American Revolution Podcast

The American Board of Customs arrives in Boston in 1767 ready to enforce the new Townshend duties. With the backing of the British Navy, the Board tries to show who is boss by seizing a ship belonging...

28 Jan 201820min

Following passage of the Towshend Acts in 1767, the colonists are unsure how to respond. These are import tariffs, not taxes, which was the line they drew over the earlier Stamp Act. They don't want t...

21 Jan 201821min

Prime Minister William Pitt's illness prevents him from running his administration. The Duke of Grafton becomes acting Prime Minister for over a year and eventually take the office officially when Pit...

14 Jan 201821min

William Pitt, champion of colonial rights, finally becomes Prime Minister in 1766. Illness however, keeps him from active participation in the government. His Lord of the Exchequer Charles Townsend tr...

7 Jan 201820min

Following the repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766, colonial protests stopped and trade resumed. Parliament is not happy about the pushback and seems determined to find a way to put the colonies in their p...

31 Dec 201721min

The Stamp Act took effect on November 1, 1765. But colonial opposition prevented the use of any stamps. Protesters forced newspapers, courts, and ports to operate without stamped paper. Creditors coul...

24 Dec 201720min

Colonists at all levels of society protested the Stamp Act of 1765. Newspapers railed against it. Mobs marched in the streets, and destroyed the homes of tax agents and other supporters. Colonial poli...

17 Dec 201721min

In 1765 Prime Minister Grenville led passage of the Stamp Act through Parliament. He designed the tax on newspapers, legal documents and a host of other paper to collect revenues from the colonies. Al...

10 Dec 201721min