Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Maryland was one of the first colonies to direct “every person in the province” to implement the Continental Association, also known as the Articles of Association. However, many colonists in other colonies did not wait for their governments' permission to act.
Eligible voters throughout the colonies elected local committees to enforce the Continental Association’s provisions. It was the first opportunity for many elected men to participate in self-government.
The satirical cartoon “The Alternative of Williams-Burg” depicts a diverse crowd of men and women pressuring elite Virginians to sign the Continental Association. The presence of women reflects their essential role in the Continental Association as conspicuous non-consumers since the Continental Association encouraged the boycott of British trade goods.
The barrel of tar and bag of feathers hanging from a gallows in the background of the cartoon suggests a possible consequence if the elite Virginians refused.
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📸: Proceedings of the Maryland Provincial Convention, December 8-12, 1774. Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention
📸: Copy of The Alternative of Williams-Burg” mezzotint attributed to Philip Dawe, February 16, 1775. Records of the Commissions of the Legislative Branch
Maryland was one of the first colonies to direct “every person in the province” to implement the Continental Association, also known as the Articles of Association. However, many colonists in other colonies did not wait for their governments' permission to act.
Eligible voters throughout the colonies elected local committees to enforce the Continental Association’s provisions. It was the first opportunity for many elected men to participate in self-government.
The satirical cartoon “The Alternative of Williams-Burg” depicts a diverse crowd of men and women pressuring elite Virginians to sign the Continental Association. The presence of women reflects their essential role in the Continental Association as conspicuous non-consumers since the Continental Association encouraged the boycott of British trade goods.
The barrel of tar and bag of feathers hanging from a gallows in the background of the cartoon suggests a possible consequence if the elite Virginians refused.
***
📸: Proceedings of the Maryland Provincial Convention, December 8-12, 1774. Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention
📸: Copy of The Alternative of Williams-Burg” mezzotint attributed to Philip Dawe, February 16, 1775. Records of the Commissions of the Legislative Branch
