The Townshend Acts
1767
The act summarized
- The Townshend Acts were a series of acts passed, beginning in 1767
- They are named after Charles Townshend
- Purpose was to raise revenue in the colonies to pay the salaries of governors and judges so that they would remain loyal to Great Britain
Reactions and Response
- Did not create an instant uproar like the Stamp Act had done two years earlier
- Not long after, opposition to the program-me had become widespread
- Series of twelve essays by John Dickinson entitled "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania"
- Argument over difference between "internal" and "external" taxes