Abstract
Allen Mansfield Thomas demonstrates that debate over the causes of the Newport Stamp Act Riot of 1765 is far from complete. Scholarship on the riots interprets the events as a conflict between Americans, upper or lower class, and their British oppressors. However, Thomas's more careful look at the riots suggests that for most Newport residents, this was far from being a specific response to the British imperialist policy. Thomas’s portrayal of the motivations-or lack thereof---of the rioters raises questions about Newport's pre-revolution political dynamics.
Recommended Citation
Thomas, Allen Mansfield
(1996)
"“Circumstances not Principles”: Elite Control of the Newport Stamp Act Riots,"
Newport History: Journal of the Newport Historical Society: Vol. 67:
Iss.
232, Article 2.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.salve.edu/newporthistory/vol67/iss232/2