Committee of Sixty
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The Committee of Sixty was an extra-legal group formed in New York City, in 1775, by rebels to enforce the First Continental Congress' anti-British boycott contained in the Articles of Association. It was the successor to the Committee of Fifty-one and was replaced by the Committee of One Hundred.
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[edit] Committee of Fifty
The Committee of Fifty was formed May 16, 1774 in response to the news that the port of Boston would be closed under the Boston Port Act. Previous to this committee's formation, opposition to the British was through the informal leadership of the Sons of Liberty and the Committee of Correspondence. The chairman of this committee was Isaac Low. This committee was the first committee formed for action as opposed to the previous Committee of Correspondence. On May 16, Francis Lewis was added to make it the Committee of Fifty-One. From late 1774, this committee exercised effective control of New York City. They declared that Boston was "suffering in the defence of the rights of America", and on May 23, 1774 the committee called for a Continental Congress. This congress was convened on September 5, 1774, and was know as the First Continental Congress. In July, the committee selected Isaac Low, James Duane, Philip Livingston, John Alsop, and John Jay to be their representatives to this congress. The Sons of Liberty rejected these members and proposed their own. The First Continental Congress resolved to boycott British imports and the Committee of Fifty-One formed a sub-committee of Observation for enforcement of this boycott.
[edit] Committee of Sixty
The committee was replaced by the Committee of Sixty which was elected in New York City on March 15, 1775. This Committee issued a call to the counties of New York to send delegates to a Provincial Convention in New York City on April 20, to elect delegates to the Second Continental Congress. On April 23, news of the battle of Lexington and Concord arrived. On April 26, Isaac Low called for the dismissal of the Committee of Sixty and the convening of a Provincial Congress. Before such a congress could be formed a Committee of One Hundred was to be formed to perform the function of the Provincial Congress. On April 29, 1775 a mass meeting of residents signed a "General Association" whereby they agreed to obey the Continental Congress, the Committee of Sixty, and New York's Provincial Convention.
[edit] Committee of One Hundred
The Committee of Sixty was replaced by a more representative Committee of One Hundred on May 1, 1775. By May 4, the city had four companies of volunteers. On May 15, the Continental Congress order the construction of a fort at Kings Bridge, the construction of batteries in the Highlands, and the arming and training of a militia.
The Committee of One Hundred was not for independence, but was instead opposed to Britain's laws which they considered unjust. The committee wrote to Governor Cadwallader Colden in May, 1775 "that though they are arming with the greatest diligence and industry; it is not with design to oppose, but to strengthen government in the due exercise of constitutional authority".[1] In May, all inhabitants were asked to sign a Association. Anyone who refused to sign were to be called "enemies of this country". Some of the Loyalists were tarred and feathered. The committee disarmed all loyalists within its jurisdiction. The Committee of One Hundred was officially replaced by the New York Provincial Congress which first convened on May 23, 1775, but the committee continued to meet for a while.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Launitz-Schurer, pg. 160
[edit] References
- Launitz-Schurer, Leopold, Loyal Whigs and Revolutionaries, The making of the revolution in New York, 1765-1776, 1980, ISBN 0-8147-4993-1
- Ketchum, Richard, Divided Loyalties, How the American Revolution came to New York, 2002, ISBN 0805061207
