On this fateful day in 1770, the British government moved to mollify outraged colonists by repealing almost all of the Townshend Acts. Initially passed in the summer of 1767, the Townshend Acts were the British government's fiscal and political play to maintain its power over the American colonies. The bills, named after their sponsor, Charles Townshend, not only suspended America's uppity body of representatives, but also levied a controversial package of revenue taxes, including duties on paint, paper and tea. While English leaders viewed colonial control as a historically justified stance, Americans were of a far different mind: they believed the acts smacked of undue meddling. This sent the colonies into a heated, and sometimes violent, frenzy of protest. America's outrage eventually prompted the British to roll back all of the acts and revenue duties, save for the now infamous tea tax.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY NEWSLETTER
