1768

 

Massachusetts Circular Letter. Samuel Adams wrote a statement, approved by the Massachusetts House of Representatives, which attacked Parliament’s persistence in taxing the colonies without proper representation, and which called for unified resistance by all the colonies. Many colonies issued similar statements. In response, the British governor of Massachusetts dissolved the state’s [sic] legislature. British Troops Arrive in Boston. Although the Sons of Liberty threatened armed resistance to arriving British troops, none was offered when the troops stationed themselves in Boston.

 

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ACCORDING to Lancaster and Plumb, freedom of the press was not always honored by or forefathers: 

Editorially there was a massive unanimity in the press, for the Sons of Liberty were more than reluctant to allow much liberty to opposition sheets. Mr. Royle of the Virginia Gazette, the man who suppressed all mention of the Virginia Resolves, was hustled out of the way and his paper taken over by local Sons. In Boston, John Mein closed his Chronicle and fled to England.

 

The patriot press, with the field to itself and often bolstered by a stern, unbending disregard for the truth, bombarded inlanders with blood-chilling warnings. If a tax on merchandise went through unchallenged, who was foolish enough to think that a killing land tax was impossible? (48/63)

 

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FOUR BRITISH REGIMENTS are sent to Boston, “a military guard over a peaceable community.” (2/45)