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MUTINY ACT

MUTINY ACT. The Mutiny Act of 1765 was a routine parliamentary measure that included a provision for quartering of troops in the American colonies. This feature, like the STAMP ACT, was designed to shift the burden of supporting British troops in America from British taxpayers to the colonists. It required provincial legislatures to provide barracks, fuel, and other necessities for soldiers stationed in their colonies. Colonial Whigs feared that the Mutiny Act would pave the way for a standing army to enforce the Stamp Act, but after the repeal of the Stamp Act, colonists protested that the Mutiny Act violated the principle of no taxation without representation. Most colonies attempted to evade the act.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Edgar, Gregory T. Reluctant Break with Britain: From Stamp Act to Bunker Hill. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 1997.

Middlekauff, Robert. The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763–1789. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982.

John C. Miller/S. B.

See also Billetting; Coercive Acts; Colonial Policy, British; Parliament, British; Quartering Act.