The "Parson's Cause" was a legal and political dispute in the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...

often viewed as an important event leading up to the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolu ...

. Colonel John Henry, father of

Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736June 6, 1799) was an American attorney, planter, politician and orator known for declaring to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): " Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first ...

, was the judge who presided over the court case and jury that decided the issue. The relatively unknown Patrick Henry advocated in favor of colonial rights in the case. In 1758, the Virginia colonial legislature passed the

Two Penny Act The Two Penny Act was a law enacted in 1758 by the House of Burgesses which affected the compensation of Anglican ministers in the British colony of Virginia. From the controversy surrounding it arose the Parson's Cause trial, which is regarded ...

. According to legislation passed in 1748,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

's Anglican clergy were to be paid 16,000 pounds of

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ch ...

per year, one of the colony's major commodity crops. Following a poor harvest in 1758, the price of tobacco rose from two to six pennies per pound, effectively inflating clerical salaries. The House of Burgesses responded by passing legislation allowing debts in tobacco to be paid in currency at a rate of two pennies per pound. King George III of Great Britain

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

ed the law on the British

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

's recommendation, causing an uproar in the colony. Many Virginia legislators saw the king's veto as a breach of their legislative authority. The Reverend James Maury had sued in Hanover County Court (April 1, 1762) for back wages on behalf of all the ministers involved, and he effectively became a representative of the British cause. The court ruled (Nov. 5, 1763) that Maury's claim was valid, but that the amount of damages had to be determined by a jury, which was called for in December 1763. Patrick Henry, then relatively unknown, rose to prominence by defending Hanover County against Maury's claims. Henry argued in favor of the Two Penny Act. As reported by the plaintiff Maury in a letter (Dec. 12, 1763) to fellow Anglican minister John Camm shortly after the trial, Henry argued in substance "that a King, by disallowing Acts of this salutary nature, from being the father of his people, degenerated into a Tyrant and forfeits all right to his subjects' obedience."Ann Maury, ''Memoirs of a Huguenot Family,'' G.P. Putnam & Sons, 1872, letter at pages 418-424, quote at page 421 The jury awarded Maury one penny in damages. The award essentially nullified the Crown veto, and no other clergy sued. The Hanover County Courthouse is still operating; historic

U.S. Route 301 U.S. Route 301 (US 301) is a spur of U.S. Route 1 running through the South Atlantic States. It runs from Biddles Corner, Delaware at Delaware Route 1 to Sarasota, Florida at U.S. Route 41. It passes through the states of Delaware, Mar ...

passes by it. The courthouse is adjacent to the

Hanover Tavern The Hanover Tavern in Hanover Courthouse, Virginia, is located in Hanover County and is one of the oldest taverns in the United States. History The first tavern was licensed at the site beginning in 1733. Hanover Tavern has been serving count ...

, where Patrick Henry lodged while arguing the Parson's Cause, and is the third oldest courthouse still in use in the United States. The state historic office dates the building's construction between 1737 and 1742.

References

* Scott, Arthur P. "The Constitutional Aspects of the 'Parson's Cause, ''Political Science Quarterly'', 31:4 (Dec. 1916): 558–577. . .
"Episode 017: Parsons Cause, Bishops, and Trade"
American Revolution Podcast, November 5, 2017

External links

* {{Authority control Colony of Virginia 1763 in the Thirteen Colonies History of tobacco Patrick Henry 1763 in Virginia

See also

References

External links