The straw that broke the camel's back, according to one recent historian, was the Quebec Act of June 1774 (pictured left). Benjamin Franklin acknowledged to certain British friends associated with the British government that the Quebec Act was unacceptable to Americans: while the other "intolerable acts" were negotiable, the Quebec Act was not. There could be no compromising on the Quebec Act. What was the problem that the American Revolutionaries had with the Quebec Act? Well, if you can decipher the script of the manuscript (left), you will begin to see what the historian may have in mind. It reads: "Inhabitants of Quebec may profess the Romish Religion, subject to the King's Supremacy, as by Act I Eliz[abeth]; and the Clergy enjoy the accustomed Dues. No person professing the Romish Religion obliged to take the Oath of I Eliz[abeth]; but to take, before the Governor, etc. Oath." The whole paragraph of the original manuscript, from which the first part of this quote is excerpted, reads as follows:"And, for the more perfect Security and Ease of the Minds of the Inhabitants of the said Province, it is hereby declared, That His Majesty's Subjects, professing the Religion of the Church of Rome of and in the said Province of Quebec, may have, hold, and enjoy, the free Exercise of the Religion of the Church of Rome, subject to the King's Supremacy, declared and established by an Act, made in the First Year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, over all the Dominions and Countries which then did, or thereafter should belong, to the Imperial Crown of this Realm; and that the Clergy of the said Church may hold, receive, and enjoy, their accustomed Dues and Rights, with respect to such Persons only as shall profess the said Religion." (Source: The British North America (Quebec) Act of 1774, emphasis added)Now what could this possibily have had to do with the American Revolutionaries and their aspirations? Our historian offers a clue from the writings of Cardinal Gasquet, a Benedictine historian, who declared that "the American Revolution was not a movement for civil and religious liberty; its principal cause was the bigoted rage of the American Puritan and Presbyterian ministers at the concession of full religious liberty and equality to Catholics of French Canada (emphasis added). The Taxation Acts were only a minor cause...." Professor Claude H. Van Tyne's testimony, which also lays aside the economic causes as secondary, is enlisted in support of this view: Tyne concludes his historical analysis with the declaration: "among the many causes, I rate religious bigotry, sectarian antipathy, and the influence of the Calvinistic clergy ... among the most important (emphasis added)."
Article X of the Suffolk County Resolves of September 6, 1774, referring to the Quebec Act, proclaims the establishment of the Catholic religion in Canada to be "dangerous in an extreme degree to the Protestant religion, and to the civil rights and liberties of all Americans," so that "as men and Protestant Christians we are indispensably obliged to take all proper measures for our security." These Resolves were adopted on September 9 and "were carried to Philadelphia by ... Paul Revere," and approved by the First Continental Congress on September 17th.
Late in 1775, American forces under the leadership of Benedict Arnold ... invaded Canada. Their attempt to overcome the Catholic stronghold in Quebec met with failure. (Adapted freely from "Dr. Woods and the American Revolution," by Jerry C. Meng, Latin Mass: A Journal of Catholic Culture [Summer 2003], pp. 4-6)
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