No blanket hatred of taxes in colonial Boston

Masthead for Boston Gazette.

While much is made about colonial opposition to taxes in the years preceding the American Revolutionary War, it should be noted that some voices in Boston's patriot movement were wholeheartedly in favor of some taxes - just not the ones they were protesting!

There is much made of "direct" versus "indirect" taxation in 1764-1765, but The Boston Gazette, published by known Patriot leaders Benjamin Edes and John Gill, argued that the origin of the tax was what was important. In the July 8, 1765 issue, next to a story enthusiastically announcing that Stamp Act opponent James Otis would be sent to the intercolonial congress that would eventually produce petitions against parliamentary taxes, was an article explaining a local land tax passed by the body governing the town of Ipswich, Massachusetts. Two weeks later, the paper opined about the position of central Massachusetts towns that were unable to send representative to the Massachusetts General Court. Without representatives, the Gazette argued, the towns' recognition of and compliance to taxes passed by the General Court were optional.

On July 22 through September 2, 1765, the paper continued its clarifications on acceptable versus unacceptable taxes through its "Letter to a Noble Lord" editorials, likely written by James Otis. In these columns, Otis avoided discussions about direct versus indirect taxation, opting instead to focus on direct versus virtual representation. In no uncertain terms, the writer said that direct representation was the only representation of interest to him, and that only through the votes of the people whom taxes were to be laid upon were taxes just. He went on to ridicule British Prime Minister Genville's insistence that revenue needed to be raised in order to protect the colonies. "When did the colonies solicit protection," he asked, implying that like taxes, military protections should only be ordered when agreed upon by those who were being protected.

By paring their opposition of the Stamp Act with acceptance and explanation of other, locally created taxes, the Boston Gazette created a reasonable position for which they and their allies could act less civilly to protect. They also delivered the clearest, most radical treaties on acceptable taxation that the Americas had yet seen.