The Committees of Safety Regulate Commerce

The Articles of Association were approved by the Continental Congress in October 1774, and called for wide ranging measures to restrict commerce with Great Britain and identify enemies of the emerging cause for independence.

One article required that a committee be chosen in every county, city, and town, to “attentively” observe the conduct of all persons, and when it appears that “any person has violated this association, that all such foes to the rights of British-America may be publicly known … and break off all dealings with him or her.”  The Committees that formed actively solicited subscribers to the Association, and non-signers were given multiple opportunities to sign on.

The regulation of commerce will soon become a major focus of the Committees.

In May, 1775, one of the first actions of the Schenectady Committee was the purchase of 338 pounds of gun powder from Daniel Campbell.

In August, Campbell informed the Schenectady Committee that he intended to go Niagara, and then Montreal (up country), and requested a permit ….both Niagara and Montreal were British strongholds at the time.  When called before the Committee it was asserted that permit was requested  for private business, and that no communications would be carried to or from “any person who was inimical to the American cause.”

Schenectady referred the matter to Albany, and Albany declined to give any guidance.  Based on the pledge from Campbell, the permit was issued.   Personal business, in time, will become less a justification for travel up Country.

By April 1776, the conflict was escalating, as was scrutiny by the Committees.

The Schenectady Committee informed General Schuyler that a Nicholas Stevens, an Indian trader, was going up country with a pass issued by the General, without prior approval of the Committee.  Stevens had not signed the Association, nor ever spoken in support of the American cause.

Also in April, James Ellice applied to the Committee for a certificate of character to General Schuyler, for a pass to travel up country on personal business.  James had signed the Association, but neither his brother  Robert Ellice, nor his Clerk George Forseth had, and were viewed as enemies of the American cause.  Robert would state that his reason for not signing brother Robert on was his ‘extensive holdings’ up country, and signing would be detrimental to his property interests there.

And Daniel Canpbell, who had sold  the Schenectady  Committee gunpowder, and received a pass for private business up Country the previous year, was denied a pass for further travel up country.

Less than a year after the first shots were fired, commerce was truly being regulated, and Private business interests were no longer justification for traveling to enemy territory.

Next time,,, how non-signers being dealt with by the Committees.

John Osinski, Revolutionary Schohary 250