Essential Facts
- The Suffolk Resolves is a document containing 19 resolutions that protested the Intolerable Acts, the fortification of Boston Neck, and other military actions taken by General Thomas Gage, the military Governor of Massachusetts.
- The Resolves instructed the towns in Massachusetts to stop paying taxes, organize military defenses, and pause economic activity with Great Britain.
- It also established an alarm system to be used if British forces attacked.
- Joseph Warren is believed to be the author of the Suffolk Resolves.
- The Resolves were adopted by the Suffolk (Massachusetts) County Convention on September 9, 1774, at the home of Daniel Vose, in Milton, Massachusetts.
- Historian Arthur Pier calls Milton’s home the “birthplace of the American Revolution.”
- Joseph Warren sent the Suffolk Resolves to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
- Congress adopted the Resolves and ordered the document to be printed in the newspapers.
Historical Context
The Suffolk Resolves were written in response to the Intolerable Acts (see explanation), especially the Boston Port Act and Massachusetts Government Act, which went into effect on June 1, 1774. The Suffolk County Convention started on September 6, 1774, just four days after the Powder Alarm (September 1, 1774) started, and the day after the First Continental Congress met for the first time. Joseph Warren submitted a draft of the Resolves on September 9. The Convention adopted the Resolves and sent them to Congress in Philadephia.
Significance
The Suffolk Resolves are important to American History because they helped organize resistance to British control of Massachusetts and were adopted by the First Continental Congress, in its first official act.
Suffolk Resolves Overview and History
Taxation Without Representation
Massachusetts led the way during the American Revolution in protesting Taxation Without Representation. During the crisis over the Townshend Acts, Patriot leaders in Boston distributed the Massachusetts Circular Letter, which contributed to Parliament’s decision to send troops to Boston in 1768.
Occupation of Boston and the Boston Massacre
The troops arrived from Halifax, Nova Scotia on September 28, 1768, and disembarked on October 1. For most of the next seven years, inhabitants of Boston frequently clashed with British officials, including Governor Thomas Hutchinson, and British troops. This contributed to the Boston Massacre (March 5, 1770).
Tea Act and the Boston Tea Party
As tensions increased over taxation, Parliament passed the Tea Act in 1773, which gave the British East India Company a monopoly on the distribution and sale of tea in the colonies. In Boston, the Sons of Liberty organized a public protest and dumped more than 340 chests of East India tea into Boston Harbor.
Intolerable Acts
Parliament responded to the “Destruction of the Tea” by enacting the so-called “Intolerable Acts” — a set of four laws that punished Massachusetts for its ongoing resistance. A fifth law, the Quebec Act, was widely viewed in America as supporting Catholicism and restricting westward expansion.
General Thomas Gage was appointed as the military Governor of Massachusetts and tasked with enforcing the Intolerable Acts. The first one — the Boston Port Act — took effect on June 1, 1774, and closed the Port of Boston to most traffic.
The Massachusetts Government Act
Another act went into effect the same day as the Port Act. The Regulating Act, or the Massachusetts Government Act:
- Revoked the colonial charter.
- Restructured the colonial government. It replaced the upper house of the Massachusetts legislature with 36 appointees who were known as “Mandamus Councillors.”
- Restricted Town Meetings and County Meetings, which were an important part of the traditional government in Massachusetts.
Solemn League and Covenant
Patriot leaders in Massachusetts responded by calling for a Non-Important Agreement, which they called the “Solemn League and Covenant.” They also started to remove their military supplies — guns, gunpowder, and ammunition — from the Provincial Powder House on Quarry Hill in Charlestown.
Rhode Island Calls for an Intercolonial Congress
While many of the colonies supported Boston and sent food and supplies, they were unable to come to a consensus on supporting a Non-Importation Agreement. Rhode Island leaders called for an intercolonial congress. Ultimately, 11 other colonies follow suit in selecting their representatives for the upcoming Congress. Georgia was the only colony that did not send official delegates.
Patriot Leaders Continue to Meet
Despite the restrictions on Town Meetings, Patriot leaders continued to meet in various ways.
On August 9, Patriot leaders in Worcester, Massachusetts met in defiance of the ban on Town Meetings. They passed resolutions that declared: “We have within ourselves the exclusive right of originating each and every law respecting ourselves, and ought to be on an equal footing with His Majesty’s subjects in England.”
On August 15, the Boston Committee of Correspondence organized a “country congress” for the 60 towns in Suffolk County, to be held in Stoughton the next day, August 16.
This convention was to be held at the Doty Tavern, however, many towns did not have enough time to meet and elect delegates. Because of this, the attendees agreed to adjourn the meeting and reconvene on September 6 in Dedham.
Gage’s Proclamation Against Meetings
On August 20, a Town Meeting was held in Salem and another was scheduled. Afterward, Governor Gage issued a proclamation that threatened the attendees:
“Province of the Massachusetts Bay. By the Governor. A Proclamation,
Whereas certain handbills have been posted in sundry places in the town of Salem, calling upon the merchants, freeholders, and other inhabitants of said town, to meet at the Town-house Chamber, on Wednesday next, at nine o’clock in the morning, to consider of and determine upon measures for opposing the execution of divers late Acts of Parliament; —
And whereas, by a late Act of Parliament, all town-meetings called without the consent of the governor (except the annual meetings in the months of March and May) are illegal; —
I do hereby strictly prohibit all persons from attending the aforesaid or any other meeting not warned by law, as they will be chargeable with all the ill consequences that may follow thereon, and answer the same at their utmost peril.
Given at Salem, the 23d day of August, 1774.
Thos. Gage.
By His Excellency’s command,
County Leaders Recommend a Provincial Congress
After the proclamation was issued, leaders from Worcester asked to meet with leaders from Boston, to discuss how to respond to the Massachusetts Government Act. This was the beginning of the Suffolk County Convention.
On August 26, delegates from four counties — Essex, Middlesex, Suffolk, and Worcester — met at Faneuil Hall. It is believed this was the largest meeting of Massachusetts political leaders since the Massachusetts Convention of Towns (1768). Joseph Warren and Elbridge Gerry, who were close friends and leaders of the Patriot Cause, attended this meeting.
The delegates agreed that the Mandamus Councillors were illegal and that they should elect delegates to represent Massachusetts at the First Continental Congress.
A report was issued on August 27 that recommended the establishment of a “Provincial Congress” to counter Gage and provide direction to the people of Massachusetts who supported the Patriots.
The Powder Alarm
Meanwhile, Gage learned the towns were removing their military supplies from the storehouse in Charlestown, and decided to take action.
On September 1, he sent a small expedition to Cambridge to seize the remaining military supplies 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.
With the help of Joseph Warren, tensions were eased and the Massachusetts Militiamen returned to their homes, ending the “Powder Alarm.”
Public Demonstrations Against the Massachusetts Government Acts
Although the Powder Alarm was resolved without violence, public protests against British officials and Loyalists grew louder:
- Patriots living near Newbury Bridge placed an old man with a drum close to the bridge. When he saw a Loyalist, he beat the drum and marched around shouting, “A Tory has come to town.”
- In Bridgewater, attendees at church services refused to sing with a Mandamus Councillor in attendance.
- In Boston, shopkeepers rang bells when a Mandamus Councillor or a well-known Loyalist passed by.
Fortification of Boston Neck
Gage responded to the gathering of the Massachusetts Militiamen by fortifying Boston Neck — the main entrance by land to Boston. Cannons were moved from Boston Common and fortifications were built.
Despite this, the Patriots persisted. Paul Revere said: “We are in spirits, though in a garrison; the spirit of liberty was never higher than at present; our new-fangled counsellors are resigning their places every day; our justices of the courts, who now hold their commission during the pleasure of His Majesty or the governor, cannot get a jury that will act with them. In short, the Tories are giving way everywhere in our province.”
Meanwhile, it was learned that British reinforcements were on the way to Boston from Canada and Ireland.
Suffolk County Convention — September 6
The Suffolk County Convention reconvened on September 6 in Dedham, at the home of Richard Woodward. This time, all 60 towns were represented.
Richard Palmer was chosen to preside over the meeting and William Thompson was chosen as the clerk. A committee was selected, with Joseph Warren as the chairman, to draft a document that outlined the convention’s response to the Intolerable Acts and Gage’s military actions.
The meeting adjourned and set another meeting for September 9 in Milton.
Suffolk County Convention — September 9
The delegates met and Warren presented 19 resolutions that included the following:
- King George III was acknowledged as the rightful sovereign and the delegates pledged their allegiance and submission to him.
- The Intolerable Acts violated the rights of the people as Englishmen, under natural law, the British Constitution, and the colonial charter. Because of this:
- The people were not required to comply with the Intolerable Acts.
- Any public official associated with them should be ignored.
- Taxes should not be paid until the restoration of the constitutional government
- The Powder Alarm and fortifications at Boston Neck indicated a “hostile intention” against the people.
- The Quebec Act, which legalized the Catholic Church in Quebec, was a danger to America.
- Towns should elect new militia officers who were “inflexible friends to the rights of the people” and the militias should start doing drills once a week.
- The people should be prepared to act on the defensive, in light of Gage’s military actions.
- A complete stoppage of trade with Great Britain, Ireland, and the West Indies.
- Election of delegates for the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, which would hold its first meeting on the second Tuesday in October, at Concord.
- The people would abide by the “wisdom and integrity of the Continental Congress.”
- Discouraged riots and violence.
- Instructed the Committees of Correspondence to communicate emergencies through written letters and Express Riders.
Gage Rejects the Suffolk Resolves
The delegates formed a committee to meet with Governor Gage to discuss the fortifications at Boston Neck. Joseph Warren was the chairman of the committee.
The committee met with Gage. Warren read an address that highlighted the committee’s grievances and said, “Nothing short of restoring the town to its former state, and the cessation from insult, could put the inhabitants in that tranquillity in which every free subject ought to live.”
Frustrated with the ongoing resistance, Gage said, “Good God! gentlemen, make yourselves easy, and I will be so. You have done all in your power to convince the world and me that you will not submit to the Acts, and I’ll make representation home accordingly, for which I will embrace the earliest opportunity.”
Although Gage and the committee exchanged letters after this meeting, it was made clear to Warren and the other Patriot leaders that Gage did not intend to back down.
Suffolk Resolves Sent to Philadephia
Warren collected copies of the Suffolk Resolves and the letters the committee traded with General Gage. He gave them to Paul Revere and instructed him to deliver the package to the Massachusetts delegates in Philadelphia.
Revere left Boston on September 11 and arrived in Philadelphia on September 16. The Suffolk Resolves were read to Congress the next morning.
Congress Endorses the Suffolk Resolves
In response to the Suffolk Resolves, Congress unanimously passed these resolutions:
“Resolved unan. That this assembly deeply feels the suffering of their countrymen in the Massachusetts-Bay, under the operation of the late unjust, cruel, and oppressive acts of the British Parliament — that they most thoroughly approve the wisdom and fortitude, with which opposition to these wicked ministerial measures has hitherto been conducted, and they earnestly recommend to their brethren, a perseverance in the same firm and temperate conduct as expressed in the resolutions determined upon, at a [late] meeting of the delegates for the county of Suffolk, on Tuesday, the 6th instant, trusting that the effect[s] of the united efforts of North America in their behalf, will carry such conviction to the British nation, of the unwise, unjust, and ruinous policy of the present administration, as quickly to introduce better men and wiser measures.
Resolved unan, That contributions from all the colonies for supplying the necessities, and alleviating the distresses of our brethren at Boston, ought to be continued, in such manner, and so long as their occasions may require.
Ordered, That a copy of the above resolutions be transmitted to Boston by the president.
Ordered, That these resolutions, together with the resolutions of the County of Suffolk, be published in the newspapers.”
American Response to the Suffolk Resolves
John Adams wrote in his diary that the day the resolves were adopted was one of the “happiest days of his life.” He was convinced “…America will support the Massachusetts or perish with her.”
In a letter to his wife, Abigail Adams, he said, “These votes were passed in full Congress with perfect unanimity. The esteem, the affection, the admiration for the people of Boston and Massachusetts, which were expressed yesterday, and the fixed determination that they should be supported, were enough to melt a heart of stone. I saw the tears gush into the eyes of the old, grave, pacific Quakers of Pennsylvania.”
Samuel Adams recalled the Resolves were met with “great applause.”
It is generally considered that the positive reaction to the Suffolk Resolves “put an end to the usefulness of the Tories or Loyalists in the Congress.”
British Response to the Suffolk Resolves
Governor Gage was surprised that Congress endorsed the Suffolk Resolves with such enthusiasm, however, he wrote a letter to Willliam Legge, the Earl of Dartmouth and Secretary of State for the Colonies.
An article in a Boston newspaper reported, “The friends of America have the satisfaction to learn, that the resolve of the late Continental Congress, respecting the votes of the county of Suffolk, published in the late English papers, have not only surprised but quite confounded the ministry, as by it they perceive the union of the colonies to be complete, and that their present menaces only mark their despair.”
Critics of the Patriot Cause were quick to point out that a rebellion was forming in Suffolk County and the Suffolk Resolves were “nothing short of a declaration of independency.”
However, Edmund Burke, a member of Parliament who supported the Patriot Cause, responded to the Suffolk Resolves in a speech he delivered on March 11, 1775. Burke called for reconciliation with the Colonies and laid out six resolutions. Although the resolutions were rejected, they formed the core of Lord North’s Conciliatory Proposal in 1780.
Suffolk Resolves APUSH
The Suffolk Resolves is part of the following units and chapters in the AP US History curriculum.
- Unit 3: 1754–1800 — Philosophical Foundations of the American Revolution
- The Road to Revolution (1763–1775)
Bibliography and Suggested Reading
- Library of Congress, Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789, Volume 1, 1774
- Fremont-Barnes, Gregory, and Ryerson, Richard, The American Revolutionary War: A Political, Social, and Military History
- Frothingham, Richard, Life and Times of Joseph Warren
- Nash, Gary B., Encyclopedia of American History
- Pier, Arthur S., Bits of Milton History
- Scaife, Lauritson, L., Milton and the Suffolk Resolves
- Selesky, Harold, Encyclopedia of the American Revolution
