British Laws in American Colonies

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"American histories without exception list the problem of writs of assistance as one the main causes of the American Revolution.. Such writs were issued by the superior court. They were first granted to Thomas Paxton, chief customs officer in the province (Massachusetts) in 1755; other writs similar in form were issued to other customs officers by the same court in 1758, 1759, and 1760. There was popular objection to them, not merely in Massachusetts but in practically all the colonies. The reaction was too widespread and too deep to be explained by local happenings in a single colony or by the single forensic effort of any local politician.

Writs of assistance were legalized by a series of acts of Parliament giving the customs officers authority to search for and seize uncustomized goods. They were supplemented by.."

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