Townshend Acts Worksheets
Do you want to save dozens of hours in time? Get your evenings and weekends back? Be able to teach about the Townshend Acts to your students?
Our worksheet bundle includes a fact file and printable worksheets and student activities. Perfect for both the classroom and homeschooling!
Resource Examples
Click any of the example images below to view a larger version.
Fact File
Student Activities
Table of Contents
Add a header to begin generating the table of contents
Summary
- Historical Background
- The Five Acts and their Impact (Revenue Act 1767, Commissioners of Customs Act 1767, Indemnity Act 1767, New York Restraining Act 1767, and Vice Admiralty Court Act 1768)
- Colonial Response and Resistance
- Consequences and Repeal
Key Facts And Information
Let’s know more about Townshend Acts!
The Townshend Acts, proposed by Charles Townshend, were passed in 1767 and 1768 in Britain. These British laws placed new taxes on imported goods in the American colonies. The colonists opposed these taxes as they saw them as a violation of their rights. This resistance increased tensions between the colonies and Great Britain, significantly contributing to the events that led to the American Revolution.
Charles Townsend
Historical Background of the Townshend Acts
- The Townshend Acts were a series of British laws passed in 1767 and 1768 that sought to increase control of the British colonies in America. In the years after the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763), Britain, although victorious, was left with a huge war debt. To address this, the British government decided to extract more revenue from the colonies.
- In the past, Parliament mainly used taxes to regulate trade. However, when the Sugar Act of 1764 was passed, taxes were now used to raise money for the British government directly. This worried colonists, who believed that Parliament had no right to tax them without their consent.
- Under the principle of ‘no taxation without representation’, colonists argued that they had no elected representatives in the British Parliament and should not be subjected to its taxes. The latter countered, saying that colonists were ‘virtually represented’, which meant that members of the Parliament considered the interests of all British subjects, including the British colonies. This, however, was rejected by the colonists, who believed that only their own elected representatives had the power to tax them.
- Later on, the Stamp Act, passed in 1765, imposed direct tax on printed materials in the colonies. This angered the colonists, who organised boycotts and staged protests leading to the Act’s repeal in 1766. Nonetheless, alongside its repeal was the passing of the Declaratory Act that claimed Parliament’s absolute right to make laws for the colonies.
- The Townshend Acts emerged from this context. These new laws were another way for Britain to control the colonies and make money, which made things even worse and brought the colonies closer to war.
The Five Acts and their Impact
- The Townshend Acts were named after Charles Townsend, then the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who proposed them. Although historians have slight variations on which Acts are included, five are often listed, namely: the Revenue Act 1767, the Commissioners of Customs Act 1767, the Indemnity Act 1767, the New York Restraining Act 1767, and the Vice Admiralty Court Act 1768.The main goals of the Townshend Acts were to:
- Make money: Collect taxes in the colonies to pay officials so they would stay loyal to Britain.
- Enforce trade rules: Make sure the colonies followed trade laws.
- Punish New York: Punish New York for not following a law about housing British soldiers.
- Set an example: Show that the British Parliament had the right to tax the colonies.
The Revenue Act 1767 (29 June 1767)
- The first of the Townshend Acts was the Revenue Act 1767. This legislation imposed taxes on imported goods such as glass, lead, paint, paper and tea.
- A controversial aspect of the Act was the provision granting the power to the supreme courts of each colony to issue general search warrants. Customs officers could enter and search any house, shop or cellar, and in cases of resistance, break open doors, chests and other packages to seize suspected smuggled goods.
- This authority was derived from previous British legislation that allowed such searches in England, but the Revenue Act extended these powers to the colonies. To the colonists, this was an infringement on their right to be secure in their own homes.
The Commissioners of Customs Act 1767 (29 June 1767)
- The Commissioners of Customs Act of 1767 established a new Board of Customs Commissioners specifically for the North American colonies.
- This board was headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It was tasked with enforcing trade regulations and increasing tax revenue.
- Prior to this, customs enforcement was handled by the Customs Board in England. Since England was so far away from the colonies, they could not enforce the trade rules very well. Therefore, widespread tax evasion and rampant smuggling were prevalent within the colonies.
- The Act appointed commissioners to reside in the colonies and manage the collection of customs duties. This new board was intended to improve enforcement, curb smuggling and increase revenue for the British Crown.
- Confrontations between customs officials, military personnel and colonists became common across the colonies after the passing of the Act. The tension led to the occupation of Boston by British troops and contributed to the events of the Boston Incident in 1770.
The Indemnity Act 1767 (2 July 1767)
- The Indemnity Act of 1767 was designed to protect the British East India Company, a trading company chartered by the English Crown with a monopoly on trade in the East Indies, from financial collapse. It reduced the taxes it paid on tea imported into Great Britain, which enabled the Company to re-export tea to the American colonies at a cheaper price.
Boston Tea Party
- Before the Act, British policy dictated that all goods had to be shipped to England first, where they were subject to taxes and then re-exported. Although this system intended to benefit the British economy, it made British tea more expensive in the colonies compared to smuggled Dutch tea.
- With the Company facing competition from this cheaper smuggled tea, Parliament eliminated certain taxes on tea imported into Britain to lower its price and make it more appealing to colonists over smuggled alternatives. However, while intended to benefit the Company, the Indemnity Act had consequences.
- The reduced price of British tea overwhelmed the colonial market and pushed out local tea sellers. This further angered the colonists, later leading to the Boston Tea Party.
The New York Restraining Act 1767 (2 July 1767)
- The New York Restraining Act 1767 was passed together with the Indemnity Act. Its passage rooted from the defiance of New York of the Quartering Act of 1765, which mandated that colonial assemblies provide housing, food and supplies for British troops stationed within their borders.
- New York argued that the Quartering Act constituted taxation without representation. They felt that there was no longer any need for British soldiers since the Seven Years’ War was over.
- New York’s resistance led Parliament to enact the Restraining Act that stopped the New York Assembly from making any new laws until they agreed to house British soldiers. Although the Act aimed to force New York to obey British orders and scare other colonies into submission, it backfired as it only made colonists more resentful of British rule.
The Vice Admiralty Court Act 1768 (8 March 1768)
- The Vice Admiralty Court Act 1768 was the last legislation within the Townshend Acts. Unlike the other acts, it was not introduced by Charles Townshend as he had passed away in September 1767. This Act aimed to strengthen the Crown’s efforts to stop smuggling in the American colonies.
- Previously, cases of illegal trade were usually tried in colonial courts, where juries often sided with the accused. To resolve this, British officials could refer cases to the Vice Admiralty Court in Halifax, Nova Scotia, which was led by a judge appointed by the Crown.
- The Act expanded the power of these courts. It created three new Vice Admiralty Courts in major colonial ports: Boston, Philadelphia and Charleston. These courts had the authority to handle all cases related to illegal trade.
- The provisions of this Act worried the colonists. Trials in Vice Admiralty Courts were conducted without juries. Moreover, the accused had the burden of proving their innocence, and those who failed to appear in court were automatically guilty. The accused were also responsible for the travel expenses to the court which added to their financial burden. Many colonists saw the establishment of these courts as an attempt to bypass the colonial legal system and gain greater control over trade.
Colonial Response and Resistance
- The Townshend Acts led to widespread opposition throughout the American colonies. While Charles Townshend believed they would not cause as much trouble as the Stamp Act had, he underestimated the colonists’ resistance.
- John Dickinson, in his Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, argued that any taxes imposed by Parliament on the colonies were unconstitutional, regardless of the type of tax. His arguments influenced how colonists thought and encouraged them to work together against the Townshend Acts.
- The Massachusetts government sent messages to other colonies, asking them to join the protest against the new taxes. Some colonies agreed, but others were hesitant. They worried that joining the protest might be seen as accepting that the British Parliament had the right to rule over them. Virginia and Pennsylvania sent petitions to the British Parliament, but these were ignored.
- To suppress the growing opposition, the British government took several actions. Lord Hillsborough, the newly appointed Colonial Secretary, instructed governors to dissolve any colonial legislatures that supported the Massachusetts message. He also ordered the governor of Massachusetts to withdraw the message, which the legislature refused to do.
- The colonists used a number of tactics to resist the Townshend Acts, most notably economic boycotts. Merchants in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and other cities organised agreements to stop importing British goods. While these boycotts had some impact, they were not completely successful, and some merchants continued to trade with Britain.
Boston Incident
- The enforcement of the Townshend Acts in Boston was particularly contentious. The arrival of British troops in 1768 to enforce the Acts and protect customs officials increased tensions. When British officials seized the ship of a wealthy Boston merchant named John Hancock, it sparked riots and made tensions between the colonists and the British even worse.
- The presence of British troops in Boston led to clashes between soldiers and civilians. Clashes resulted in the Boston Incident in 1770, where British soldiers fired on a crowd, killing five colonists.
Consequences and Repeal
- The effects of the Townshend Acts went beyond the initial period of protests. While the removal of most taxes in 1770 brought some temporary relief, it did not fully address the colonists’ concerns.
- On 5 March 1770, the same day as the Boston Incident, Lord North, the new Prime Minister, proposed in Parliament to partially repeal the Townshend Revenue Act. While some argued for complete removal of the taxes, North insisted on keeping the tax on tea as he believed that this would show Parliament’s right to tax the colonies. This partial repeal, enacted on 12 April 1770, ultimately proved to be a flawed solution.
- Historian Robert Chaffin pointed out that the repeal did little to change the power imbalance. The tax on tea remained in place, as did the American Board of Customs and the authority of governors appointed by the Crown.
- The decision to keep the tea tax also proved to be a mistake. The subsequent passage of the Tea Act in 1773, which gave a single company, the East India Company, monopoly on tea sales in the colonies, further angered the colonists, leading to the infamous Boston Tea Party and escalating tensions that eventually led to the American Revolution.
Image Sources
- https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/CharlesTownshend.jpg/800px-CharlesTownshend.jpg
- https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Boston_Tea_Party_w.jpg/1920px-Boston_Tea_Party_w.jpg
- https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/The_Boston_Massacre_MET_DT2086.jpg/800px-The_Boston_Massacre_MET_DT2086.jpg
Frequently Asked Questions About The Townshend Acts
- What were the Townshend Acts?
The Townshend Acts were a series of laws passed by the British Parliament in 1767, imposing duties (taxes) on various goods imported into the American colonies, such as glass, paper, paint, lead, and tea.
- Why were the Townshend Acts passed?
The British government wanted to raise revenue to pay for colonial administration and defence, mainly to fund British troops stationed in North America. The Acts were also meant to assert British authority over the colonies.
- How did the American colonists react to the Townshend Acts?
Many colonists strongly opposed the Acts, seeing them as an abuse of power. They protested through boycotts, smuggling, and writings like those by John Dickinson in Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania.