Merchants Committees of Inspection
As means to protest Great Britain’s increased taxation legislation and regulation, various American colonists convened to protest. In each colony, provincial associations agreed to boycott English goods (excluding a few essential items). Yet many merchants ignored the boycott and continued importing British goods. Under the auspices of the Sons of Liberty, Merchant Committees of Inspection were formed to enforce the boycott.
Although some northern ports such as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania had a “remarkable” record of non-importation, writes one historian, southern ports had a less stellar one. In particular, North Carolina non-compliers prompted a Sons of Liberty meeting in Wilmington. There in June 1770, leading North Carolinians pledged to “publicly condemn all non-compliers,” and the convention established Merchants Committee of Inspection chapters in six counties. Major emphasis was placed in enforcing the boycott in Brunswick and Wilmington. Under the influence of peer pressure and public condemnation, non-compliers started boycotting British goods, and in a few months, North Carolina began sending a stronger anti-taxation message to Great Britain.
Sources:
Lindley S. Butler and Alan D. Watson, eds., The North Carolina Experience: An Interpretive and Documentary History (Chapel Hill, 1984) and Murray N. Rothbard, Conceived in LIberty Vol. III (Auburn, Alabama; reprint, 1999).
See Also:
Related Categories: Colonial North Carolina, Business and IndustryRelated Encyclopedia Entries: Arthur Dobbs (1689-1765), Edward Vail (1717-1777), Edenton Tea Party, Bunker Hill Covered Bridge, Carteret County (1722), Robert Howe (1732-1786), Republicanism, William Hooper (1742-1790), Watauga Association, Cross Creek, William Richardson Davie (1756-1820), Alfred Moore (1755-1810), Principles of an American Whig, Stamp Tax Protests (Wilmington), Sons of Liberty, Non-Importation Movement, The Justice and Policy of Taxing the American Colonies in Great Britain Considered, Provincial Convention (1775), Tories, John Alexander Lillington (c.1725-1786), Richard Dobbs Spaight (1758-1802), Archibald Maclaine (1728-1790), The Great Seal of the State of North Carolina, Philip Alston, John Penn (1741-1788), The Test, Port Act, Cornelius Harnett, Thomas Burke (1747-1783), David Fanning (1755-1825), William Richardson Davie (1756-1820), Polk County (1855), Lincoln County (1779), Gaston County (1846), Randolph County (1779), Edgecombe County (1741), Guilford County (1771), Battle of Guilford Court House, Chowan County (1681), Pamlico County (1872), Nash County (1777), Battle at the Mouth of Sandy Creek, Battle of Plymouth (1864), Granville County (1746), Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge, Rutherford's Campaign
Related Commentary: Edenton Tea Party: An American First, When Wilmington Threw A Tea Party: Women and Political Awareness in Revolution-Era North Carolina, Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different, 1771 Alamance: The First Battle of Our American Revolution
Timeline: 1664-1775
Region: Coastal Plain , Statewide