| This dissertation offers a close narrative study of Massachusetts politics during the critical years of the Townshend Acts crisis; it traces the interaction between political events and political ideas as the province redefined not only its attitude to imperial authorities, but its very conception of free government.;Repeal of the Stamp Act in March 1766 could have ended the nascent imperial crisis. The act's imposition of an explicit revenue tax---Americans' money given and granted by a legislature in which they had no voice---had sparked a scramble to explain why such an act was dangerous. But the people and politicians of Massachusetts only tentatively began to examine long-held and little-questioned political assumptions: they did not, and in such a short time could not, substantially rethink their relationship with Britain or their fundamental concepts of free and acceptable government.;The 1767 Townshend Acts, instead, changed American politics forever. By renewing a threat that had seemed settled, these acts created new and deeper fears of a systematic conspiracy against liberty. As London pressed for obedience, the colonists were forced to look beyond the familiar local foes upon whom they had reflexively fixed blame, and to face disquieting questions about the basic nature of rights and power. As they worked to explicate why and how British measures were grievous, Americans were compelled, however haltingly, to address the difficult problems they had largely evaded in 1765. Government, all agreed, must exercise its powers in the people's interest. But who would judge whether it did so---the people, or their rulers? To what extent must governing authorities be subject to a popular check? And, ultimately, could such checks coexist with the prerogative powers on which the empire, and monarchy itself, depended?;By 1770, answers to these questions were hardening, and the consequences would be devastating for the empire. The loyal optimism of 1766 had been poisoned. Partial repeal of the Townshend Acts in March 1770 provoked no sentimental outpouring or intellectual retreat. Trust was shattered; America and Britain were now radically at odds on the fundamental nature of government. |
