History

Liberty and Imperial Authority in the Townshend Act Crisis

ABSTRACT

Conferees examined a selection of primary materials relating to the Townshend duties, a critical moment when American revolutionary thought about colonial and individual liberties and their implications for the imperial order reached their fullest and most radical expression.

READING LIST

Conference Readings

Anonymous. The Constitutional Right of the Legislature of Great Britain to Tax the British Colonies in America, Impartially Stated. London: J. Ridley, 1768.

Lloyd, Charles (attributed). The Conduct of the Late Administration Examined, Relative to the American Stamp-Act. London: J. Almon, 1766.

Anonymous. Letter to G. G. (George Glenville): Stiff in Opinions, always in the wrong. London: J. Williams, 1767.

Bushe, Gervase Parker. Case of Great Britain and America, addressed to the King, and both Houses of Parliament. London & Boston: Edes & Gill, 1769.

Langrishe, Sir Hercules. Considerations on The Dependencies of Great-Britain, with observations on a pamphlet intitled "The Present State of the Nation." London & Dublin: J. Almon, 1769.

Phelps, Richard. "The Rights of the Colonies, and the Extent of the Legislative Authority of Great-Britain, briefly stated and considered." London: J. Nourse, 1769. Page(s): 1-20.

Anonymous. A Letter to the Right Honourable, The Earl of Hillsborough. Boston: Edes and Gill, 1769.

Bancroft, Edward, “Remarks on the Review of the Controversy Between Great Britain and Her Colonies (1769)” In The American Revolution: Writings from the Pamphlet Debate, 1764-1772, edited by Gordon S. Wood, 671-742. New York: The Library of America, 2015.

Dickinson, John, “Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania to the Inhabitants of the British Colonies (1768)” In The American Revolution: Writings from the Pamphlet Debate, 1764-1772, edited by Gordon S. Wood, 409-489. New York: The Library of America, 2015.

Downer, Silas, “A Discourse ... at the Dedication of the Tree of Liberty ... by a Son of Liberty (1768)” In The American Revolution: Writings from the Pamphlet Debate, 1764-1772, edited by Gordon S. Wood, 525-536. New York: The Library of America, 2015.

Hicks, William, “The Nature and Extent of Parliamentary Power Considered (1768)” In The American Revolution: Writings from the Pamphlet Debate, 1764-1772, edited by Gordon S. Wood, 367-406. New York: The Library of America, 2015.

Ramsay, Allan, “Thoughts on the Origin and Nature of Government. Occasioned by the late disputes between Great Britain and her American Colonies (1766)” In The American Revolution: Writings from the Pamphlet Debate, 1764-1772, edited by Gordon S. Wood, 495-520. New York: The Library of America, 2015.

Zubly, John J., “An Humble Enquiry Into the Nature of the Dependency of the American Colonies upon the Parliament of Great-Britain, and the Right of Parliament to lay Taxes on the said Colonies (1769)” In The American Revolution: Writings from the Pamphlet Debate, 1764-1772, edited by Gordon S. Wood, 581-612. New York: The Library of America, 2015.