ed policy respecting colonial affairs. There soon followed, in
rapid succession, that series of blundering acts of oppression which
completed the work begun by the Stamp Act, and drove the colonists into
rebellion.

In 1767 duties were laid upon glass, paper, painters' colors, and tea.
Massachusetts, again taking the lead, sent a circular-letter to all the
colonies, proposing a united supplication to the throne. For refusal to
rescind this letter the Massachusetts assembly was dissolved at the
command of the angry king. This refusal was the first denial of the
king's prerogative; only the authority of Parliament had been resisted
before. The soul of the colonial cause in Massachusetts at this time was
Samuel Adams, of Boston, "the last of the Puritans," a man of powerful
and logical mind, intrepid heart, and incorruptible patriotism.
America's debt to him for his work in these early years cannot be
estimated. At this juncture he organized committees of safety and
correspondence throughout Massachusetts, which led to the formation of
such committees in the other colonies. They did an invaluable work in
binding the scattered sections together, and providing for emergencies.

[1768]

The Billeting Act, which required the colonists to lodge and feed the
British troops quartered among them, added fuel to the flames. In 1768
the New York legislature refused to comply, and Parliament suspended its
legislative functions.

[1770]

In the fall of the same year, seizing as a pretext two ship-riots which
had occurred in the summer, the king stationed four regiments in Boston.
Public sentiment was shocked and indignant at this establishment of a
military guard over a peaceable community. The presence of the soldiers
was a constant source of irritation. Frequent altercations occurred
between the soldiers and the lower class of citizens. The trouble
culminated in the Boston Massacre of March 5, 1770. A squad of soldiers,
set upon by a mob of men and boys, fired into the crowd, killing three
persons and wounding eight others. That the soldiers had considerable
justification is proved by the fact that a jury acquitted all but two,
who were convicted of manslaughter, and branded. But exaggerated reports
of the occurrence spread like wildfire throughout the colonies, and
wrought powerfully for hatred against England.

[1772]

During the next two or three years there was comparative quiet.
Massachusetts, it is true, under the tute