The Townshend Acts
Summary of The Townshend Acts
- Series of acts passed, beginning in 1767, by the parliament of Great Britain relating to the British colonies
- Named after Charles Townshend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who proposed the program
- Five most mentioned laws are: The Revenue Act of 1767, the Indemnity act, the Commissioners of Customs act, the Vice Admiralty Court Act, the New York Restraining Act
- Purpose of the act was to raise revenue in the colonies to pay the salaries of governors and judges so that they would remain loyal to Great Britain, enforcing compliance with trade, punish province of New York for falling to comply with an act, and to precedent that the British Parliament could tax the colonies.
How They Reacted
- The Townshend act did not cause an uproar like the stamp act did.
- The most influential response was by a man named John Dickinson.
- He made 12 essays saying there was no differences between internal and external taxes