Loyalists and Patriots Debate the American Revolution

Having lost his valuable estate in Pennsylvania during the American Revolution, the Loyalist Galloway spent the rest of his years in exile in Britain lobbying the government for compensation and writing books like this one to… more

Published in 1765, this 32-page political pamphlet was written at a pivotal moment of tension between Britain and its American colonies — the same year the Stamp Act was passed. The work examines the scope of Parliament’s authority… more

The essay argues against Parliament’s taxation of America, contending that “subordinate states,” whether Wales or the “palatinates of Chester and Durham” or the colonies, can only be taxed by representatives of their own choosing… more

It is widely accepted that the pseudonym Americanus was used here to protect the identity of Caleb Evans, the Welsh Baptist theologian and educator. The pamphlet examines the contested matter of British taxes on the American… more

A legalistic defense of the Loyalist opposition to the right of the American colonies to seek independence from Britain. This work was the subject of John Adam’s lengthy rebuttal in “Novanglus”.

This text is among the most entertaining responses to Samuel Johnson and reveals a powerful link between a sense of natural justice on the one hand and pragmatic common sense on the other. Siding with the Americans in their right to… more

This volume contains the principal shorter writings in which Adams addresses the prospect of revolution and the form of government proper to the new United States. There are pieces on the nature of the British Constitution and the… more

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This essay denies any claim to unlimited supremacy. Such a view asserts an infallibility that belongs only to God, “not Parliaments.” The writer then extends the point to insist that colonies may go so far as to separate, when they… more

Preaching before the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in February of 1773, Jonathan Shipley, Bishop of St. Asaph, sought to ease tensions between Britain and her colonies by reminding both sides of their common Christianity,… more

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

In this speech, Burke argued that Americans were Englishmen who had carried with them the most ardent sentiments in favor of liberty, and, however contradictory, even those who held slaves, were among the most ardent of all. He made… more

The speech “On American Taxation” given by Edmund Burke in the House of Commons on April 19, 1774, argues for the repeal of the Townshend Acts which had created the taxes that spurred the Boston Tea Party. To do otherwise would cause… more

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This text shows a strong familiarity with religious and legal thought, referencing England’s constitutional development, including the relationship of Parliament to Ireland as well as the evils arising from the management of India by… more

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

Written in 1775 in response to the Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress, Samuel Johnson’s Taxation no Tyranny is a defense of Parliamentary Sovereignty, particularly the right to tax. One of the greatest English… more

This response to Johnson’s Taxation no Tyranny emphasizes the concord which had existed between Great Britain and the colonies in previous times. Now, though, “The Tories have forced us into a situation which threatens shipwreck.”… more

This 1775 pamphlet was published as an anonymous response to Samuel Johnson’s Taxation No Tyranny. Johnson’s towering reputation as a man of letters appears to enrage rather than intimidate this anonymous author, who takes Johnson to… more

This essay presents one of the strongest responses to the claim of Parliamentary supremacy over the colonies. It is indicative of a robust revival of Old Whig ideas in England on the question of limited government, a revival that… more

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

Written in response to Samuel Johnson’s Taxation no Tyranny, this pamphlet dismisses Johnson’s arguments as unworthy of response, except for the fact that they are “irritating to Englishmen.” The author makes much of Johnson’s… more

This text is notable for its reading of the Declaratory Act and the specific phrase, “in all cases whatsoever.” contending that such could only refer to constitutional means. It made the point that not every act of government… more

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.

This pamphlet is a part of The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776: A Digital Collection, edited by Jack P. Greene.