Introduction
In 1769, as a recent graduate of Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Jonathan Williams Austin took a position in John Adams’ Boston law office as his law clerk. While working for Adams, Austin was actively involved in the patriot movement alongside leaders like Samuel Adams, John’s cousin. They were part of the same network of Boston radicals advocating for American independence in the 1770’s.
Austin developed a passion for opposing any and all action taken by the British Crown to punish residents of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. While working for Adams, he witnessed the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770. He was called to testify during the trial of the British soldiers by their lawyer, and his employer, John Adams. (1) Adams strongly believed that anyone accused of a crime should have legal representation, regardless of his own beliefs. This should not happen today due to conflict of interest rules.
Move to Chelmsford
After his three-year contract clerking for Adams ended, Austin wanted to start his own law practice. He moved to Chelmsford on November 18, 1772, according to Reverend Ebenezer Bridge’s diary. (2)
In the summer of 1774, anxieties were high in the Massachusetts Bay Colony communities. The British Parliament had passed the Coercive Acts:
- Closing the port of Boston,
- Altering Massachusetts’ colonial government to reduce its power,
- Allowing British soldiers to be tried in England for crimes committed in the colonies
- Forcing colonists to provide housing to British soldiers.
The townspeople of Chelmsford were especially anxious and expressed their sentiments in resolutions passed during the May 30, 1774, town meeting. Also at this meeting, Austin was asked to lead Chelmsford’s Committee of Correspondence, and he quickly let the other towns know what those Chelmsford sentiments were.
Because the Crown disbanded the Massachusetts provincial legislature in Boston, counties in the colony took the lead and called for delegate conventions to be held. Each town would delegate representatives to send to a convention, and Middlesex County called for their convention to be held at Wrights Tavern in Concord on August 30. (3)
The Middlesex Resolves
Austin quickly stood out to the other delegates. He could easily articulate the issues, and this got him appointed to lead a committee to write resolutions detailing opposition to the Crown. This committee wrote the Middlesex Resolves. (4)
The 19 resolutions listed within the Middlesex Resolves were a response to the Coercive Acts passed by the British Parliament to punish the Massachusetts Bay Colony for the Boston Tea Party. None of these resolutions expressed a desire to become independent of the Crown. In fact, the first resolution reiterated the colonists loyalty to the king. However, the other resolutions promoted resistance to British authority by calling for the creation of local militias and encouraged colonists not to cooperate with British authorities. These resolutions not only rejected British overreach but also laid the groundwork for the eventual armed confrontation between the colonists and British troops, culminating in the battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775.
The Middlesex Resolves were read to the First Continental Congress on September 15, 1774, two days before Paul Revere arrived and read the Suffolk Resolves. (5) These resolves gave Congress a deeper understanding of the effect the British actions had upon the Massachusetts colony as a whole, and not just the town of Boston. They realized that if it could happen in Massachusetts, it could happen to the other colonies.
Conclusion
The Suffolk Resolves, written by Dr. Joseph Warren, gained more notoriety than the Middlesex Resolves. They too, were well-written. The fact that they came from Boston, and were written by the well-known Dr. Warren, only enhanced their popularity. Yet, it was the Middlesex Resolves that made it perfectly clear to the First Continental Congress that all colonists were affected by the Coercive Acts.
After the battles of Lexington and Concord, Austin proved himself to be not only a man of words but also of action. In 1775 he was made a major in the Continental Army. The next year he commandeered Fort Independence, formerly known as Castle William (Castle Island), in Boston Harbor. He died in 1778 while serving in the army in the south. (6)
Citations:
(1) Legal Papers of John Adams. Volume 05-03
Anonymous Summary of Crown Evidence 24-25 October 1770
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/05-03-02-0001-0003-0004
(2) Diary of Reverend Ebenezer Bridge Page 999
(3) The History of Chelmsford, Reverend Waters and Henry Spaulding Pelham Page 200
(4) The History of Chelmsford, Reverend Waters and Henry Spaulding Pelham Page 203
(5) History of Middlesex County Massachusetts Samuel Adams Drake Page 109
(6) Famous Americans website