THE CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION
421
The outcome of the discussion was a resolution of Octo-
ber 6, which declared against the importation of the most
important dutied articles after December 1 next, i.
421
The outcome of the discussion was a resolution of Octo-
ber 6, which declared against the importation of the most
important dutied articles after December 1 next, i.
Arthur Schlesinger - Colonial Merchants and the American Revolution
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? THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
Parts of three days were given over by Congress to a
consideration of the exact form of the non-importation. 1
The original motion for a non-importation with the British
Isles was made by Richard Henry Lee. Chase of Mary-
land, an impetuous radical during these years of his life,
spoke in opposition to non-importation as an insufficient
measure, and proposed instead the cessation of exportation
and the withholding of remittances. But Chase's plan ap-
parently had a single supporter, Lynch of South Carolina.
The chief question at issue was as to the time at which
Lee's motion would become operative. Cushing, a mer-
chant from the blockaded port of Boston, favored an im-
mediate non-importation and non-consumption. Most
speakers thought otherwise. Mifflin of Pennsylvania be-
lieved that the first of November would be sufficiently late
to allow for the arrival of orders already sent to Great
Britain in April and May, and he held that orders given
after that date had been dishonestly given to defeat the
anticipated non-importation. Gadsden of South Carolina
likewise argued for the first of November. It would ap-
pear that there were a number who strenuously favored a
much longer postponement; and Patrick Henry therefore
moved, by way of compromise, that December be inserted
instead of November, remarking: "We don't mean to hurt
even our rascals, if we have any. " The non-importation
resolution, as adopted by Congress on September 27, thus
fixed December I as the date after which no goods should
be imported, directly or indirectly, from Great Britain and
Ireland; and as a warning to stubborn importers, it was
resolved that goods imported contrary to this resolution
should not be purchased or used.
On the next day, Galloway formally presented tr> fon-
'Sept. 24, 26, 27; Journals, vol. i, pp. 42-43. Notes on the discussion
are in Adams, J. , Works, vol. ii, pp. 382-386.
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? THE CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION 4I5
? s the plan of union, which, cnnstitnted, thp platform of
;. and he solemnly warned the body against
oy on i11>>go1 mm'WIT which would bring
British warships and troops down upon American ports.
Galloway's extremely reasonable proposal received warm
support--from Jay and Duane of New York, from Ed-
ward Rutledge of South Carolina, and in general from the
members of fortune and property. 1f^n spite of all the
efforts of the radicals, the plan was entered in the minutes
by a vote of six provinces to five; but, notwithstanding
this temporary success, the moderates were never thereafter
able to secure consideration for the plan. The zeal of the
radicals in later expunging from the record all traces of
this proceeding throws an interesting sidelight on their
methodsj
The time of Congress was now devoted, for a consider-
able part of three days, to debates over the adoption of a
non-exportation resolution. 2 No good account remains of
the protracted discussion at this stage; but the nature of
the remarks and the attitude of leading members may be
reconstructed from John Adams's notes on an earlier occa-
sion and from some scattered comments to be found else-
where. 8 Cushing adopted as his slogan: "a non-importa-
tion, non-exportation, and non-consumption, and imme-
diately," and was joined in this by Dyer of Connecticut.
Lynch and the Rutledges of South Carolina favored Cush-
1 Journals, vol. i, pp. 43-51; Adams, J. , Works, vol. ii, pp. 387-391;
1 N. J. Arch. , vol. x, pp. 503-507; Galloway, Reflections, pp. 72, 81; his
Examination, pp. 48, 52 n. ; his A Reply to an Address to the Author of
a Pamphlet, entitled "A Candid Examination . . . " (London, 1780),
p. 109-
1 Sept. 28, 29, 30; Journals, vol. i, pp. 51-52.
1 Works, vol. ii, pp. 382-386, 391 n. , 394, 476-478; Drayton, Memoirs,
vol. i, p. 168.
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? 416 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763. 1776
ing's proposal if the suspension of trade were made abso-
lute with the whole world, not merely with British terri-
tory. John Adams asked Congress to accept the logical
implication of endorsing the "Suffolk Resolves," and to
resolve that, should further hostilities be pursued against
Massachusetts, or any persons seized under the revived
statute of Henry VIII, the several provinces " ought imme-
diately to cease all exportation of goods, wares and mer-
chandise to Great Britain, Ireland, and the West Indies. "
Chase, who had sniffed at a non-importation, argued for
an immediate non-exportation and a withholding of debts,
which, he believed, would represent a total loss to British
merchants and manufacturers of ? 7,000,000 for the year.
He also urged an immediate non-exportation of lumber to
the West Indies, for the lumber-vessels exchanged their
cargoes for sugar and carried the latter to England, to the
great gain of the merchants there and of the British reve-
nue. In this latter position he was supported by Mifflin of
Pennsylvania and Sullivan of New Hampshire; but Isaac
Low of New York warned against a total prohibition of all
exports to the West Indies, as a measure which would
"annihilate the fishery" by wiping out the West Indian
market. Dyer proposed the withholding of flaxseed from
Ireland.
These and other suggestions were made by various dele-
gates; but it quickly became clear that, although opinion
was rapidly converging upon a plan of non-exportation, the
Virginia tobacco planters, and the South Carolina delegates
representing powerful rice and indigo interests, were de-
termined to protect the industries of their respective prov-
inces, in case such a plan were adopted. For a time, atten-
tion was centered upon the question of suspending tobacco
exportation. The Maryland delegates had instructions not
to enter into any arrangement for the non-exportation of
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? THE CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION
tobacco without the concurrence of Virginia and North
Carolina; and the Virginia delegates were explicitly in-
structed not to consent to a non-exportation before August
10, 1775, in order to allow time for the marketing of the
growing crop. This situation caused the exasperated Chase
to declare: "A non-exportation at a future day cannot
avail us. What is the situation of Boston and the Massa-
chusetts? A non-exportation at the Virginia day will not
operate before the fall of 1776. " It was urged by Gadsden
and others that the other provinces should, in this measure,
act independently of Virginia; but for taking this step the
Marylanders pleaded their lack of power and claimed that,
even were a different course possible, it would be undesir-
able, for Maryland and North Carolina tobacco would be
carried to Virginia ports and. the latter would run away
with their trade. Fortunately for the Virginians, other
provinces were also willing to postpone the operation of the
non-exportation; and the date agreed upon in the resolu-
tion eventually adopted was September 10, 1775, one month
later than the Virginia instructions required.
The South Carolina delegates, from the narrow nature
of their demands, were not equally successful in enlisting
the support of other provinces in their cause. What they
desired (Gadsden excepted) was nothing less than that rice
and indigo, the staples of the province, should be exempted
from the operation of the non-exportation to Great Britain. 1
They held that, out of due regard to the interests of their
constituents, it was necessary either that the non-exporta-
tion should be made operative against the whole world, or
that, in case exportation were suspended with Great Britain
alone, rice and indigo should be made exceptions to the
regulation, being products which could (except under cer-
1 Drayton, Memoirs, vol. i, pp. 169-170; Izard, Correspondence, voL i,
pp. 21-25; statement of S. C. delegates, N. Y. Journ. , Dec. 8, 1774.
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? 4I8 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
tain limited circumstances) be exported to Great Britain
only, whereas the markets of the world were open to the
wheat, flour, fish and oil of the commercial provinces. 1
The South Carolina delegates were able to show that but
a small part of the export trade of the commercial provinces
was with Great Britain, while on the contrary nearly all of
the indigo and two thirds of the rice of South Carolina
went to the ports of Great Britain. Edward Rutledge felt
justified in remarking that: "People who are affected but
in speculation [>>". e. in theory] and submit to all the hard-
ships attending it will not shut up their ports, while their
neighbors, who are objects of ministerial vengeance, enjoy,
in a great degree, the benefits of commerce. " Furthermore,
they maintained that the commercial provinces would be
enabled to pay off their British debts by the returns of their
foreign trade and thus greatly ameliorate the rigor of the
trade suspension. In explaining the position of the South
Carolina delegation before the South Carolina convention a
few months later, John Rutledge declared that: "Upon the
whole, . . . the affair seemed rather like a commercial
scheme among the flour Colonies to find a better vent for
their Flour through the British Channel, by preventing, if
possible, any Rice from being sent to those markets; and
that, for his part, he could never consent to our becoming
the dupes to the people of the North or in the least to yield
to their unreasonable expectations. "
Much bitter feeling was generated in the Congress. Ed-
ward Rutledge declared: "A gentleman from the other end
of the room talked of generosity. True equality is the
1 It will be recalled that only enumerated commodities of the colonies
were required to be exported to Great Britain and that many American
products were not on the enumerated list. iRice and indigo were enu-
merated, but under temporary acts a way was opened by which rice
could be exported to Southern Europe and to regions in America
south of Georgia.
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? THE CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION
419
only public generosity. " But it quickly became apparent
that tfrlYfl9* majority w^rp opposed to aHf>p<|Jn. g frh,e drastic
excfflif"* nf MnltJT? out American export_relations with
the entire world ^ and that they were equally disinclined to
cater to the self-interest of fhe^1ce_ and indigo planters of
. South Carolina. Richard Henry Lee pleaded earnestly
that: "All considerations of interest, and of equality of
sacrifice, should be laid aside. " In face of the vehement
protests of the South Carolinians, the resolution for non-
, According to its
terms, all exportation to the British Isles and the West In-
dies should cease on September 20, 1775, unless American
grievances were redressed before that time. The South
Carolina delegates had thus lost their first battle. But they
did not accept defeat, and they laid plans to make a final
stand before Congress adjourned.
The principal features of the plan of commercial resist-
ance had now been adopted by Congress. The work of
drawing up a complete plan " for carrying into effect the
non-importation, non-consumption and non-exportation"
was now confided to a special committee, consisting of
Cushing of Massachusetts, Low of New York, Mifflin of
Pennsylvania, Lee of Virginia, and Johnson of Maryland. 1
It is worth noting that the committee on rights and redress,
composed of two members from each province, was ignored
in this connection, although it still had its report under con-
sideration; and that, of the committee of five, all but Low
had the reputation of favoring radical measures. Low had
been included probably because, as a conservative merchant
of great wealth, his name would lend prestige to the work
of the comm1ttee.
Meantime, Congress did not give the special committee
'Sept. 30; Journals, vol. i, p. 53.
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? 420 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
an absolutely free hand, for portions of three days were
occupied in formulating an additional resolution for their
guidance. 1 This discussion was very largely confined to the
advisability of extending the non-importation regulation to
apply to commodities upon which an import duty had been
imposed by the revenue acts of 1764 and 1766. The South-
ern members wished to phrase the resolution so as to avoid
the confusion arising from the importation of smuggled
articles of the same kind as the dutied articles. "How is
the purchaser to know whether the molasses, sugar, or
coffee has paid the duty or not? " asked Pendleton of Vir-
ginia. "It can't be known. " "Many gentlemen in this
room know how to bring in goods, sugars and others, with-
out paying duties," declared Lynch significantly. Chase
urged the same practical objection as Pendleton, and ob-
jected further because of the principle involved. "Our
enemies will think," he said, " that we mean to strike at the
right of Parliament to lay duties for the regulation of
trade. " This caused Lynch to reply: " In my idea, Parlia-
ment has no power to regulate trade. But these duties are
all for revenue, not for regulation of trade. " Low felt
himself called upon to defend the merchant class, of which
he was so respectable a member. "Gentlemen have been
transported, by their zeal, into reflections upon an order of
men, who deserve it least of any men in the community. "
He argued against the exclusion of West India rum, sugar
and molasses from the provinces as a measure ruinous to
American business; and he proposed that, as the importa-
tion of East India Company tea had been suspended by the
resolution of September 27, smuggled Dutch tea should
likewise be placed under the ban. 2
1 Oct. 1, 5, 6; Journals, vol. i, pp. 53, 5511. , 57. Notes on the discussion
are in Adams, J. , Works, vol. ii, pp. 393-394-
1 Low gained his point later in Art . i of the completed Association.
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?
THE CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION
421
The outcome of the discussion was a resolution of Octo-
ber 6, which declared against the importation of the most
important dutied articles after December 1 next, i. e. mo-
lasses, coffee and pimento from the British plantations, or
from Dominica, formerly a French possession; wines from
Madeira and the Western Islands; and foreign indigo.
The special committee of five were instructed to include this
new regulation in their report. Pendleton might well ex-
claim: "Shan't we by this hang out to all the world our
intentions to smuggle? " As finally phrased in the com-
pleted Association, the importation of syrups and paneles
(>>'. e. , brown unpurified sugar) was also forbidden from the
British plantations and Dominica.
On Wednesday, October 12, the committee of five re-
ported the results of their deliberations in the form of an
"Association," which was ordered to lie on the table for
the perusal of the delegates. Time was spent on the subject
on the following Saturday, and again on Monday; finally,
on Tuesday, October 18, the form of association was
adopted after sundry amendments, and was ordered to be
transcribed that it might be signed by the members. 1 The
vote of passage was not recorded as unanimous, and this
makes it extremely probable that the South Carolina dele-
gation delivered their ultimatum at this juncture. 2 Lynch,
Middleton and the Rutledges, speaking for their province,
demanded the exclusion of rice and indigo from the non-
exportation regulation as the price of their signatures.
Their proposition met with an angry dissent. Forty-eight
1Oct. 12, 15, 17, 18; Journals, vol. i, pp. 62, 74, 75. No record of
the debates remains.
1For this episode, vide Drayton, Memoirs, vol. i, pp. 169-170; N. Y.
Journ. , Dec. 8, 1774; Izard, Correspondence, vol. i, pp. 21-25; Cooper,
What Think Ye of Congress Now? , p. 40; Stevens, Facsimiles, vol.
xxiv, no. 2034-
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? 422 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763. 1776
hours were allowed to pass, during which all parties had an
opportunity to digest the situation. Without the accession
of the South Carolina delegates to the Association, the
province of South Carolina would not be bound thereby,
for such were the terms of the instructions which had been
granted the delegates. 1 On the other hand, the South Caro-
lina delegates were too earnest in their opposition to parlia-
mentary encroachment to be willing to be detached from
co-operation with the sister provinces, if their demands
could be partially met. On Thursday, October 20, the final
trial of strength came. The Association was read to the
assembled Congress, and the delegates advanced to the
table to attach their signatures. Thereupon the four dele-
gates nf Sr>|1rh Carolina departed from the hall, leaving
only the stout-hearted Gadsden, who offered to sign his
name alone and to trust to the generosity of his constituents
for vindication. But wiser counsels prevailed. For the
sake of preserving the union of the provinces, the departed
delegates were recalled; they agreed to abandon their point
regarding indigo, and, in return, Congress conceded the
demanded for the article of rice.
, According to Galloway, the majority were forced to re-
sort to some further strategy before they succeeded in ob-
taining his signature and those of the other delegates who
had voted against many parts of the Association. At the
end of the document were placed the words: "The fore-
'Before the Congress met, Dr. Franklin had addressed these words
to a friend in Pennsylvania: "Your province will surely be wise enough
not to enter into violent measures without the strictest concert with
the other Colonies, particularly Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas,
because on them depend the whole effect of the American non-exporta-
tion. The Northern Colonies have all the European markets almost
for their chief exports, but those. Colonies have hardly any but th<<
English markets for their chief exports of tobacco and naval stores
. . . " Mass. Gas. & Post-Boy, Oct. 24, 1774.
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? THE CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION
423
going Association being determined upon by the Congress,
was ordered to be subscribed by the several Members
thereof; and thereupon, we have hereunto set our respective
names accordingly. " l The recalcitrant delegates were told
that they were in the position of a Speaker of Assembly,
who signed, by order, a bill that was contrary to his per-
sonal judgment, a proceeding which could not be considered
as his private act but that of the majority who made the
order. This story bears the earmarks of truth, though it is
clear that Galloway also felt impelled to sign "on the
ground of preventing the Congress from proceeding to more
violent measures. " 2 Galloway remarked afterward that he
would rather have cut off his hand than sign. 8 Congress
directed that one hundred and twenty copies of the Associa-
tion should be struck off; but the document was not made
public until the close of the session.
The Association was the most remarkable document put
forth by the Congress. Of its authorship nothing is known
definitely, perhaps for the reason that the instrument was
the outgrowth of the experience of all the delegates through
a decade of trade-suspension agreements and thus did not
embody the views of any one man or any single committee.
In part, the Association was the standardization and nation-
alization of the systems of commercial opposition which had
hitherto been employed upon a local scale; the earlier ex-
periments in non-importation, non-consumption, and various
forms of the secondary boycott bore fruit in a number of
1 Galloway, A Reply to an Address, etc. , pp. 114-115. The italics are
Galloway's. Vide also Colden. Letter-Book, vol. ii, p. 374.
1 Galloway, Examination, p. 56. Vide also Pa. Mag. , vol. xxvi, pp.
320-321.
1 Conn. Hist. Soc. Colls. , vol. ii, p. 201. Several delegates were absent
on Oct. 20 and affixed their signatures later. Journals, vol. i, p. 81 n.
The Association was published in the Pa. Packet, Oct. 31, 1774, and
Mass. Spy. Nov. 10.
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? 424 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
carefully drawn provisions of the Association. The influ-
ence of the southern delegates was plainly discernible in
many portions of the paper. The very name, "Associa-
tion," was of southern origin, and had been used in that
section in earlier years in preference to the northern term,
"Agreement. " Most of the basic features of the Associa-
tion were, in substance, identical with the Virginia Asso-
ciation of August, 1774. 1 Furthermore, one important pur-
pose of the Association made it natural that the plantation
delegates should lead in its formulation. The Association,
though framed with the primary object of bringing indus-
trial pressure to bear upon England, was a worthless fabric
unless the colonial merchants could be compelled to observe
its provisions. This was a problem with which the planters
in the South had had to deal in the earlier periods of non-
importation, whereas the northern delegates, with the ex-
ception of Massachusetts, knew nothing of the difficulty,
because their non-importation agreements had been made
and enforced by the merchants themselves.
The Association was a document of more than two thou-
sand words divided into a preamble and fourteen articles. 5
The introductory paragraphs avowed allegiance to the king,
and declared that commercial coercion was adopted as " the
most speedy, effectual, and peaceable " method of obtaining
redress from the "ruinous system of colony administra-
tion," inaugurated by Great Britain about the year 1763
and modified and elaborated in the subsequent years.
Therefore, continued the paper, "we do, for ourselves and
\Vide supra, pp. 368-370. l! y this avenue of reasoning, it might ap-
pear that Richard Henry Lee, a memher of the committee of five, should
have major credit for the content of the Association. On the other
hand, it is known that he held much narrower views at the opening
of Congress. Adams, J. , Works, vol. ii, p. 362.
? Text in Journals, vol. i. pp. 75-81; also in appendix, present volume.
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? THE CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION
425
the inhabitants of the several colonies, whom we represent,
firmly agree and associate, under the sacred ties of virtue,
honour and love of our country . . . " The demand for a
return to the conditions prevailing before 1763 was, in a
later portion, made specific and unmistakable by an enu-
meration of the acts that must be repealed. These were
named as of three groups: (1) the duties on tea, wine,
molasses, syrups, paneles, coffee, sugar, pimento, indigo,
foreign paper, glass, and painters' colors, and the act ex-
tending the powers of the admiralty courts beyond their
ancient limits; (2) that part of the act for better securing
the royal dockyards, ships, etc. (12 George III, c. 24) by
which any person in America, charged with an offense
therein described, might be transported to England for
trial; and (3) the three acts of 1774 against Boston and
Massachusetts and the Quebec Act. 1
Of the fourteen articles which made up the directive
portion of the Association, ten were devoted to establishing
rules of conduct with reference to non-importation and the
cognate subject, non-consumption, and with reference to
the adjustment of the American standard of living to the
situation. Three articles applied to both non-importation
and non-exportation and contained the most important
executory provisions.
Non-importation was to become effective on December 1,
1774. Beginning with that date, no goods whatever were
to be imported from the British Isles, directly or indirectly;
new conditions created by a suspension of trade. One
article dealt solely with the establishment of non-export;
no East India tea was to be imported from any part of the
world (thus affecting the smuggled as well as the legal ar-
ticle) ; the importation of molasses, syrups, paneles, coffee
'Art. JUT.
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? 426 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
or pimento from the British plantations and Dominica was
forbidden, of wines from Madeira and the Western Islands,
of indigo from foreign parts. 1 It was further declared
specifically that no slaves were to be imported after that
date. 2
Next, as " an effectual security for the observation of the
non-importation," a non-consumption regulation was de-
vised. No goods should be purchased or used which there
was cause to suspect had been imported after December 1,
1774, except under special conditions described in Article x;
likewise in the case of slaves. 8 Venders of imported goods
were warned not to take advantage of the scarcity of goods
but were required to sell at their customary rates during the
preceding year. 4 An immediate non-consumption of dutied
tea was announced, with the provision that after March 1,
1775, the use of smuggled tea should also be abandoned. 6
Article x provided for the disposal of merchandise im-
ported contrary to the Association. If any such imports
arrived during the first two months of the non-importation
(<<. e. , before February 1. 1775), the owner should have the
option of re-shipping the goods immediately, or of storing
the goods at his own risk with the local committee during
the duration of the non-importation, or of authorizing the
committee to sell the goods. In the last case, the owner was
to receive from the proceeds of the sale the first cost and
charges; the profit, if any, was to be applied toward em-
ploying the victims of the Boston Port Act. Should any
goods arrive after February 1, 1775, they "ought forth-
with to be sent back again, without breaking any of the
packages thereof. "
Sumptuary regulations were made in preparation for the
1 Art. i. * Art. ii.
1 Arts, iii and ii.
4Art. ix. 6Art. iii.
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? THE CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION
427
radical change which the absence of imported goods was
certain to produce in the life of the average American.
"Utmost endeavours" were to be made to improve the
breed of sheep and to increase their number. 1 "Agricul-
ture, arts and the manufactures of this country, especially
that of wool," were to be promoted. 2 All American manu-
factures were required to be sold at reasonable prices, so
that no undue advantage might be taken of a future scar-
city of goods. 1 Rigid economy was to be practised: we
"will discountenance and discourage every species of ex-
travagance and dissipation, especially all horseracing, and
all kinds of gaming, cock-fighting, exhibitions of shews,
plays, and other expensive diversions and entertainments.
? THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
Parts of three days were given over by Congress to a
consideration of the exact form of the non-importation. 1
The original motion for a non-importation with the British
Isles was made by Richard Henry Lee. Chase of Mary-
land, an impetuous radical during these years of his life,
spoke in opposition to non-importation as an insufficient
measure, and proposed instead the cessation of exportation
and the withholding of remittances. But Chase's plan ap-
parently had a single supporter, Lynch of South Carolina.
The chief question at issue was as to the time at which
Lee's motion would become operative. Cushing, a mer-
chant from the blockaded port of Boston, favored an im-
mediate non-importation and non-consumption. Most
speakers thought otherwise. Mifflin of Pennsylvania be-
lieved that the first of November would be sufficiently late
to allow for the arrival of orders already sent to Great
Britain in April and May, and he held that orders given
after that date had been dishonestly given to defeat the
anticipated non-importation. Gadsden of South Carolina
likewise argued for the first of November. It would ap-
pear that there were a number who strenuously favored a
much longer postponement; and Patrick Henry therefore
moved, by way of compromise, that December be inserted
instead of November, remarking: "We don't mean to hurt
even our rascals, if we have any. " The non-importation
resolution, as adopted by Congress on September 27, thus
fixed December I as the date after which no goods should
be imported, directly or indirectly, from Great Britain and
Ireland; and as a warning to stubborn importers, it was
resolved that goods imported contrary to this resolution
should not be purchased or used.
On the next day, Galloway formally presented tr> fon-
'Sept. 24, 26, 27; Journals, vol. i, pp. 42-43. Notes on the discussion
are in Adams, J. , Works, vol. ii, pp. 382-386.
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? THE CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION 4I5
? s the plan of union, which, cnnstitnted, thp platform of
;. and he solemnly warned the body against
oy on i11>>go1 mm'WIT which would bring
British warships and troops down upon American ports.
Galloway's extremely reasonable proposal received warm
support--from Jay and Duane of New York, from Ed-
ward Rutledge of South Carolina, and in general from the
members of fortune and property. 1f^n spite of all the
efforts of the radicals, the plan was entered in the minutes
by a vote of six provinces to five; but, notwithstanding
this temporary success, the moderates were never thereafter
able to secure consideration for the plan. The zeal of the
radicals in later expunging from the record all traces of
this proceeding throws an interesting sidelight on their
methodsj
The time of Congress was now devoted, for a consider-
able part of three days, to debates over the adoption of a
non-exportation resolution. 2 No good account remains of
the protracted discussion at this stage; but the nature of
the remarks and the attitude of leading members may be
reconstructed from John Adams's notes on an earlier occa-
sion and from some scattered comments to be found else-
where. 8 Cushing adopted as his slogan: "a non-importa-
tion, non-exportation, and non-consumption, and imme-
diately," and was joined in this by Dyer of Connecticut.
Lynch and the Rutledges of South Carolina favored Cush-
1 Journals, vol. i, pp. 43-51; Adams, J. , Works, vol. ii, pp. 387-391;
1 N. J. Arch. , vol. x, pp. 503-507; Galloway, Reflections, pp. 72, 81; his
Examination, pp. 48, 52 n. ; his A Reply to an Address to the Author of
a Pamphlet, entitled "A Candid Examination . . . " (London, 1780),
p. 109-
1 Sept. 28, 29, 30; Journals, vol. i, pp. 51-52.
1 Works, vol. ii, pp. 382-386, 391 n. , 394, 476-478; Drayton, Memoirs,
vol. i, p. 168.
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? 416 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763. 1776
ing's proposal if the suspension of trade were made abso-
lute with the whole world, not merely with British terri-
tory. John Adams asked Congress to accept the logical
implication of endorsing the "Suffolk Resolves," and to
resolve that, should further hostilities be pursued against
Massachusetts, or any persons seized under the revived
statute of Henry VIII, the several provinces " ought imme-
diately to cease all exportation of goods, wares and mer-
chandise to Great Britain, Ireland, and the West Indies. "
Chase, who had sniffed at a non-importation, argued for
an immediate non-exportation and a withholding of debts,
which, he believed, would represent a total loss to British
merchants and manufacturers of ? 7,000,000 for the year.
He also urged an immediate non-exportation of lumber to
the West Indies, for the lumber-vessels exchanged their
cargoes for sugar and carried the latter to England, to the
great gain of the merchants there and of the British reve-
nue. In this latter position he was supported by Mifflin of
Pennsylvania and Sullivan of New Hampshire; but Isaac
Low of New York warned against a total prohibition of all
exports to the West Indies, as a measure which would
"annihilate the fishery" by wiping out the West Indian
market. Dyer proposed the withholding of flaxseed from
Ireland.
These and other suggestions were made by various dele-
gates; but it quickly became clear that, although opinion
was rapidly converging upon a plan of non-exportation, the
Virginia tobacco planters, and the South Carolina delegates
representing powerful rice and indigo interests, were de-
termined to protect the industries of their respective prov-
inces, in case such a plan were adopted. For a time, atten-
tion was centered upon the question of suspending tobacco
exportation. The Maryland delegates had instructions not
to enter into any arrangement for the non-exportation of
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? THE CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION
tobacco without the concurrence of Virginia and North
Carolina; and the Virginia delegates were explicitly in-
structed not to consent to a non-exportation before August
10, 1775, in order to allow time for the marketing of the
growing crop. This situation caused the exasperated Chase
to declare: "A non-exportation at a future day cannot
avail us. What is the situation of Boston and the Massa-
chusetts? A non-exportation at the Virginia day will not
operate before the fall of 1776. " It was urged by Gadsden
and others that the other provinces should, in this measure,
act independently of Virginia; but for taking this step the
Marylanders pleaded their lack of power and claimed that,
even were a different course possible, it would be undesir-
able, for Maryland and North Carolina tobacco would be
carried to Virginia ports and. the latter would run away
with their trade. Fortunately for the Virginians, other
provinces were also willing to postpone the operation of the
non-exportation; and the date agreed upon in the resolu-
tion eventually adopted was September 10, 1775, one month
later than the Virginia instructions required.
The South Carolina delegates, from the narrow nature
of their demands, were not equally successful in enlisting
the support of other provinces in their cause. What they
desired (Gadsden excepted) was nothing less than that rice
and indigo, the staples of the province, should be exempted
from the operation of the non-exportation to Great Britain. 1
They held that, out of due regard to the interests of their
constituents, it was necessary either that the non-exporta-
tion should be made operative against the whole world, or
that, in case exportation were suspended with Great Britain
alone, rice and indigo should be made exceptions to the
regulation, being products which could (except under cer-
1 Drayton, Memoirs, vol. i, pp. 169-170; Izard, Correspondence, voL i,
pp. 21-25; statement of S. C. delegates, N. Y. Journ. , Dec. 8, 1774.
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? 4I8 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
tain limited circumstances) be exported to Great Britain
only, whereas the markets of the world were open to the
wheat, flour, fish and oil of the commercial provinces. 1
The South Carolina delegates were able to show that but
a small part of the export trade of the commercial provinces
was with Great Britain, while on the contrary nearly all of
the indigo and two thirds of the rice of South Carolina
went to the ports of Great Britain. Edward Rutledge felt
justified in remarking that: "People who are affected but
in speculation [>>". e. in theory] and submit to all the hard-
ships attending it will not shut up their ports, while their
neighbors, who are objects of ministerial vengeance, enjoy,
in a great degree, the benefits of commerce. " Furthermore,
they maintained that the commercial provinces would be
enabled to pay off their British debts by the returns of their
foreign trade and thus greatly ameliorate the rigor of the
trade suspension. In explaining the position of the South
Carolina delegation before the South Carolina convention a
few months later, John Rutledge declared that: "Upon the
whole, . . . the affair seemed rather like a commercial
scheme among the flour Colonies to find a better vent for
their Flour through the British Channel, by preventing, if
possible, any Rice from being sent to those markets; and
that, for his part, he could never consent to our becoming
the dupes to the people of the North or in the least to yield
to their unreasonable expectations. "
Much bitter feeling was generated in the Congress. Ed-
ward Rutledge declared: "A gentleman from the other end
of the room talked of generosity. True equality is the
1 It will be recalled that only enumerated commodities of the colonies
were required to be exported to Great Britain and that many American
products were not on the enumerated list. iRice and indigo were enu-
merated, but under temporary acts a way was opened by which rice
could be exported to Southern Europe and to regions in America
south of Georgia.
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? THE CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION
419
only public generosity. " But it quickly became apparent
that tfrlYfl9* majority w^rp opposed to aHf>p<|Jn. g frh,e drastic
excfflif"* nf MnltJT? out American export_relations with
the entire world ^ and that they were equally disinclined to
cater to the self-interest of fhe^1ce_ and indigo planters of
. South Carolina. Richard Henry Lee pleaded earnestly
that: "All considerations of interest, and of equality of
sacrifice, should be laid aside. " In face of the vehement
protests of the South Carolinians, the resolution for non-
, According to its
terms, all exportation to the British Isles and the West In-
dies should cease on September 20, 1775, unless American
grievances were redressed before that time. The South
Carolina delegates had thus lost their first battle. But they
did not accept defeat, and they laid plans to make a final
stand before Congress adjourned.
The principal features of the plan of commercial resist-
ance had now been adopted by Congress. The work of
drawing up a complete plan " for carrying into effect the
non-importation, non-consumption and non-exportation"
was now confided to a special committee, consisting of
Cushing of Massachusetts, Low of New York, Mifflin of
Pennsylvania, Lee of Virginia, and Johnson of Maryland. 1
It is worth noting that the committee on rights and redress,
composed of two members from each province, was ignored
in this connection, although it still had its report under con-
sideration; and that, of the committee of five, all but Low
had the reputation of favoring radical measures. Low had
been included probably because, as a conservative merchant
of great wealth, his name would lend prestige to the work
of the comm1ttee.
Meantime, Congress did not give the special committee
'Sept. 30; Journals, vol. i, p. 53.
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? 420 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
an absolutely free hand, for portions of three days were
occupied in formulating an additional resolution for their
guidance. 1 This discussion was very largely confined to the
advisability of extending the non-importation regulation to
apply to commodities upon which an import duty had been
imposed by the revenue acts of 1764 and 1766. The South-
ern members wished to phrase the resolution so as to avoid
the confusion arising from the importation of smuggled
articles of the same kind as the dutied articles. "How is
the purchaser to know whether the molasses, sugar, or
coffee has paid the duty or not? " asked Pendleton of Vir-
ginia. "It can't be known. " "Many gentlemen in this
room know how to bring in goods, sugars and others, with-
out paying duties," declared Lynch significantly. Chase
urged the same practical objection as Pendleton, and ob-
jected further because of the principle involved. "Our
enemies will think," he said, " that we mean to strike at the
right of Parliament to lay duties for the regulation of
trade. " This caused Lynch to reply: " In my idea, Parlia-
ment has no power to regulate trade. But these duties are
all for revenue, not for regulation of trade. " Low felt
himself called upon to defend the merchant class, of which
he was so respectable a member. "Gentlemen have been
transported, by their zeal, into reflections upon an order of
men, who deserve it least of any men in the community. "
He argued against the exclusion of West India rum, sugar
and molasses from the provinces as a measure ruinous to
American business; and he proposed that, as the importa-
tion of East India Company tea had been suspended by the
resolution of September 27, smuggled Dutch tea should
likewise be placed under the ban. 2
1 Oct. 1, 5, 6; Journals, vol. i, pp. 53, 5511. , 57. Notes on the discussion
are in Adams, J. , Works, vol. ii, pp. 393-394-
1 Low gained his point later in Art . i of the completed Association.
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?
THE CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION
421
The outcome of the discussion was a resolution of Octo-
ber 6, which declared against the importation of the most
important dutied articles after December 1 next, i. e. mo-
lasses, coffee and pimento from the British plantations, or
from Dominica, formerly a French possession; wines from
Madeira and the Western Islands; and foreign indigo.
The special committee of five were instructed to include this
new regulation in their report. Pendleton might well ex-
claim: "Shan't we by this hang out to all the world our
intentions to smuggle? " As finally phrased in the com-
pleted Association, the importation of syrups and paneles
(>>'. e. , brown unpurified sugar) was also forbidden from the
British plantations and Dominica.
On Wednesday, October 12, the committee of five re-
ported the results of their deliberations in the form of an
"Association," which was ordered to lie on the table for
the perusal of the delegates. Time was spent on the subject
on the following Saturday, and again on Monday; finally,
on Tuesday, October 18, the form of association was
adopted after sundry amendments, and was ordered to be
transcribed that it might be signed by the members. 1 The
vote of passage was not recorded as unanimous, and this
makes it extremely probable that the South Carolina dele-
gation delivered their ultimatum at this juncture. 2 Lynch,
Middleton and the Rutledges, speaking for their province,
demanded the exclusion of rice and indigo from the non-
exportation regulation as the price of their signatures.
Their proposition met with an angry dissent. Forty-eight
1Oct. 12, 15, 17, 18; Journals, vol. i, pp. 62, 74, 75. No record of
the debates remains.
1For this episode, vide Drayton, Memoirs, vol. i, pp. 169-170; N. Y.
Journ. , Dec. 8, 1774; Izard, Correspondence, vol. i, pp. 21-25; Cooper,
What Think Ye of Congress Now? , p. 40; Stevens, Facsimiles, vol.
xxiv, no. 2034-
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? 422 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763. 1776
hours were allowed to pass, during which all parties had an
opportunity to digest the situation. Without the accession
of the South Carolina delegates to the Association, the
province of South Carolina would not be bound thereby,
for such were the terms of the instructions which had been
granted the delegates. 1 On the other hand, the South Caro-
lina delegates were too earnest in their opposition to parlia-
mentary encroachment to be willing to be detached from
co-operation with the sister provinces, if their demands
could be partially met. On Thursday, October 20, the final
trial of strength came. The Association was read to the
assembled Congress, and the delegates advanced to the
table to attach their signatures. Thereupon the four dele-
gates nf Sr>|1rh Carolina departed from the hall, leaving
only the stout-hearted Gadsden, who offered to sign his
name alone and to trust to the generosity of his constituents
for vindication. But wiser counsels prevailed. For the
sake of preserving the union of the provinces, the departed
delegates were recalled; they agreed to abandon their point
regarding indigo, and, in return, Congress conceded the
demanded for the article of rice.
, According to Galloway, the majority were forced to re-
sort to some further strategy before they succeeded in ob-
taining his signature and those of the other delegates who
had voted against many parts of the Association. At the
end of the document were placed the words: "The fore-
'Before the Congress met, Dr. Franklin had addressed these words
to a friend in Pennsylvania: "Your province will surely be wise enough
not to enter into violent measures without the strictest concert with
the other Colonies, particularly Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas,
because on them depend the whole effect of the American non-exporta-
tion. The Northern Colonies have all the European markets almost
for their chief exports, but those. Colonies have hardly any but th<<
English markets for their chief exports of tobacco and naval stores
. . . " Mass. Gas. & Post-Boy, Oct. 24, 1774.
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? THE CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION
423
going Association being determined upon by the Congress,
was ordered to be subscribed by the several Members
thereof; and thereupon, we have hereunto set our respective
names accordingly. " l The recalcitrant delegates were told
that they were in the position of a Speaker of Assembly,
who signed, by order, a bill that was contrary to his per-
sonal judgment, a proceeding which could not be considered
as his private act but that of the majority who made the
order. This story bears the earmarks of truth, though it is
clear that Galloway also felt impelled to sign "on the
ground of preventing the Congress from proceeding to more
violent measures. " 2 Galloway remarked afterward that he
would rather have cut off his hand than sign. 8 Congress
directed that one hundred and twenty copies of the Associa-
tion should be struck off; but the document was not made
public until the close of the session.
The Association was the most remarkable document put
forth by the Congress. Of its authorship nothing is known
definitely, perhaps for the reason that the instrument was
the outgrowth of the experience of all the delegates through
a decade of trade-suspension agreements and thus did not
embody the views of any one man or any single committee.
In part, the Association was the standardization and nation-
alization of the systems of commercial opposition which had
hitherto been employed upon a local scale; the earlier ex-
periments in non-importation, non-consumption, and various
forms of the secondary boycott bore fruit in a number of
1 Galloway, A Reply to an Address, etc. , pp. 114-115. The italics are
Galloway's. Vide also Colden. Letter-Book, vol. ii, p. 374.
1 Galloway, Examination, p. 56. Vide also Pa. Mag. , vol. xxvi, pp.
320-321.
1 Conn. Hist. Soc. Colls. , vol. ii, p. 201. Several delegates were absent
on Oct. 20 and affixed their signatures later. Journals, vol. i, p. 81 n.
The Association was published in the Pa. Packet, Oct. 31, 1774, and
Mass. Spy. Nov. 10.
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? 424 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
carefully drawn provisions of the Association. The influ-
ence of the southern delegates was plainly discernible in
many portions of the paper. The very name, "Associa-
tion," was of southern origin, and had been used in that
section in earlier years in preference to the northern term,
"Agreement. " Most of the basic features of the Associa-
tion were, in substance, identical with the Virginia Asso-
ciation of August, 1774. 1 Furthermore, one important pur-
pose of the Association made it natural that the plantation
delegates should lead in its formulation. The Association,
though framed with the primary object of bringing indus-
trial pressure to bear upon England, was a worthless fabric
unless the colonial merchants could be compelled to observe
its provisions. This was a problem with which the planters
in the South had had to deal in the earlier periods of non-
importation, whereas the northern delegates, with the ex-
ception of Massachusetts, knew nothing of the difficulty,
because their non-importation agreements had been made
and enforced by the merchants themselves.
The Association was a document of more than two thou-
sand words divided into a preamble and fourteen articles. 5
The introductory paragraphs avowed allegiance to the king,
and declared that commercial coercion was adopted as " the
most speedy, effectual, and peaceable " method of obtaining
redress from the "ruinous system of colony administra-
tion," inaugurated by Great Britain about the year 1763
and modified and elaborated in the subsequent years.
Therefore, continued the paper, "we do, for ourselves and
\Vide supra, pp. 368-370. l! y this avenue of reasoning, it might ap-
pear that Richard Henry Lee, a memher of the committee of five, should
have major credit for the content of the Association. On the other
hand, it is known that he held much narrower views at the opening
of Congress. Adams, J. , Works, vol. ii, p. 362.
? Text in Journals, vol. i. pp. 75-81; also in appendix, present volume.
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? THE CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION
425
the inhabitants of the several colonies, whom we represent,
firmly agree and associate, under the sacred ties of virtue,
honour and love of our country . . . " The demand for a
return to the conditions prevailing before 1763 was, in a
later portion, made specific and unmistakable by an enu-
meration of the acts that must be repealed. These were
named as of three groups: (1) the duties on tea, wine,
molasses, syrups, paneles, coffee, sugar, pimento, indigo,
foreign paper, glass, and painters' colors, and the act ex-
tending the powers of the admiralty courts beyond their
ancient limits; (2) that part of the act for better securing
the royal dockyards, ships, etc. (12 George III, c. 24) by
which any person in America, charged with an offense
therein described, might be transported to England for
trial; and (3) the three acts of 1774 against Boston and
Massachusetts and the Quebec Act. 1
Of the fourteen articles which made up the directive
portion of the Association, ten were devoted to establishing
rules of conduct with reference to non-importation and the
cognate subject, non-consumption, and with reference to
the adjustment of the American standard of living to the
situation. Three articles applied to both non-importation
and non-exportation and contained the most important
executory provisions.
Non-importation was to become effective on December 1,
1774. Beginning with that date, no goods whatever were
to be imported from the British Isles, directly or indirectly;
new conditions created by a suspension of trade. One
article dealt solely with the establishment of non-export;
no East India tea was to be imported from any part of the
world (thus affecting the smuggled as well as the legal ar-
ticle) ; the importation of molasses, syrups, paneles, coffee
'Art. JUT.
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? 426 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
or pimento from the British plantations and Dominica was
forbidden, of wines from Madeira and the Western Islands,
of indigo from foreign parts. 1 It was further declared
specifically that no slaves were to be imported after that
date. 2
Next, as " an effectual security for the observation of the
non-importation," a non-consumption regulation was de-
vised. No goods should be purchased or used which there
was cause to suspect had been imported after December 1,
1774, except under special conditions described in Article x;
likewise in the case of slaves. 8 Venders of imported goods
were warned not to take advantage of the scarcity of goods
but were required to sell at their customary rates during the
preceding year. 4 An immediate non-consumption of dutied
tea was announced, with the provision that after March 1,
1775, the use of smuggled tea should also be abandoned. 6
Article x provided for the disposal of merchandise im-
ported contrary to the Association. If any such imports
arrived during the first two months of the non-importation
(<<. e. , before February 1. 1775), the owner should have the
option of re-shipping the goods immediately, or of storing
the goods at his own risk with the local committee during
the duration of the non-importation, or of authorizing the
committee to sell the goods. In the last case, the owner was
to receive from the proceeds of the sale the first cost and
charges; the profit, if any, was to be applied toward em-
ploying the victims of the Boston Port Act. Should any
goods arrive after February 1, 1775, they "ought forth-
with to be sent back again, without breaking any of the
packages thereof. "
Sumptuary regulations were made in preparation for the
1 Art. i. * Art. ii.
1 Arts, iii and ii.
4Art. ix. 6Art. iii.
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? THE CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION
427
radical change which the absence of imported goods was
certain to produce in the life of the average American.
"Utmost endeavours" were to be made to improve the
breed of sheep and to increase their number. 1 "Agricul-
ture, arts and the manufactures of this country, especially
that of wool," were to be promoted. 2 All American manu-
factures were required to be sold at reasonable prices, so
that no undue advantage might be taken of a future scar-
city of goods. 1 Rigid economy was to be practised: we
"will discountenance and discourage every species of ex-
travagance and dissipation, especially all horseracing, and
all kinds of gaming, cock-fighting, exhibitions of shews,
plays, and other expensive diversions and entertainments.
