In 1767, Parliament passed the Townsend Acts once again to aid in Britain's economy. It was designed to tax products such as glass, lead, paper and tea (American Rev. 1). In response, the colonists once again decided to follow the policy of non-importation. After this act was passed many pamphlets and papers were printed in order to show the colonists disapproval with Britain. One of these papers was the Massachusetts Circular Letter written by Samuel Adams in 1768 (American Rev. 1). It assaulted Parliaments" continued taxation of the colonies without proper representation and it called for united resistance of all the colonies. In response, the British governor abolished the states" legislature. After the Townsend Acts had been lessened to just a tax on tea, it seemed as though Britain was easing the hold on the American colonies. This was not the case. The Boston Massacre took place in March of 1770 when British soldiers opened fire on a group of rebellious citizens, killing three of them and injuring eight (American Rev. 1). After this event, which claimed the lives of three colonial citizens, the people formed a forceful anti- British sentiment throughout the colonies. This anti- British feeling sparked the "Committee of Correspondence" meetings held by Samuel Adams in Boston. Soon they were found throughout the colonies. Britain's taxes and laws were not halted after the Boston Massacre, in 1773 Parliament passed the Tea Act, which reduced the tax on British tea in order to sell more of it in the colonies. The colonists wanted nothing to do with the buying of British products so they protested for the tea to be sent back to England. On December 16, 1773 a group of colonists dressed as Native Americans, went aboard ships containing the tea and threw it overboard, resulting in the loss of thousands of sales for the British government (American Rev. 1). This event was forever known as the Boston Tea Party.
