Hutchinson Letters affair

The Hutchinson Letters affair was a highly publicized incident in 1773 that increased the tense atmosphere between American colonists and the British government. The letters in question were written primarily by Massachusetts governor Thomas Hutchinson and his secretary Andrew Oliver in 1768 and 1769 to encourage the British government to send more troops and enact harsher punishments to maintain control over the colonies. The letters were leaked to the public when published in a Boston newspaper and caused an outcry against the governor and the British parliament. Thus, they became one of the instigating factors that led to the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783).

Background

The Hutchinson Letters affair was a reaction to the strained relationship that already existed between Britain and its American colonies in the mid-eighteenth century. The Stamp Act (1765) and the Townshend Acts (1767) raised colonial taxes, despite the colonies not having representation in Parliament. Unrest and protest occurred in major colonial cities, such as New York and Boston.

Leaders became wary of the possibility of a major revolt and additional troops were sent to these cities to enforce the unpopular British parliamentary legislation and prevent further civil unrest. However, instead of promoting peace, the presence of troops only incited more difficulties between the colonists and the British.

Troops requested by the Massachusetts governor Francis Bernard for Boston in 1768 raised concerns that led to the Boston Massacre in 1770. During this confrontation, nine British soldiers killed five colonists in a crowd that was harassing and throwing objects at the troops. Lieutenant Governor Hutchinson promised to look into the matter and work with the British government, a declaration which initially calmed the crowds. However, the situation quickly escalated again when the matter was heavily publicized by patriots, such as Paul Revere and Samuel Adams, looking to arouse colonist anger against the British government and Loyalist leaders.

To handle the growing discontent against the government following this and other incidents, Hutchinson and his secretary and brother-in-law Andrew Oliver wrote a series of letters to British Prime Minister George Grenville’s assistant Thomas Whately. They discussed the implications of the regulations and provided suggestions on how to respond to the colonists’ protests.

Letters by Governor Bernard, which criticized the colonists’ actions and showed support for British leaders and policies, came to light and caused so much protest that the Massachusetts Assembly demanded that he be removed from office and recalled to England. In 1770, Hutchinson replaced him as governor of Massachusetts, and Oliver became lieutenant governor.

In 1772, American statesman Benjamin Franklin came into possession of some of the letters from Hutchinson and Oliver to Whately and was alarmed by what he read. He felt that the writers were exaggerating the situation to the British Parliament and prompting them to overreact. Franklin decided that, if a few strategic members of the Massachusetts Assembly knew the contents of the letters, they would understand that the governor and lieutenant governor were to blame. He lent the letter to Thomas Cushing, who was the speaker of the Assembly, for his consideration.

Franklin made it clear that Cushing was not to make the letters public and only a select few leaders were to read them. However, when the letters arrived in Cushing’s office in 1773, Samuel Adams, who was the clerk of the Assembly, read them. He used the letters as fuel for a propaganda campaign against Hutchinson, and the Assembly investigated the matter further. Leaks to the press made the letters public, causing colonist outrage, and the Assembly called for the removal of Hutchinson and Oliver. During this time, the Boston Tea Party occurred in December 1773 in response to the Tea Act of 1773, which raised taxes on tea and other goods delivered to the colonies.

Overview

The Hutchinson Letter affair was significant because Hutchinson and Oliver suggested that the Massachusetts colony government be restructured to give more executive power to the governor. Also, Hutchinson freely expressed his frustration with the unrest in the colonies because he realized that the colonists could never have the same rights as British citizens living in England. Although much of Hutchinson’s sentiments were publicly known, the letters provided solid proof of the largely unpopular position he was taking.

Franklin felt that sharing the letters was merely to influence public policy and he was not entirely convinced that Hutchinson and Oliver were directly working against the interest of the colonists. However, when Hutchinson’s patriot opponents commented on and later published the letters, protests led by angry colonists occurred. Hutchinson and Oliver were burned in effigy on the Boston Common. The letters were reported on and reprinted throughout the colonies, further spreading the anti-Loyalist propaganda of the patriots.

British politicians did not take kindly to reports of continued turmoil in the colonies. Hutchinson was officially recalled as governor, and Franklin was removed as colonial Postmaster General by the Board of Trade. In 1774, Hutchinson and Franklin left the colonies for England and Oliver died from a stroke. Franklin, who had taken a fairly neutral stance on the issue of colonial independence up until his removal from his post, decided to return to the American colonies in 1775 and went on to serve in a leading role in the American Revolution.

It has never definitively been known how the Hutchinson letters made it into the possession of Benjamin Franklin. Thomas Whately died in 1772, and his brother, William, inherited the letters. However, a colonial official named John Temple was also given access to the bundle of letters, which contained some that he had written to Thomas Whately. Whately thus accused Temple of taking the Hutchinson letters. Temple was offended and challenged Whately to a duel in 1773, in which Whately was wounded. Franklin responded to the news of the duel saying Temple was not responsible and he had gotten the letters on his own. Historians have conjectured that it may instead have been Thomas Pownall, who was governor before Bernard, who had gained access to the letters.

Bibliography

Brownfield, Connor. “The 11 Largest National Security Leaks in American History.” Saturday Evening Post, 13 Sept. 2022, www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2022/09/the-11-largest-national-security-leaks-in-american-history/. Accessed 13 Apr. 2023.

“Franklin’s Public Statement about the Hutchinson Letters, 25 December 1773.” Founders Online, founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-20-02-0272. Accessed 13 Apr. 2023.

“Fun Facts About Thomas Hutchinson.” Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, 2023, www.bostonteapartyship.com/thomas-hutchinson-facts. Accessed 13 Apr. 2023

“Hutchinson Affair.” Benjamin Franklin Historical Society, 2014, www.benjamin-franklin-history.org/hutchinson-affair/. Accessed 13 Apr. 2023.

“The Hutchinson Letters.” Smithsonian, 2023, postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/out-of-the-mails-the-franking-privilege/the-hutchinson-letters/. Accessed 13 Apr. 2023.

“Thomas Hutchinson (1711–1780).” The American Revolution, 2023, www.ouramericanrevolution.org/index.cfm/people/view/pp0002. Accessed 13 Apr. 2023.