Massachusetts Banishment Act
Encyclopedia
The Massachusetts Banishment Act also known as the "Banishment Act of the State of Massachusetts" was a Bill of attainder
passed on September, 1778, "to prevent the return to this state of certain persons therein named and others who have left this state or either of the United States, and joined the enemies thereof". The act is comparable to the New Jersey Banishment Act and over 300 persons were listed on it.
Bill of attainder
A bill of attainder is an act of a legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them without benefit of a judicial trial.-English law:...
passed on September, 1778, "to prevent the return to this state of certain persons therein named and others who have left this state or either of the United States, and joined the enemies thereof". The act is comparable to the New Jersey Banishment Act and over 300 persons were listed on it.
Noteworthies listed in the act
- Sampson Salter BlowersSampson Salter BlowersSampson Salter Blowers was a noted North American lawyer and jurist.He was born in Boston, the son of John Blowers and Sarah Salter, but was raised by his maternal grandfather, Sampson Salter, after the death of his parents. He was educated in Boston and at Harvard College, then went on to study law...
, lawyer, friend of Benedict ArnoldBenedict ArnoldBenedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
. - Thomas Hutchinson, late governor
- Francis Bernard, former governor
- Thomas OliverThomas Oliver (Lieutenant Governor)Thomas Oliver was the last Royal Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay.-Biography:Born in Antigua to a wealthy plantation owner, Thomas Oliver graduated from Harvard College in 1753...
, late lieutenant governor - Timothy RugglesTimothy RugglesTimothy Dwight Ruggles was an American military leader, jurist and politician. He was a delegate to the first Stamp Act congress of 1765.-Early life:...
, of Hardwick, in the county of Worcester, a member of the Stamp Act Congress of 1765Stamp Act 1765The Stamp Act 1765 was a direct tax imposed by the British Parliament specifically on the colonies of British America. The act required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London, carrying an embossed revenue stamp...