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Primary sourceDocumentMay 1764

Instructions of the Town of Boston to its Representatives

Samuel Adams · May 1764

An early protest document written by Samuel Adams in 1764 objecting to British taxation policy before it was formally imposed.

Adams wrote this early formal protest against British taxation, one of his first major political papers.

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Handwritten manuscript page in brown ink on aged paper, headed 'To Royall Tyler, James Otis, Thomas Cushing & Oxenbridge Thacher Esqrs. Gentlemen,' with a purple 'City of Boston' stamp along the left margin. Cursive text instructs town representatives.
Samuel Adams, Instructions of the Town of Boston to its Representatives, May 1764.

About this source

What it is

This manuscript, written by Samuel Adams, records instructions from the Town of Boston to its representatives in the Massachusetts General Court, dated May 1764. It addressed resistance to new British trade and excise laws, calls for frugal government, and town finances strained by a smallpox outbreak.

Why it matters

This is one of Samuel Adams's earliest major public political writings. It shows him already organizing formal protest against British taxation policy years before the Stamp Act and other crises that would make him a leading Patriot voice. It reveals how local town meetings became tools for political resistance.

Look closer

  • Why would a town meeting send written instructions to its own representatives?
  • What does the mix of tax protest and practical town business (like smallpox) tell you about colonial government?
  • Who is this document addressed to, and why might that matter?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Samuel Adams on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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