His Personal Conflict With The British
Jonathan Plowman is listed among the bachelors of Baltimore Town age twenty five and older, who were taxed by the Maryland Assembly to pay for the French and Indian War. On June 22, 1769, Jonathan Plowman was one of the signers of Maryland's Resolution of Non-Importation, in which he and other merchants like him promised, along with other colonies, to avoid importing items that were being taxed by Act of Parliament, for the purpose of raising a revenue in America. With few exceptions, they were to avoid purchasing most things listed as from Britain or Europe except for those produced and manufactured in Ireland.
In October 1770 the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis ordered the arrest of Jonathan Plowman and several others for failing to show up to explain why they signed a petition that was offensive to the Assembly. The petition was against the enactment of a law to hold Baltimore's election in the town of Joppa. Smallpox was raging in Baltimore, so instead of delaying or taking other measures insuring the right to vote, the Assembly instead moved the election for Baltimore away from Baltimore. Many would therefore be unable to vote for their own town's government. The Assembly decided to swing around its power and ordered all the signers to come to Annapolis to explain their signatures on what they called a "false and scandalous Petition that reflected on the Honour, Justice and Impartiality of the House and highly derogatory of its Rights and Privileges." One decided to go and say "not me I was in Pennsylvania at the time," while another said he was in bed sick and the wife brought the petition for his signature and signed it because others had signed it first. Jonathan Plowman apparently did not go, at least not at the time ordered and what happened to this warrant is still being investigated by a genealogist, but we do know that he would continue on to yet another confrontation with Britain and have George Washington's help.
Read more about this topic: Jonathan Plowman, Jr.
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