Stamp Act Congress - Proceedings

Proceedings

Delegates began to arrive in New York in late September, and a preliminary meeting was held by four delegations on September 30; what was discussed then is not known. The first session of the Congress was held on October 7, in New York's City Hall (now known as Federal Hall). It elected Timothy Ruggles, a conservative Massachusetts delegate, as its chairman, narrowly rejecting James Otis, who John Adams described as the soul of the body. John Cotton, the deputy secretary of the Massachusetts General Court, had been retained by the Massachusetts delegation to make a formal record, was chosen as the body's secretary and record keeper. The selection of Ruggles as a delegate had been engineered by Massachusetts Governor Francis Bernard in the hopes of limiting the effectiveness of the congress. His success in being elected chairman was due at least in part to the perception that Otis, a populist firebrand, "might give their meeting an ill grace."

The formal sessions of the Stamp Act Congress were conducted behind closed doors, although some of its business may have been conducted in informal sessions held in coffeehouses and other establishments in the evenings. Lieutenant Governor Colden, unable to prevent the meeting, called it an "illegal convention", noting that "hatever possible pretences may be used for this meeting their real intentions may be dangerous." The delegates were clear that they were in fact loyal to the Crown. New York delegate Robert R. Livingston wrote that the Congress was designed to insure the unity of the British empire, for "if I really wished to see America in a state of independence, I should desire as one of the most effectual means to that end that the stamp act should be inforced."

Of the debates that took place in the congress little is known. The official journal of the congress, in an apparently deliberate move, only contains the barest details of official actions, and none of the participants kept private journals. As a result, accounts of the congress are based on fragmentary records from contemporary letters and publications. In addition to selecting officers, the first sessions examined the credentials of each of the delegations; despite the unorthodox methods by which some were chosen, no delegates were rejected. They also debated on how voting in the body should take place, eventually agreeing that each delegation would cast a single vote.

The early substantive debates centered around issues raised by the Stamp Act and the earlier Sugar Act. The delegates spent a significant amount of time discussing the differences between direct ("internal") taxation and the regulation of trade (or "external taxation"), and seeking formal justification of the idea that only the colonial assemblies had the right to levy internal taxes. Fairly early in the deliberations the delegates agreed to produce a statement of rights which would form the foundation for petitions the congress would submit to Parliament and the king. According to Delaware delegate Caesar Rodney, the drafting of this statement was made difficult by the desire to balance the colonists' rights with the royal prerogative and the acknowledged powers of Parliament.

On October 19, the delegates adopted the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, a document primarily intended for local political discussion. Over the next few days separate committees drafted three documents: an address to the king, a memorial to the House of Lords, and a petition to the House of Commons. Separate committees worked over the next few days to draft these, which were accepted after debate and revision by the delegates on October 22 and 23. When the issue of signing these documents was discussed on October 24, matters suddenly became more complicated. The delegations from Connecticut and South Carolina refused to sign the documents, citing their instructions specifically denying such power. New York's delegation also refused, citing the informality with which it had been selected. From the other six delegations, New Jersey's Robert Ogden and Massachusetts' Timothy Ruggles both refused to sign, sparking a heated argument. Ruggles eventually moved that no one sign the documents, and that they instead be sent unsigned to the colonial assemblies. James Otis pointed out that the Massachusetts assembly had authorized its delegation to sign any jointly agreed documents, and that Ruggles' suggestion undermined the purpose of the congress to present a united front. Although the other delegates from the six colonies did sign the petitions, Ruggles and Ogden did not, and both were called before their respective assemblies to justify their actions. Ruggles in his defense admitted that he was opposed to the substance of the documents, and Ogden argued weakly that he thought separate petitions would be more effective than a joint one. (Others noted that Parliament had already ignored such petitions.) Ruggles and Thomas McKean had an angry exchange over the matter, resulting in Ruggles challenging McKean to a duel. The duel did not take place, and Ruggles left New York early the next morning. The congress met again on October 25, at which time the petitions were signed, and arrangements were made for the transmission of some of the documents to England, and the making of copies for the non-participating colonies.