Page "George Washington" Paragraph 32

Washington opposed the 1765 Stamp Act, the first direct tax on the colonies, and began taking a leading role in the growing colonial resistance when protests against the Townshend Acts ( enacted in 1767 ) became widespread.

In May 1769, Washington introduced a proposal, drafted by his friend George Mason, calling for Virginia to boycott English goods until the Acts were repealed.

Parliament repealed the Townshend Acts in 1770.

However, Washington regarded the passage of the Intolerable Acts in 1774 as " an Invasion of our Rights and Privileges ".