The “Long Room Club” was a highly secretive group which formed around 1765 (Stamp Act Crisis). They met at a building owned by St. Andrew’s Masonic Lodge known as the Green Dragon. Its members were hand-selected by Samuel Adams and James Otis. Though no list is known to exist, members included Samuel Adams, James Otis, Dr. Joseph Warren, Josiah Quincy Jr., John Hancock, Rev. Samuel Cooper, Paul Revere, John Adams, Samuel Quincy, and Dr. Benjamin Church. The Long Room Club would become the “think tank” of the pre-revolution. The accomplishments of this group included communication with friends in England; education of the public through newspaper articles; formation of the Sons of Liberty; boycotts of British goods; the creation of the Boston Committee of Correspondence; encouragement of other Massachusetts towns to form committees of correspondence; encouragement for the formation of inter-colonial committees of correspondence which played a major role in convening the First Continental Congress.
The Stamp Act (1765) was met with protest throughout the colonies. Prior parliamentary acts were indirect taxes – a tariff – putting the tax on shipped goods. The colonists had the choice of refusing to purchase the shipped goods and thus avoid the added tax. The Stamp Act was different. It was a direct tax on commercial and legal papers, newspapers, pamphlets, diplomas, playing cards, etc. The tax was to be paid in specie – placing an added burden on the colonists. For many of the colonists, silver and gold currency was scarce. It was Massachusetts’s Patriot James Otis who declared, “No taxation without representation!” The Massachusetts Assembly sent a letter to the governing bodies of the other twelve colonies to, “consult together on the present circumstances of the colonies.” Nine of the colonies sent representatives to what became known as the Stamp Act Congress which met in New York. An agreed upon boycott of British goods forced the repeal of the detested Stamp Act.
In the wake of the repeal, Parliament put tariffs on paint, glass, lead, paper, and tea (Townshend Acts, 1767). Political restrictions were put on the colonies and merchants who dared to import goods from ports other than those approved by Parliament were to come under scrutiny. Writs of assistance in the form of general search warrants could be used, mainly to search merchants’ ships, warehouses, and homes. Admiralty courts would no longer have juries – threatening merchants with a kangaroo court. In 1768, Boston merchant John Hancock’s sloop Liberty was searched. Though no contraband was found, the sloop was seized. About 3,000 townsmen took to the streets in protest. Finding the pleasure boat of the official responsible for the Liberty’s seizure, the men pulled the boat ashore and torched it.
To quell the unrest in Boston, 1,200 British troops were sent to occupy the town. A standing army in a time of peace. The result would be the Boston Massacre.