Mandamus Councillors Facts
- The Mandamus Councillors were appointed by Governor Thomas Gage, with approval from King George III.
- They were part of the restructuring of the Massachusetts government, as detailed in the Massachusetts Government Act.
- The appointments were effective as of August 1, 1774.
- 36 men were appointed, only 25 accepted and 9 resigned afterward.
- Thomas Oliver, Samuel Danforth, and Joseph Lee were forced to resign during the Massachusetts Powder Alarm (September 1, 1774).
Mandamus Councillors Significance
The Mandamus Councillors were important to American History because their appointments violated the rights of Americans to elect their representatives. The appointment of these councillors contributed to the establishment of the Solemn League and Covenant, which led to the organization of the First Continental Congress and the Continental Association.
Mandamus Councillors History
Massachusetts Government Act
The Massachusetts Government Act (May 20, 1774), part of the Intolerable Acts, revoked the Massachusetts Charter (1691) and stripped the General Assembly — the lower house of the legislature — of the right to elect the members of the upper house, which was known as the Governor’s Council.
Appointment of Mandamus Councillors
Governor Thomas Gage, who was also a General and Commander-in-Chief of British Forces in North America, was given the authority to appoint the members of the Governor’s Council through a “royal writ of mandamus.”
Prior to this, the members were elected by a vote of the members of the incoming House of Representatives and outgoing members of the Council. This process was set up by the Massachusetts Charter (1691).
The Mandamus Councillors of 1774
Governor Thomas Gage appointed 36 men as Mandamus Councillors. Only two of them had served on the council in the past, which concerned leaders of the radical Sons of Liberty and the Patriot Cause. Naturally, they assumed everyone who Gage appointed was a Loyalist and supported British policies that many Americans believed were infringing on their rights as British Subjects.
The 36 men appointed as Mandamus Councillors were:
- Thomas Oliver, Esquire, Lieutenant Governor
- Thomas Flucker, Esquire
- Peter Oliver, Esquire
- Foster Hutchinson, Esquire
- Thomas Hutchinson, Esquire
- Harrison Gray, Esquire
- Samuel Danforth, Esquire
- John Erving, Sr., Esquire
- James Russel, Esquire
- Timothy Ruggles, Esquire
- Joseph Lee, Esquire
- Isaac Winslow, Esquire
- Israel Williams, Esquire
- George Watson, Esquire
- Nathaniel Ray Thomas, Esquire
- Timothy Woodbridge, Esquire
- William Vassal, Esquire
- William Brown, Esquire
- Joseph Green, Esquire
- James Boutineau, Esquire
- Andrew Oliver, Esquire
- Josiah Edson, Esquire
- Richard Lechmere, Esquire
- Joshua Loring, Esquire
- John Worthington, Esquire
- Timothy Paine, Esquire
- William Pepperell, Esquire
- Jeremiah Powell, Esquire
- Jonathan Simpson, Esquire
- John Murray, Esquire
- Daniel Leonard, Esquire
- Thomas Palmer, Esquire
- Isaac Royall, Esquire
- Robert Hooper, Esquire
- Abijah Willard, Esquire
- John Erving, Jr., Esquire
Patriots Respond with the Solemn League and Covenant
The Massachusetts Government Act was the second Intolerable Act and followed the Boston Port Act (1774). Patriot leaders in Boston responded by organizing the “Solemn League and Covenant,” which was to establish and enforce a trade embargo — non-importation and non-exportation — against Great Britain. Although many towns joined this league, there was some resistance, which contributed to the organization of the First Continental Congress and the establishment of the Continental Association.
Harassment of Mandamus Councillors
The press published the names of these appointees, which led many of them to suffer harassment at the hands of the Sons of Liberty and Patriots.
Many people did not believe the Mandamus Councillors were legitimate, since they were appointed and not elected.
In the town of Rutland, John Murray was threatened and fled to Boston. Israel Williams of Hatfield hid from a mob in his chimney. The mob responded by shutting up his house and setting it on fire. Williams survived but was forced to withdraw from politics and did not take the oath of office. Timothy Paine of Worcester was also forced to withdraw after his home was visited by a mob of 3,000 people.
Eleven of the Mandamus Councillors took the oath of office on August 8, 1774.
- Thomas Oliver, Lieutenant Governor
- Thomas Flucker, Esquire
- Foster Hutchinson, Esquire
- Harrison Gray, Esquire
- Joseph Lee, Esquire
- Isaac Winslow, Esquire
- William Brown, Esquire
- James Boutineau, Esquire
- Joshua Loring, Esquire
- William Pepperell, Esquire
- John Erving, Jr., Esquire.
Despite the danger, 14 more men took the oath and accepted their positions between August 8 and the end of the month.
The Powder Alarm
On September 1, 1774, General Gage sent a small expedition to Cambridge to seize gunpowder and weapons from the storehouse in Charlestown, Massachusetts and move them to Castle William in Boston Harbor.
In the aftermath, rumors flew throughout New England that the British had attacked Boston. Within hours, nearly 4,000 Massachusetts Militiamen descended on Boston, intending to help defend the city.
Several Mandamus Councillors were threatened with violence, leading three of them to resign: Lieutenant Governor Thomas Oliver, Joseph Lee, and Samuel Danforth.
