The Hutchinson Letters affair... Requesting removal from office...
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January 13, 1774
THE LONDON CHRONICLE, England, Jan. 13, 1774
* The Hutchinson Letters Affair
* Pre Revolutionary War tensions
* American Colonies vs. British government
An inside page has a one paragraph report noting: "A petition...has been presented to the Privy Council from the General Assembly of the province of Massachusetts Bay requesting the removal of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of that province from their posts, on account of the discoveries made in their conducted by the publication of some letters lately." These would be the controversial letters which Ben Franklin played in role in exposing.
wikipedia notes: "The Hutchinson Letters Affair was an incident that increased tensions between the American colonies and the British government prior to the American Revolution.
By December 1772, the relationship between Great Britain and the American colonies was strained following the Sugar, Stamp, Quartering, Declaratory and Townshend Acts. At that time, Benjamin Franklin, who was living in England as a representative of several colonies including Massachusetts, anonymously received a packet of thirteen letters. In these private letters, Thomas Hutchinson, the royal Governor of Massachusetts, made some damning comments about colonial rights. Hutchinson recommended that popular government be taken away from the people "by degrees", and that there should be "abridgment of what are called English liberties."
Franklin, believing that his friends in Boston should know this information, sent the letters to them on the condition that they not be published or widely circulated. However, the letters were published in the Boston Gazette in June 1773.
Bostonians were outraged and forced Hutchinson back to England. The British government was infuriated about the publication of private correspondence and demanded to know who had leaked the letters. In December 1773, the government accused three innocent people of leaking the documents. To protect them, Franklin admitted his guilt and he was reprimanded in January 1774. Later that year, Franklin left England and returned to America, where he would serve in the Second Continental Congress and help lead the American Revolution." Many historians say this was the event which turned Franklin against the British and in favor of independence.
Complete in eight pages, 8 1/2 by 11 1/4 inches, partial red ink tax stamp on pg. 4, very nice condition.
* The Hutchinson Letters Affair
* Pre Revolutionary War tensions
* American Colonies vs. British government
An inside page has a one paragraph report noting: "A petition...has been presented to the Privy Council from the General Assembly of the province of Massachusetts Bay requesting the removal of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of that province from their posts, on account of the discoveries made in their conducted by the publication of some letters lately." These would be the controversial letters which Ben Franklin played in role in exposing.
wikipedia notes: "The Hutchinson Letters Affair was an incident that increased tensions between the American colonies and the British government prior to the American Revolution.
By December 1772, the relationship between Great Britain and the American colonies was strained following the Sugar, Stamp, Quartering, Declaratory and Townshend Acts. At that time, Benjamin Franklin, who was living in England as a representative of several colonies including Massachusetts, anonymously received a packet of thirteen letters. In these private letters, Thomas Hutchinson, the royal Governor of Massachusetts, made some damning comments about colonial rights. Hutchinson recommended that popular government be taken away from the people "by degrees", and that there should be "abridgment of what are called English liberties."
Franklin, believing that his friends in Boston should know this information, sent the letters to them on the condition that they not be published or widely circulated. However, the letters were published in the Boston Gazette in June 1773.
Bostonians were outraged and forced Hutchinson back to England. The British government was infuriated about the publication of private correspondence and demanded to know who had leaked the letters. In December 1773, the government accused three innocent people of leaking the documents. To protect them, Franklin admitted his guilt and he was reprimanded in January 1774. Later that year, Franklin left England and returned to America, where he would serve in the Second Continental Congress and help lead the American Revolution." Many historians say this was the event which turned Franklin against the British and in favor of independence.
Complete in eight pages, 8 1/2 by 11 1/4 inches, partial red ink tax stamp on pg. 4, very nice condition.
Category: The 1600's and 1700's
