The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

CLARENCE B. CARSONTHEFOUNDINGOFTHEAMERICANREPUBLIC8British ActsBecome IntolerableTHE REPEAL of the Stamp Act inearly 1766 did not put an end toresistance in America. It didlower the level of the contest betweenBritain and America fromits crisis proportions by removingthe most conspicuous irritant. Butrepeal of the Stamp Act only whettedthe appetite of some Americansfor much more thoroughgoingremoval -of British impositions.As early as April the NewYork Sons of Liberty were demandingthat "Americans shouldalso insist on the removal of allrestrictions on trade, the abolitionof post offices and admiraltycourts, and they should do so 'whilethe colonies are unanimous.' "1After all, most of the parliamentaryacts against which the colonistsobjected were still on thebooks, and executive action remainedunaltered. Troops werestill stationed in America, and navalships of war were stationedalong the coast. The Sugar Actwas still in effect. New York merchantssent a petition to Parliamentin 1766 complaining bitterlyabout the effects of trade restrictionsupon their commerce. Re-1 Merrill Jensen, The Founding of aNation (New York: Oxford UniversityPress, 1968), p. 186.Dr. Carson lives. in Florida. He is a notedlecturer and author, his latest book entitledThrottlinA the Railroads.147