July 09, 1766 - Jonathan Mayhew Died - Originated the Phrase "No Taxation Without Representation"
Early Revolutionary
July 09, 1766 - Jonathan Mayhew Died - Originated the Phrase "No Taxation Without Representation"
The phrase that became the motto of American revolutionaries originated in a sermon given by clergyman Jonathan Mayhew in 1750 during a sermon he gave in Boston’s Old West Church.
From the Book:
Jonathan Mayhew (October 8, 1720 – July 9, 1766)
The son of Experience Mayhew and Remember Bourne, Jonathan was a native of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Mayhew graduated from Harvard in 1744 and then from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland in 1749. He was ordained at the West Church in Boston in 1747. Mayhew became an ardent opponent of the Stamp Act and other taxes placed on the colonies by the British Parliament. He favored colonial union and used his sermons to advocate for American liberty.
His Sermon
On January 30, the 100th anniversary of the execution of English King Charles I during the English Revolution, Mayhew delivered a sermon that outlined English liberties and went on to justify the execution of a king if he went too far in his infringement of the liberty of the people. The sermon, entitled, A Discourse concerning Unlimited Submission and Non-Resistance to the Higher Powers: with Some Reflections on the resistance Made to King Charles I, became widely read among the populace. Many considered the sermon “the morning gun of the American Revolution.” During his sermon, he used the phrase "No Taxation without Representation." The words were a brilliant summary of American pre-revolutionary sentiment and soon became the motto used by patriots during the buildup to the Revolution. Mayhew would continue to be a leading voice in the growing political movement that would lead to American independence in 1776. He died a decade before American independence; however many patriot leaders consider his voice one of the more important ones that drove the ideal.
© 2024 Paul Wonning