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Glorious News. Boston, Friday, 11 o'clock, 16th May 1766 ...

Glorious News. Boston, Friday, 11 o`clock, 16th May 1766 ... Broadside
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[ This description is from the project: Object of the Month ]

A broadside, dated 16 May 1766, announcing that news of the repeal of the Stamp Act had arrived in Boston.

The Impolitic, Unrighteous, and Unconstitutional Stamp Act

1765年3月,议会对美洲殖民地征收了一项新税,要求法律表格和文件以及报纸和小册子都要用印花纸印刷. The Stamp Act was not to go into effect until 1 November 1765, but news of the Act was met with massive opposition throughout the colonies. In Boston, 8月14日,由“自由之子”领导的一场仪务性骚乱发生,8月26日,一群更暴力的暴徒摧毁了首席大法官托马斯·哈钦森的家. In October, 九个殖民地派代表到纽约,向英国国王——印花税法大会联名请愿,要求纠正错误.

《og体育平台》通过后不久,议会领导层发生了变化,英国商人对该法案对殖民地贸易的破坏日益感到担忧,这导致了议会中新一轮的辩论. During the winter of 1765-1766 the colonists waited to hear whether, in the face of nearly universal colonial resistance, Parliament would move to enforce or repeal the Act. The Sons of Liberty circulated what news they could gather from colony to colony, 但开往美国的商船仍停留在英国港口,等待辩论的结果(以及货物是否会被征税)。.

There were premature reports of the repeal of the Stamp Act early in the spring of 1766, 但议会直到1766年3月4日才通过立法(两周后由国王批准), 即使经过极快的大西洋穿越(6周零2天),直到5月16日消息才传到波士顿. By then the town was on tenterhooks having received contradictory accounts that the "Impolitic, Unrighteous, 和《og体育平台》,要么被废除,要么被强制执行,这些报道有时会在同一期的波士顿周报上发表. When the accurate report of repeal finally did arrive, 在第一次公开宣布中,不仅记录了日期,而且记录了时间(“11点钟”). Boston erupted in spontaneous celebration:

It is impossible to express the Joy the Town is now in, on receiving the above, great, glorious, and important NEWS -- The Bells in all the Churches were immediately set a Ringing, and we hear the Day for a general Rejoicing will be the beginning of the next Week.

"人人喜笑颜开,仁慈,感激和满足似乎是所有人的伴侣"

Public demonstrations of joy and relief spread through the colonies, but in few places were celebrations as elaborate as in Boston. Royal Governor Francis Bernard, in a vain attempt to regain the popularity he had lost during the crisis, 立即下令开炮,鸣钟(虽然显然已经在响了). The Boston-Gazette, and Country Journal 因为5月19日,他们重复了从英国收到的消息,并宣布波士顿市政委员已宣布5月19日将举行公众庆祝活动. Harbottle Dorr, Jr., 他是一位波士顿的店主,是“自由之子”的早期热心成员,并在他收集的报纸上系统地索引了有关政治事务的资料, noted 42 references to the Stamp Act in his copy of the 19 May issue of the Boston-Gazette. The following issue of the Gazette (26 May) reported that "Joy smil’d in every Countenance, Benevolence, Gratitude and Content seemed the Companions of all,并详细描述了5月19日在波士顿和周边城镇以及几乎所有地方举行的庆祝活动,因为消息传遍了整个农村.

Incendiary Festivities in Boston and Elsewhere

On the evening of 19 May the public buildings of Boston were illuminated. Governor Bernard hosted guests at the Province House, his official residence, while the patriot leader, John Hancock, entertained "genteel" visitors at his elegant mansion, 还为普通民众提供了烟花表演和一桶马德拉葡萄酒(一桶126加仑). 庆祝活动的特点是“极其体面和良好的秩序”,并赦免了由波士顿商人支付的监禁债务人.

One monument to the repeal of the Stamp Act proved more temporary than intended. In an "Extraordinary" issue of the Massachusetts Gazette, and Boston News-Letter for 22 May 1766, 有一篇og体育平台保罗·里维尔(Paul Revere)设计的方尖碑(也被描述为金字塔)的描述,它被展示在波士顿公园,并被灯照亮. The four-sided structure was decorated with emblematic figures, patriotic poetry, and quotations, and armed with fireworks that were discharged at dusk. 这座方尖碑/金字塔原本打算随后在附近的自由树下展出,那里是反对“非政治”印花税法案的示威集会地,但它被照亮了,但无人看管,并在夜间“起火”. 波士顿可能失去了它的纪念碑,但康涅狄格州哈特福德的庆祝者却失去了生命. 一桶被粗心处理的火药在那里爆炸,造成民兵死亡或重伤.

Over the next few weeks, 每一份波士顿报纸的新一期都有og体育平台从更遥远的地方庆祝废除的额外信息, or renewed celebrations closer at hand. The King’s birthday, 4 June, 是一个特别喜庆的周年纪念日,并宣布7月24日为公众感恩节. 这些事件在《og体育平台》暴乱(1765年8月14日组织良好、“有序”的暴乱)一周年时达到高潮, 而不是更暴力的8月26日骚乱),当时自由之子在“自由之树”下喝了14杯酒," a commemoration that would be repeated in future years. The period of calm that followed was brief: when Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, 它同时通过了一项声明法案,声明其在美国的征税权仍然不受限制. New customs duties and taxes (the Townshend Acts) would go into effect in 1767.

Broadsides

横版是单面印刷的单张纸,从美国印刷术开始到20世纪初一直用作公告或广告. Generally posted or read aloud, broadsides were the popular "broadcasts" of their day, bringing news of current events to the public quickly and often disappearing just as quickly. The Massachusetts Historical Society holds more than 10,000 broadsides, 由于船舷的临时使用,它们的数量异常庞大,价值非凡,这使得它们的存活尤为罕见.

Glorious News 这是一个不寻常的侧面,因为它是由理查德和塞缪尔·德雷珀合作印刷的,为了公众的利益, Benjamin Edes and John Gill, John Green and Joseph Russell, and Thomas and John Fleet—all enterprising and competitive Boston printers, some of whom were not at all in sympathy with the patriot movement. 他们登广告说,镇上所有报纸的报刊处都可以免费提供这张报纸的侧面.

Further Reading

Boston 1775.

J. L. 贝尔的博客讲述了美国独立战争在波士顿的开始,对波士顿的印花税法案危机进行了有趣的历史分析和“毫不掩饰的八卦”.

Brigham, Clarence S. Paul Revere's Engravings. Worcester, Mass.: American Antiquarian Society, 1954.

A detailed description and illustration of Paul Revere's engraving of his obelisk is on p. 21-25. This entry with different pagination is available.

美国古物协会复制了方尖碑上非常罕见的里维尔雕刻 The AAS Collection of Paul Revere website.

Dorr, Harbottle. The Annotated Newspapers of Harbottle Dorr, Jr.

在1765年至1766年间出版的805份报纸的在线收集中,可以追踪到对《og体育平台》的抵制和对其废除的庆祝活动,这些活动每周都持续到1765年和1766年, collected, indexed, and annotated by Harbottle Dorr, Jr., a Boston merchant and member of the Sons of Liberty.

Maier, Pauline. 从抵抗到革命:殖民地激进派与美国反英运动的发展, 1765-1776. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1974.

Morgan, Edmund S. and Helen M. Morgan. The Stamp Act Crisis: Prologue to Revolution. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1953.

Prologue to Revolution: Sources and Documents on the Stamp Act Crisis, 1764-1766. Ed. by Edmund S. Morgan. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1959.