Continental Association approved by Maryland...

THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE, Philadelphia, Dec. 7, 1774.

* Continental Association  approved by Maryland
* Ornate masthead
* Colonial Philadelphia PA

Page 3 under the heading "Annapolis' is a report stating that the proceedings from the late Congress were presented to a provincial meeting by the Maryland delegates to the Continental Congress & that they were unanimously approved. In the meeting statement it says that all meeting members and "...every person in the province ought, strictly & inviolably...observe and carry into execution, the association agreed on by the...Continental Congress." Signed in type by the meeting clerk, John Duckett. This is obviously a direct reference to & approval of the Continental Association enacted by the Congress establishing a non-importation policy, and more. There is also an agreement passed by Philadelphia creating a "Committee of Inspection & Observation" to execute the first resolve passed by the Congress. There is also a notice about voting for a "Committee of Observation" in Gloucester to carry "...the said association properly and faithfully into execution...". A report about a meeting at Chester County, Pa, to execute the "well concerted plan" of the Congress. A pg. 4 letter discusses the wording in a recent ad in which a runaway indented servant was described as a "slave". Complete in 4 pgs., very light damp staining near the bottom, handsome coat-of-arms engraving in the masthead. This is the newspaper owned by Ben Franklin some ten years previous. Generally in very nice condition.

 

Historical Background: One of the first acts of the First Continental Congress was to create the Continental Association of 1774, more commonly talked about as "The Association". The Association established a boycott against importing British goods to the colonies. This was to be enforced by community groups and small committees. This was called the ultimate form of non-importation agreement. This ban became operative on December 1, 1774. The Association was fairly successful while it lasted. Trade with England fell sharply, and the British responded with the New England Restraining Act of 1775. The outbreak of the American Revolution effectively ended the American attempt to boycott British goods.