Andrew Oliver
Andrew Oliver (March 28, 1706 – March 3, 1774) was an American-born merchant and colonial administrator in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Born into a wealthy and politically powerful merchant family, he is best known as the official responsible for implementing the provisions of the Stamp Act, for which he was hanged in effigy. He never actually carried out those duties and was later commissioned as the province's lieutenant governor.
For other people named Andrew Oliver, see Andrew Oliver (disambiguation).
Andrew Oliver
March 28, 1706
Boston, Massachusetts
March 3, 1774 (aged 67)
Boston
Mary Fitch
Mary Sanford
Merchant and politician
Politics and the Stamp Act[edit]
In 1737, Oliver entered politics and won election as Boston's town auditor. He held many other local offices, and became a leader of the Hutchinson-Oliver faction, which dominated politics in colonial Massachusetts. He was elected to the provincial assembly in 1742 and in 1755 was appointed provincial secretary by Acting Governor Spencer Phips.[4]
In 1765, Oliver was commissioned to administer the unpopular Stamp Act in Massachusetts. He was privately against the act but told people that he was in favor of it, which led colonists to rise against him. On August 14, he was hanged in effigy from Boston's Liberty Tree in a protest organized by the Loyal Nine, a precursor to the Sons of Liberty. That night, his house and offices were ransacked by an angry crowd. On August 17, he was compelled to publicly resign his commission. On December 17, the Sons of Liberty again forced him to swear publicly that he would never act as stamp distributor.[5]