Tensions escalated to the point that British troops were sent over to America. This led to the Boston Massacre, which finally led to a partial repeal of the Townshend Revenue Act. All taxes were repealed except for the tax on tea, which was retained to assert "the right of taxing the Americans". ===

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