1On a Proposed Act to Prevent Emigration, [December? 1773] (Franklin Papers)
Copy: Library of Congress The rate of emigration to America from Scotland and Ireland, particularly Ulster, increased rapidly in the years immediately before 1775. Rising rents were a principal cause, along with the unemployment that in Scotland followed the financial crisis of 1772 and in Ireland the collapse of the linen trade. By 1773 the drain of population was causing concern. In November...