USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, the commonwealth period. 1775-1820 v. III > Part 10
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1 Letter of Rev. J. Duché, in Gray- don's Mems. 432, Force's Am. Ar- chives, i. 1216, and Sparks's Corresp. of the Rev. i. 452. See also Auto- biog. of J. Adams, in Works, ii. 512. " Mr. Cushing was a harmless kind of a man, but poor, and wholly de- pendent on his popularity for his sub- sistence. Mr. Samuel Adams was a very artful, designing man, but des- perately poor, and wholly dependent on his popularity with the lowest vul- gar for his living. John Adams and Mr. Paine were two young lawyers, of no great talents, reputation, or weight, who had no other means of raising themselves into consequence than by courting popularity."
2 Comp. Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 13. " Many of the principal gentlemen in the Massachusetts have long been urging their delegates at Congress to bring forward independency - the
more so from a persuasion that re- sistance unto blood having been made against the governmental measures, the British spirit will never be quieted with any thing short of those conces- sions and satisfactions which Ameri- cans never make." The views of Samuel Adams, one of the earliest and most zealous advocates of inde- pendence, are well known. The views of J. Adams may be gathered from his Diary, in Works, ii. 411-413, and from his intercepted letters, in the Boston Gazette for Jan. 1, 1776, ap- proved by Reed in his letter of Aug. 21, 1775, to Thomas Bradford, in Reed's Reed, i. 118. For the views of Joseph Hawley and Elbridge Ger- ry, see Austin's Life of Gerry, i. 161, 164, 174, 175. Articles in favor of independence were published in the Boston Gazette for April 15 and 29, 1776.
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STATE OF FEELING AT THE SOUTH.
CHAP. were sensitive to every encroachment upon their rights ; and III. the painful experience through which they had passed, the 1776. controversies they had held with the advisers of the king, the physical resistance into which they had been forced, the sufferings they had endured, the stimulus which had been given to their resentments and animosities, the feelings of wounded pride which had been engendered, and the conscious- ness that they were acting not only for themselves, but for those who should come after them, in opposing the policy of their misguided sovereign, - all these had prepared them to look at things differently from many of their contemporaries, and to feel that nothing short of actual independence could deliver them from the evils to which they had been subjected, which affected as well the prosperity of the whole country as of the particular part which had hitherto suffered most.1
At the south a different spirit prevailed ; and not only in Pennsylvania,2 the home of the Quakers, but "in all the Mid- dle and Southern States," the "idea of independence " was, for a long time, as " unpalatable as the stamp act itself." 3 In Vir-
1 It should be borne in mind, in reading these statements, that the idea of independence was forced upon the statesmen of Massachusetts. Hence President Hancock, in a letter to Gov- ernor Trumbull, of Connecticut, April 30, 1776, in Trumbull MS. Letter Book B, 47, very truly says, "The unprepared state of the colonies on the commencement of the war, and the almost total want of every thing necessary to carry it on, are the true sources from whence all our difficul- ties have proceeded. This fact, how- ever, furnishes a most striking proof of the weakness or wickedness of those who charge them with an ori- ginal intention of withdrawing from the government of Great Britain, and erecting an independent empire. Had such a scheme been formed, the most warlike preparations would then have been necessary to effect it."
sylvania, see Reed's Reed, i. 151 et seq., and Sparks's Corresp. of the Rev. i. 163. " Notwithstanding," says Reed, " the act of Parliament for seizing our property, and a thousand other proofs of a bitter and irrecon- cilable spirit, there is a strange re- luctance in the minds of many to cut the knot which ties us to Great Brit- ain, particularly in this colony and to the southward." Thomas M'Kean, however, Letter to J. Adams, Sept. 28, 1813, in Adams's Works, x. 73- 75, while he admits that " a large ma- jority of the representatives and civil officers " were in the opposition, doubts whether the people, as a whole, sympathized with them in their views. The Quakers, he says, were the most violent. "They gave great trouble to the whigs, but were kept under by fear, as well as by superior numbers."
3 J. Adams's Autobiog. in Works, On the state of affairs in Penn- ii. 512, note. " I am exceedingly sur-
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STATE OF FEELING AT THE SOUTH.
ginia, especially, notwithstanding there were honorable excep- CHAP. tions to the remark, and a magnanimous spirit prevailed among III. the intelligent, the inhabitants, as a body, were exceedingly 1776. " proud of their ancient dominion," and " thought they had a right to take the lead ; " and the Southern and Middle States were "too much disposed to yield it to them."1 Besides, the
prised," wrote Washington to Reed, instructed their delegates to oppose April 15, 1776, in Sparks's Washing- the question of independence; but Mr. Chase, who favored the measure, on his return home, procured county instructions to the members, by which they were induced to change their vote ; and on the 28th of June he wrote from Annapolis, " I am this mo- ment from the House, to procure an express to follow the post with an unanimous vote of our convention for independence." Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 87 ; Andrews's Am. Rev. ii. 209; Hildreth's U. S. iii. 136. "The North Carolinians," says Gordon, Am. Rev. ii. 78, "were at one time violent against a separation from Great Brit- ain ; a delegate in their convention mentioning independence, the cry was, ' Treason ! treason !' and he was called to order." This colony, however, soon changed its course, and was one of the first to vote for independence. 'See farther on. South Carolina was like- wise opposed to the declaration of in- dependence ; nor was it until the last moment that the delegates from that colony consented to cast their votes in its favor. Jefferson's Works, i. 18. ton, iii. 357, and Reed's Reed, i. 189, " to hear of the divisions and parties which prevail with you, and in the southern colonies. These are the shelves we have to avoid, or our bark will split and tumble to pieces. Here lies our great danger, and I almost tremble when I think of this rock. Nothing but disunion can hurt our cause. This will ruin it, if great pru- dence, temper, and moderation are not mixed in our counsels." For the position of New York, see Adams's Works, ii. 347, and ix. 407, 411; Sparks's Life of Gouverneur Morris, i. 37, 90, 109-112. " New York," wrote J. Adams, June 22, 1776, " is likely to have the honor of being the very last of all in imbibing the gen- uine principles and the true system of American policy. Perhaps, she will never entertain them at all." The Assembly of New Jersey, in Novem- ber, 1775, instructed their delegates to oppose any proposition aiming at independence ; nor was it until after the subject had been for some time under discussion in Congress that she 1 Note to Autobiog. of J. Adams, in Works, ii. 512, 513. That Virginia was at first opposed to independence is evident from the letter of Reed to Washington, March 15, 1776, in Reed's Reed, i. 173. " It is said the Virginians are so alarmed with the idea of independence, that they have sent Mr. Braxton on purpose to turn the vote of that colony, if any ques- tion on that subject should come be- fore Congress." Washington also changed her views. Mulford's New Jersey, 409, 410. For the position of Delaware, see Letter of T. M'Kean to J. Adams, Nov. 15, 1813, in Ad- ams's Works, x. 80-82. " A major- ity of this state were unquestionably against the independence of America; but the most sensible of the Episco- palians, the Baptists and Quakers, and the Presbyterians, with very few ex- ceptions, prevailed against them, as they believed they would be overpow- ered, with the help of the other col- onies, if they resisted." The Mary- land convention, in December, 1775,
wrote to Reed, April 1, 1776, in Reed's Reed, i. 180, " My country- men, I know, from their form of gov- ernment, and steady attachment here-
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STATE OF FEELING AT THE SOUTH.
CHAP. pressure of the war had been less seriously felt at the south III. than at the north ; the habits of the people were strikingly
1776. different ; their manners and customs were likewise peculiar ; their commercial relations were much less extensive ; they were "jealous of the republican spirit " of New England ; their political principles were aristocratic; the tendency of their past history had been to foster their attachment to mo- narchical institutions ; the stain of slavery was branded deeply into their internal policy ; and the current of their thoughts, and the maxims which prevailed among them, had generated less of that sensitiveness to external oppression which was felt by the descendants of the Puritan exiles, who were reluctant to compromise truth for peace.1
On this ground, and on this only, can the phenomena of the revolution be satisfactorily explained ; and to conceal the fact that local prejudices existed at the time, which powerfully affected the movements of parties, and whose influ- ence has widened and reached onward to our own days, would be to preclude the possibility of penetrating their movements, and to veil their conduct in perpetual obscurity.2
tofore to royalty, will come reluctant- ly into the idea of independency, but time and persecution bring many wonderful things to pass; and by pri- vate letters which I have received from Virginia, I find 'Common Sense' is making a wonderful change in the minds of many men." Jefferson, also, Notes on Virginia, 177, ed. 1801, says that, in April, 1776, the legislators of Virginia did not think of independence. " Independence, and the establishment of a new form of government, were not even yet the objects of the people at large. One extract from the pam- phlet called Common Sense had ap- pearcd in the Virginia papers in Feb- ruary, and copies of the pamphlet it- self had got into a few hands. But the idea had not been opened to the mass of the people in April, much less
can it be said that they had made up their minds in its favor."
1 Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 91. In the respects alluded to in the text, there was a close political sympathy between New York and the south, vis- ible from the outset of the difficulties with the mother country. Comp. Hildreth's U. S. 2d Series, i. 38.
2 " This conversation," says John Adams, alluding to one held with the delegates from Congress, "and the principles, facts, and motives suggest- cd in it, have given a color, complex- ion, and character to the whole policy of the United States from that day to this. Without it, Mr. Washington would never have commanded our ar- mies ; nor Mr. Jefferson have been the author of the Declaration of Inde- pendence ; nor Mr. Richard Henry
95
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STATE OF FEELING AT THE SOUTH.
Let it not be inferred, however, that the spirit of liberty CHAP. was extinct at the south, and that none of her statesmen had III. sympathy with the north. On the contrary, it is cheerfully 1776. acknowledged that there was an enlightened class who had broken loose from conventional restraints, and risen above the peculiarities of their position. Lee, and Henry, and Wythe, of Virginia, Gadsden, of South Carolina, and Chase, of Mary- land, with the Rutledges, and Lynch, and Jefferson, and others, should be ranked in this class ; 1 and even of those who were for moderate counsels, and who deprecated the supposed pre- cipitancy of their associates, many were open to argument and conviction, and yielded their preferences for the general good. Still, facts must be stated exactly as they stand ; and if there is occasion to regret that differences should have existed, and that difficulties should have arisen, there is occasion to rejoice that a conciliatory spirit adjusted these differences and sur- mounted these difficulties, so that, in the end, what was done was done harmoniously ; and concert of action was essentially promoted by the willingness to concede, so far as was practi- cable, all that was local in favor of the general interests of the country. It will be understood, also, that it is not de- signed to reflect upon the patriotism of those whose caution led them to dread all measures tending to a separation from Great Britain, and who " suffered doubts and fears to triumph over hope ;" for, when the die was cast, and a return was impossible, even the prudent acquiesced cheerfully in the necessary measures for the public defence, and sacrificed read- ily their lives and fortunes for the liberties of America. A distinction should be made - and it is a broad one- between tories, who were hostile to liberty, and patriots, who differed only as to the best mode of securing it.2
Lee the mover of it; nor Mr. Chase the mover of foreign connections. If I have ever had cause to repent any part of this policy, that repentance has been, and ever will be, unavailing."
Autobiog. in Works, ii. 51. 1 Autobiog. of J. Adams, in Works, ii. 408, 409, 506 ; Lee's Lee, i. 168; Wirt's Patrick Henry.
2 Austin's Life of Gerry, i. 194, 195.
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PROPOSITION OF JOHN ADAMS.
CHAP. III. The transfer of the theatre of war from the north to the south occurred at the most favorable juncture to forward the 1776. views of the north with reference to independence. While Massachusetts alone was "the suffering state," and British fleets and armies threatened only the safety of the peninsula of Boston, the other states could not be expected to enter so deeply into the question as to the fate which awaited them ; but when New York was threatened, and Charleston, in South Carolina, and no one knew how soon the whole coast might be invested, the question, What will come next ? assumed a quite different aspect, and pressed itself closely upon the at- tention of all.1 Hence, early in May, after John Adams had fruitlessly labored for months to accomplish the same object,2 May 10. a committee was appointed to prepare a resolution recom- mending to the people of the states to institute governments ; and this committee, of which Mr. Adams was one, draughted and reported a resolve, which, though opposed as "a ma- May 15. chine to fabricate independence," eventually passed, and " was considered on all hands, by men of understanding, as equiva- lent to a declaration of independence, though a formal dec- laration of it was still opposed by Mr. Dickinson and his party." 3
1 "It has happened as I expected," wrote Reed to Washington, March 23, 1776, in Reed's Reed, i. 175, " that many who were impatient to have Howe drawn from Boston, are now alarmed with the apprehension of the seat of war being removed to the middle colonies."
2 Autobiog. in Works, ii. 506. " These, and such as these, were my constant and daily topics, sometimes of reasoning, and, no doubt, often of decla- mation, from the meeting of Congress, in the autumn of 1775, through the whole winter and spring of 1776." See also Corresp. in Works, ix. 391, 401, Works, iii. 44-46.
3 Autobiog. of J. Adams, in Works, ii. 510; Jour. Cont. Cong. ii. 158,
166; Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 75, 76; Almon's Remembrancer, iii. 136; Stedman's Am. War, i. 188; Mar- shall's Washington, ii. 403 ; Curtis's Hist. of the Const. i. 39. It should be observed, however, that several of the colonies, imitating the example set by Massachusetts in 1775, had ap- plied to Congress for advice respecting the form of government it was expe- dient for them to adopt; and it was recommended to them to call a " full and free representation of the people," and if, upon consultation, it should seem necessary, to establish a suita- ble form of government " during the maintenance of the present dispute." New Hampshire, (November 3, 1775,) South Carolina, (November 4,) and
-
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COURSE OF MASSACHUSETTS.
This, however, was but one point gained, though a point of CHAP. some importance. For the principal obstacle in the way of III. 1776. success, hitherto, had originated from the insecure tenures of liberty, and the hesitancy on the part of some of the provinces to assume into their own hands the conduct of their affairs. Massachusetts had for nearly a year acted independently of the officers of the crown ; but in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, the authority of the royal governors was still admitted, and in but few of the states had it been wholly repudiated.1 The course taken by Massachusetts admitted of no mistake ; for the General Court, at their session in April, passed a resolve April 1. to alter the style of writs and other legal processes - substi- tuting "the people and government of Massachusetts " for George III. ; and, in dating official papers, the particular year of the king was omitted, and only the year of our Lord was mentioned.2 Early in May, likewise, an order was passed May 10
Virginia, (December 4,) received such advice, and prepared to act upon it - the first colony in January, the second in March, and the third in May, 1776. Jour. Cont. Cong. i. 215, 219, 260; J. Adams's Corresp. in Works, ix. 372; Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 13; Austin's Life of Gerry, i. 99, 178; Hildreth's U. S. iii. 125, 127, 129; Curtis's Hist. of the Const. i. 36. The manœuvre by which the people of New York were led to act favorably upon this question is detailed by Gor- don, Am. Rev. ii. 74, 75. See also Corresp. of J. Adams, in Works, ix. 407.
1 On the 9th of November, 1775, the Assembly of Pennsylvania in- structed their delegates to " dissent from and utterly reject any proposi- tions, should such be made, that may cause or lead to a separation from our mother country, or a change in the form of this government;" and, in May, 1776, the Assembly withdrew from its union with Congress in con- sequence of instructions to their dele- gates upon the resolve of May 15, for suppressing all authority derived from VOL. III. 7
the crown of Great Britain in the United Colonies. Upon this, a cón- vention of the people was called, May 20, at which Bayard and Roberdeau were particularly active in intimating their belief that the Assembly had been dragged into a compliance with most of the resolutions of Congress, from fear of a provincial convention ; hence the deputies reversed their for- mer decision, and expressed, June 24, their willingness to come into a vote of Congress declaring the United Col- onies free and independent states. Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 86; Reed's Reed, i. 155, especially the extract from the Morris MSS. in ibid. note ; Hildreth's U. S. iii. 125; Boston Gaz. for April 15 and July 1, 1776; Aus- tin's Life of Gerry, i. 193; Niles's Principles and Acts of the Rev. 252.
2 Jour. House of Rep. for 1776 ; Bradford, ii, 106. Hildreth, Hist. U. S. iii. 127, says New Hampshire set the first example of assumption of government in January, 1776; but he overlooks the fact that Massachu- setts had already taken the same step.
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VOTE OF THE TOWNS IN FAVOR OF INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. and published, by which the people of the several towns in the III. province were advised to give instructions to their respective 1776. representatives, to be chosen for the following political year, on the subject of independence.1 It is not contended that this 'was the first instance in which such a proposition was publicly Apr. 26. made ; for North Carolina had, two weeks before, authorized
her delegates to join with the other colonies in declaring May 6 independence ; and Rhode Island and Connecticut had indi- and 7. cated their inclination by dispensing with the oath of alle- Jun. 14. giance to the king, though a month elapsed before the Con- necticut Assembly instructed their delegates to vote for in- dependence.2
The returns from the towns of Massachusetts were highly encouraging, and in nearly every instance the instructions to their representatives were favorable to an explicit declaration of independence.3 But, while this question was pending here, June. three great measures were brought before Congress, and three committees were appointed - the first for preparing a decla- ration of independence, the second for reporting a plan of a treaty to be proposed to France, and the third to digest a system of articles of confederation to be proposed to the states.4 The committee on the declaration of independence consisted of Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, John Adams, of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin, of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman, of Connecticut, and Robert R. Livingston, of New York.5 The committee to draught a treaty with France con- sisted of John Dickinson, of Pennsylvania, John Adams, of
1 Boston Gazette for May 13, 1776 ; Jour. House of Rep. for 1776 ; Al- mon's Remembrancer, iii. 136, 232; Bradford, ii. 104.
Trumbull MS. v. 209, 210 ; Sparks's Corresp. of the Rev. i. 192, 193; Austin's Life of Gerry, i. 178, 181, 193, 194; Hildreth's U. S. iii. 131, 132.
3 See the published histories of the
different towns, and comp. Jour. H. of R. for 1776, and Austin's Life of Gerry, i. 182, 186.
4 Autobiog. of J. Adams, in Works, ii. 510; Sparks's Corresp. of the Rev. i. 221.
Jour. Cont. Cong. ii. 197; Auto- biog. of J. Adams, in Works, ii. 510, 511; Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 78.
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EFFECTS OF THE ACTION OF PARLIAMENT.
Massachusetts, Benjamin Harrison, of Virginia, and Robert CHAP. Morris, of Pennsylvania ; 1 and the committee on the articles III. of confederation consisted of Josiah Bartlett, of New Hamp- 1776. shire, Samuel Adams, of Massachusetts, Stephen Hopkins, of Rhode Island, Roger Sherman, of Connecticut, Robert R. Livingston, of New York, John Dickinson, of Pennsylvania, Thomas M'Kean, of Delaware, Thomas Stone, of Maryland, Thomas Nelson, of Virginia, Joseph Hewes, of North Caro- lina, Edward Rutledge, of South Carolina, and Button Gwin- nett, of Georgia.2
Without doubt, the unanimity which now began to prevail was partly promoted by the action of Parliament in passing the bill interdicting all trade and intercourse with the thir- teen United Colonies, and declaring the property of Ameri- cans, whether in ships or goods, on the high seas or in harbor, " to be forfeited to the captors, being the officers and crews of his majesty's ships of war," and that "the masters, crews, and other persons found on board captured American vessels, should be entered on board his majesty's vessels of war, and there considered to be in his majesty's service, to all intents and purposes as if they had entered of their own accord." 3
1775. Nov. 20.
1 Jour. Cont. Cong. ii. ; Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 78; Autobiog. of J. Ad- ams, in Works, ii. 516.
Jour. Cont. Cong. ii. 197, 198; J. Adams's Works, ii. 492, note. To this committee Francis Hopkinson was added June 28; and a report, in a draught of twenty articles, was made July 12, debated, and laid over from time to time until November 15, 1777, when, having been reduced to thirteen, they were adopted, and sent to the colonies for approval or rejection ; but the confederation was not fully estab- lished until March, 1781. Trumbull MS. Letter Book B, 146, 149; Jour. Cont. Cong. iii. 396, 401; Niles's Principles and Acts of the Rev. 104 et seq. ; Curtis's Hist. of the Const. i. chap. v. On the 20th of May, 1775, " articles of confederation " were pro-
posed ; and in July, 1775, Dr. Frank- fin reported a sketch, which was de- bated in Congress, and which formed the leading features of the articles afterwards adopted. Impartial Hist. of the War, App. 18-20; Diplomacy of the U. S. 3; Austin's Life of Ger- ry, i. 249. An article entitled "Pro- posals for a Confederation of the United Colonies " was also published in the Boston Gazette for April 22, 1776.
3 Ramsay's Am. Rev. i. 282, 283. The opposition to this bill in the House of Commons was quite spirit- ed; and, in particular, the clause by which persons taken on board the American vessels were indiscriminate- ly compelled to serve as common sail- ors in British ships of war was con- demned as a "refinement of tyranny worse than death."
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EFFECTS OF THE ACTION OF PARLIAMENT.
CHAP. This law arrived in the colonies about the time of the evacua- III. tion of Boston ; and the effects resulting from it were such 1776. March. as had been predicted by its opposers. It "not only united the colonies in resisting Great Britain, but produced a favora- ble opinion of independence in the minds of thousands who previously reprobated that measure." From New Hampshire to Georgia it was " considered as a legal discharge from their allegiance to their native sovereign." And " what was want- ing to produce a decided majority of the party for breaking off all connection with Great Britain was speedily obtained from the irritation excited by the hiring of foreign troops to fight against the colonists." This measure was "nearly coin- cident with the ratification of the prohibitory law just men- tioned ; and intelligence of both arrived in the colonies about the same time."1 "We now know," wrote a citizen of emi- nence in Philadelphia to his friend, "who the commissioners are, and their numbers, viz. : Messrs. the Hessians, Brunswick- ers, Waldeckers, English, Scotch, and Irish. This gives the coup de grace to the British and American connection. It has already wrought wonders in this city. Conversions have been more rapid than under Mr. Whitefield. The Pennsylva- nia Farmer, Mr. Dickinson, told me yesterday, in the field, that his sentiments were changed ; he had been desirous of keep-
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