Scope and Content: St 1780, c 21 ( Mar. 3, 1781), also known as the Militia Act, specified that Massachusetts members of the Christian denomination known as the Society of Friends (Quakers) were to be exempted from active duty in the Continental Army because of their religious pacifism. However, they were to pay a full proportion of expenses for raising men in their place for military service along with an additional 10% charge to defray the expense of raising such men, commonly known as the Quaker Tax. A related tax established a few months earlier by Resolves 1780, Oct Sess,  c 103 (Dec. 2, 1780), required towns to procure a specified number of men for subscription into the Continental Army and/or to compensate monetarily for any deficiency. Commonly known as the Class Tax, it held towns responsible for dividing their populations into classes based on land area and/or number of inhabitants, and procuring from each class a certain proportion of the town’s total number of required men. If a town neglected to fulfill its quota, Resolves 1781, c 245 (Oct. 20, 1781) called for it to be taxed again at cost plus an additional 50% fine, unless it could provide proof of having recruited the necessary men by Dec. 20, 1781.
Related Catalog Records:

Archivegrid
OCLC