Journal of Occurrences
Encyclopedia
The "Journal of Occurrences", also known as "Journal of the Times" and "Journal of Transactions in Boston", was a series of newspaper articles published from 1768 to 1769 in the New York Journal, chronicling the occupation of Boston, Massachusetts, by the British Army
. Authorship of the articles was anonymous, but is usually attributed to Samuel Adams
, then the clerk of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
. William Cooper, Boston's town clerk, has also been named as a possible author. The articles may have been written by a group of men working in collaboration.
The occupation of Boston arose from colonial resistance to the Townshend Acts
, passed by the British Parliament
in 1767. In response to acts, the Massachusetts House of Representatives issued a circular letter
in February 1768. Written primarily by Samuel Adams, the circular letter argued that the Townshend Acts were a violation of the British Constitution because they taxed British subjects without their consent
. Lord Hillsborough, British secretary of state for the colonies, ordered the Massachusetts House to revoke the circular letter, but the legislature refused. In addition to this act of colonial defiance, Hillsborough was also hearing reports from the Board of Customs—who were in charge of enforcing the trade regulations—that Boston was in a state of anarchy. The British ministry dispatched four regiments of the British Army to restore order. The troops began arriving in October 1768.
The first installment of the "Journal" was published on October 13, 1768, and continued once a week for more than a year. In an innovative approach for an era without professional newspaper reporters, the "Journal" presented a narrative of shocking events in Boston to the outside world. Although the authors claimed that what they wrote was "strictly fact", the events depicted in the articles were apparently exaggerated for polemical effect. Drawing upon the traditional Anglo-American distrust of standing armies garrisoned among civilians, the "Journal" presented a Boston besieged by unruly British soldiers, who assaulted men and raped women with regularity and impunity. The customs commissioners were also portrayed negatively.
Although British officials in Boston insisted that the events depicted in the "Journal" were mostly fictitious, the articles were widely reprinted and helped build the sentiment that eventually produced the American Revolution
.
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. Authorship of the articles was anonymous, but is usually attributed to Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams was an American statesman, political philosopher, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. As a politician in colonial Massachusetts, Adams was a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and was one of the architects of the principles of American...
, then the clerk of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
. William Cooper, Boston's town clerk, has also been named as a possible author. The articles may have been written by a group of men working in collaboration.
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were a series of laws passed beginning in 1767 by the Parliament of Great Britain relating to the British colonies in North America. The acts are named after Charles Townshend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who proposed the program...
, passed by the British Parliament
Parliament of Great Britain
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland...
in 1767. In response to acts, the Massachusetts House of Representatives issued a circular letter
Massachusetts circular letter
The Massachusetts Circular Letter was a statement written by Samuel Adams and passed by the Massachusetts House of Representatives in February 1768 in response to the Townshend Acts...
in February 1768. Written primarily by Samuel Adams, the circular letter argued that the Townshend Acts were a violation of the British Constitution because they taxed British subjects without their consent
No taxation without representation
"No taxation without representation" is a slogan originating during the 1750s and 1760s that summarized a primary grievance of the British colonists in the Thirteen Colonies, which was one of the major causes of the American Revolution...
. Lord Hillsborough, British secretary of state for the colonies, ordered the Massachusetts House to revoke the circular letter, but the legislature refused. In addition to this act of colonial defiance, Hillsborough was also hearing reports from the Board of Customs—who were in charge of enforcing the trade regulations—that Boston was in a state of anarchy. The British ministry dispatched four regiments of the British Army to restore order. The troops began arriving in October 1768.
The first installment of the "Journal" was published on October 13, 1768, and continued once a week for more than a year. In an innovative approach for an era without professional newspaper reporters, the "Journal" presented a narrative of shocking events in Boston to the outside world. Although the authors claimed that what they wrote was "strictly fact", the events depicted in the articles were apparently exaggerated for polemical effect. Drawing upon the traditional Anglo-American distrust of standing armies garrisoned among civilians, the "Journal" presented a Boston besieged by unruly British soldiers, who assaulted men and raped women with regularity and impunity. The customs commissioners were also portrayed negatively.
Although British officials in Boston insisted that the events depicted in the "Journal" were mostly fictitious, the articles were widely reprinted and helped build the sentiment that eventually produced the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
.