presented in that body. And the colonies were not
represented in Parliament; no, not even in that "virtual" sense which
might be affirmed in the case of many unfranchised English cities, such
as Manchester and Liverpool; from which it followed that the Stamp Act,
unquestionably an internal tax, was a manifest violation of colonial
rights.

The ablest arguments against the Stamp Act were those set forth by John
Dickinson, of Philadelphia, and Daniel Dulaney, of Maryland: the ablest
and the best tempered. Unfortunately, the conciliatory note was all but
lost in the chorus of angry protest and bitter denunciation that was
designed to spur the Americans on to reckless action rather than to
induce the ministers to withdraw an unwise measure. Clever lawyers
seeking political advantage, such as John Morin Scott; zealots who knew
not the meaning of compromise, such as Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams;
preachers of the gospel, such as Jonathan Mayhew, who took this occasion
to denounce the doctrine of passive resistance, and with over-subtle
logic identified the defense of civil liberty with the cause of religion
and morality;--such men as these, with intention or all unwittingly
raised public opinion to that high tension from which spring
insurrection and the irresponsible action of mobs. Everywhere stamp
distributors, voluntarily or to the accompaniment of threats, resigned
their offices. Stamped papers were no sooner landed than they were
seized and destroyed, or returned to England, or transmitted for
safe-keeping to the custody of local officials pledged not to deliver
them. Often inspired and sometimes led by citizens of repute who were
"not averse to a little rioting," the mobs were recruited from the quays
and the grogshops, and once in action were difficult to control. In true
mob fashion they testified to their patriotism by parading the streets
at night, "breaking a few glass windows," and destroying the property of
men, such as Hutchinson and Colden, whose unseemly wealth or lukewarm
opinions were an offense to stalwart defenders of liberty.

The November riots disposed of the stamps but not of the Stamp Act.
Business had to go on as usual without stamps or cease altogether.
Either course would make the law of no effect; but the latter course
would be a strictly constitutional method of resistance, while the
former would involve a violation of law. Many preferred the
constitutional method. Let the courts adjourn, they