In 1760, governor Bernard of Massachusetts authorized the use by revenue officers of writs of assistance. Writs of assistance were documents which served as a general search warrant, allowing customs officials to enter any ship or building that they suspected for any reason might hold smuggled goods.
Writs of Assistance were open to Abuse Custom officials used the Writs of Assistance to investigate colonial merchants who were suspected of Smuggling goods into the country. The Writs of Assistance gave Custom Officers the opportunity to abuse the system and harass colonists.
James Otis Jr.James OtisCause of deathLightning strikeResting placeGranary Burying Ground, BostonOccupationlawyer, political activist, pamphleteer, and legislatorKnown forOration against British writs of assistance February 5, 1761, which catapulted him into the first ranks of Patriot leaders8 more rows
James Otis, (born Feb. 5, 1725, West Barnstable, Mass. [U.S.]—died May 23, 1783, Andover, Mass.), American political activist during the period leading up to the American Revolution. He helped formulate the colonists' grievances against the British government in the 1760s.
A writ of assistance was a written order by court to a law enforcement official. Note: a writ of assistance is a concept, not one single writ. Writs of assistance contributed to the growing tensions that inevitably led to the American Revolution.
In 1751, the Writs of Assistance was introduced to help enforce the Acts of Trade (Navigation Acts, Sugar Act) in Massachusetts. Many traders had become adept at evading the Acts, so the Writs were a means to combat smuggling. They allowed British officials to inspect shops, warehouses, and private homes at will.
leader Samuel AdamsAfter Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson refused, Patriot leader Samuel Adams organized the “tea party” with about 60 members of the Sons of Liberty, his underground resistance group. The British tea dumped in Boston Harbor on the night of December 16 was valued at some $18,000.
Boston Tea Party Organizers Joseph Warren. Incited by the Sons of Liberty, over 5,000 people gathered at the Old South Meeting House, the largest public building in Boston at the time, at 10:00 AM on December 16, 1773, to decide what was to be done about the tea and to plan the Boston Tea Party.
Approximately 116 men, encouraged by Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Joseph Warren and Paul Revere, some disguised as Mohawk Indians, boarded the ships and quietly and efficiently spilled 342 casks, or 45 tons, of tea into Boston Harbor.
Patrick Henry served as Virginia's first governor (1776-1779) and sixth governor (1784-1786). In the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, Henry became an outspoken Anti-Federalist. Henry and other Anti-Federalists opposed the ratification of the 1787 United States Constitution, which created a strong federal government.
Although the Sugar Act covered a great deal of commercial ground, it was the molasses duty that received the most attention in the colonies, especially in New England. Samuel Adams and James Otis argued that it invaded the colony's charter rights to govern itself by imposing taxation without representation.
7. Hancock was a behind-the-scenes force early in the American Revolution. Hancock raised money for the Revolution, he helped secure troops, and he played a role in getting naval forces organized. But a homesick Hancock left Congress in 1777 to return to Massachusetts.