View source for Parson's Cause

{{Short description|1700s political dispute}}
[[Image:Parson's Cause by Cooke.jpg|thumb|[[George Cooke (painter)|George Cooke]]'s 1834 depiction of [[Patrick Henry]] arguing the "Parson's Cause" case at the [[Hanover County Courthouse]].]]

The '''"Parson's Cause"''' was a legal and political dispute in the [[Colony of Virginia]] often viewed as an important event leading up to the [[American Revolution]]. Colonel John Henry, father of [[Patrick Henry]], was the judge who presided over the court case and jury that decided the issue.  The relatively unknown Patrick Henry advocated in favor of colonial rights in the case.

In 1758, the [[Virginia House of Burgesses|Virginia colonial legislature]] passed the [[Two Penny Act]].  According to legislation passed in 1748, [[Province of Virginia|Virginia]]'s [[Anglican]] clergy were to be paid 16,000 pounds of [[tobacco]] per year, one of the colony's major commodity crops.  Following a poor harvest in 1758, the price of tobacco rose from two to six pennies per pound, effectively inflating clerical salaries.  The House of Burgesses responded by passing legislation allowing debts in tobacco to be paid in currency at a rate of two pennies per pound.  King [[George III of Great Britain]] [[veto]]ed the law on the British [[Board of Trade]]'s recommendation, causing an uproar in the colony.  Many Virginia legislators saw the king's veto as a breach of their legislative authority.

[[James Maury|The Reverend James Maury]] had sued in Hanover County Court (April 1, 1762) for back wages on behalf of all the ministers involved, and he effectively became a representative of the British cause.  The court ruled (Nov. 5, 1763) that Maury's claim was valid, but that the amount of damages had to be determined by a jury, which was called for in December  1763. Patrick Henry, then relatively unknown, rose to prominence by defending [[Hanover County, Virginia|Hanover County]] against Maury's claims. Henry argued in favor of the Two Penny Act.  As reported by the plaintiff Maury in a letter (Dec. 12, 1763) to fellow Anglican minister [[John Camm]] shortly after the trial, Henry argued in substance "that a King, by disallowing Acts of this salutary nature, from being the father of his people, degenerated into a Tyrant and forfeits all right to his subjects' obedience."<ref>Ann Maury, ''Memoirs of a Huguenot Family,'' G.P. Putnam & Sons, 1872, letter at pages 418-424, quote at page 421</ref>

The jury awarded Maury one penny in damages. The award essentially nullified the Crown veto, and no other clergy sued.

The [[Hanover County Courthouse]] is still operating; historic [[U.S. Route 301 in Virginia|U.S. Route 301]] passes by it. The courthouse is adjacent to the [[Hanover Tavern]], where Patrick Henry lodged while arguing the Parson's Cause, and is the third oldest courthouse still in use in the United States.  The state historic office dates the building's construction between 1737 and 1742.<ref name=autogenerated4>{{Cite web |url=http://www.discoverrichmond.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_DRMGArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173352452400&path=%21attractions&parentid=1059599863567 |title=Discover Richmond<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2008-09-28 |archive-date=2008-10-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081018181107/http://www.discoverrichmond.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_DRMGArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173352452400&path=%21attractions&parentid=1059599863567 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[History of Virginia]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}
* Scott, Arthur P.  "The Constitutional Aspects of the 'Parson's Cause{{'"}}, ''Political Science Quarterly'', 31:4 (Dec. 1916): 558–577. {{doi|10.2307/2141628}}. {{jstor|2141628}}.
* [http://amrev.podbean.com/e/episode-017-parsons-cause-bishops-and-trade "Episode 017: Parsons Cause, Bishops, and Trade"], American Revolution Podcast, November 5, 2017

== External links ==
* {{wikisource-inline|Maury, Reverend James vs Henry, Patrick -- "The Parson's Opinion Of The Parson's Cause"}}

{{British law and the American Revolution}}
{{Virginia in the American Revolution}}
{{Patrick Henry}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Colony of Virginia]]
[[Category:1763 in the Thirteen Colonies]]
[[Category:History of tobacco]]
[[Category:Patrick Henry]]
[[Category:1763 in Virginia]]