Townshend Acts
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The Townshend Acts were two acts passed by the British Parlaimet prior to the American Revolution. These laws angered many colonists, because they put a tax on non-British imported tea (leading to the Boston Tea Party, and other necessities. To counter smuggling, the Townshend Acts also said that smugglers would be tried in Royal Navy admiralty courts, under a British military judge. This law is the reason Americans have the right to a trial by jury.