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Two Faces of a Movement: Part One - Page 3

© Brian Tubbs

It is worth noting that this so-called radical camp of Stamp Tax protesters can also be broken down into two camps. There was the smaller wing of the radical camp that counted the political arena as its domain. It was this group of radicals that pushed the envelope of official protest, often dragging the more moderate politicians with them into new and bolder territory of political dissent. While this group of radicals pontificated equally, if not more, on the levy's political implications than its economic nature, they nonetheless artfully positioned themselves at the head of those colonists most outraged at how George Grenville was reaching for what little cash they had. For these colonists, who desired strong, unequivocal, and uncompromising denunciation of Britain's tax policies, the radical politicians were there to oblige.

Patrick Henry's Virginia Resolves is, in fact, illustrative of what this group of radical politicians offered the people most affected by the Stamp Act. It also shows how their outlook on the issue and views on how the colonies should respond differed markedly from their more moderate Whig counterparts.

When Henry, as a freshman legislator from backwoods Virginia, audaciously introduced a series of resolutions denouncing the Stamp Act, he did so in the waning days of the legislative session. Henry and his upstart allies in Virginia knew this was their best moment, since many veterans had already taken their leave. The first five Resolves were consistent with statements already made by Virginia and other colonies. Though a bit strongly worded for the comfort of some, they were still largely within the mainstream of American political dissent. The final two Resolves, however, were a different story.

The sixth Resolve declared that Virginians were "not bound to yield obedience" to any tax levied by any other authority than the General Assembly of Virginia. And the seventh branded anyone who disagreed publicly with the preceding resolution an "enemy to His Majesty's Colony."

The moderate gentry (the "Old Boy Network" of Virginia politics in that day) were aghast. They quickly torpedoed both the sixth and seventh resolutions and put up a spirited fight against the others as well, believing them to be redundant and unnecessarily provocative. (Virginia had already issued a formal, albeit polite, protest of Grenville's levy).

Though they lost the vote the first time, they reconvened later, having summoned back enough moderate and Loyalist legislators to reverse themselves on the fifth Resolve. When all was said and done, only four of Henry's seven Resolves ultimately passed.

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