Boston. Committee of Correspondence

[Solemn League and Covenant:] "We the Subscribers, inhabitants of the town of [in ms.: Sandwich] ...". [Boston: Edes & Gill, 1774]



Broadside (20 x 7 3/4 in.; 510 x 197 mm) accomplished in manuscript; formerly folded, now a single fold displaying only the text, some stains at extreme left edge, a few small spots. Matted, glazed and framed.

Elsie O. and Philip D. Sang Foundation (sale, Sotheby Parke Bernet, 20 June 1979, lot 605)

Colonial Society of Massachusetts, Publications, vol. 18 (1917), pp. 107 ff.; Evans 13427

formerly folded, now a single fold displaying only the text, some stains at extreme left edge, a few small spots. Matted, glazed and framed.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Shall the town of Sandwich boycott British goods?

In the spring and summer of 1774, news reached Boston that the Parliament had enacted a number of measures in retaliation for the Tea Party of late 1773.  Known in the colonies as the "Intolerable Acts," these closed the port of Boston, revoked the colony's charter, and outlawed town meetings. Samuel Adams and his colleagues in the Boston Committee of Correspondence considered a non-importation pledge known as the "Solemn League and Covenant." The Covenant called for its signers to halt the purchase of British goods after 31 August and, further, to stop dealing with those who did not sign. 

The document was fiercely resisted by area merchants.  There was growing sentiment amongst Bostonians to wait for a more comprehensive, inter-colony non-importation agreement.  Although Adams ultimately managed to find support at the Boston town meeting in late June, it did not come easily.  In an effort to swing around the Boston opposition, Adams and the committee of correspondence sent the document into the surrounding countryside via the network formed by each town's committee of correspondence — the present document was intended for Sandwich on Cape Cod, but was not signed or approved.  Apparently, many towns found it difficult to support the action, and those who did usually made modifications to the language on the printed form they received from Boston. In the end, the effort was eclipsed in the fall of '74 by similar actions taken by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

Two versions of the covenant exist, the present (version A), and a version with a few additions to the end of the "2dly" and "3dly" paragraphs (Version B, see Colonial Society of Massachusetts).