USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, the commonwealth period. 1775-1820 v. III > Part 11
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1 Impartial Hist. of the War, 291, 292, note; Boston Gazette for June 17, 1776 ; Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 56- 58; Ramsay's Am. Rev. i. 285; Bis- sett's Hist. Eng. i. 458; Lee's Lee, i. 163; Corresp. of J. Adams, in Works, ix. 383; Letter of Lord Stir- ling, March 11, 1776, in Sparks's Cor- resp. of the Rev. i. 172. The treatics which had been concluded with the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel, the Duke of Brunswick, and the hereditary prince of Hesse Cassel, for hiring 17,000 of their troops to the King of Great Britain, were laid before the Commons February 29, 1776, and gave rise to an interesting debate on
the propriety of employing foreign troops against the Americans. The measure was supported on the grounds of the necessity of prosecuting the war, and the impracticability of rais- ing a sufficient number of domestic levics. It was also urged that " for- eign troops, inspired with the military maxims and ideas of implicit submis- sion, would be less apt to be biased by that false lenity which native sol- dicrs miglit indulge at the expense of the national interest." For the views of Lord Mahon on the employment of these troops, see his Hist. Eng. vi. 86, 87.
101
EFFECTS OF THE ACTION OF PARLIAMENT.
ing the door open as long as possible, and was now convinced CHAP. that nothing was expected from our enemies but slavery." 1 III.
Indeed, in the sessions of Parliament between the twenty- sixth of October, 1775, and the twenty-third of May, 1776, to May 23, 1776.
1775. Oct. 26, the " ultimate plan of reducing the colonies was completely fixed." The Americans were declared to be out of the royal protection ; commerce was prohibited with them ; their per- sons and property were subjected to seizure ; and, to crown the whole, a band of foreign mercenaries was employed, by the authority of the English government, to effect their sub- jugation.2 Is it surprising that such measures should have led to the conviction that the time for bolder action had come, and that, abandoned by their king, put out of his pro- tection, declared to be in a state of open rebellion, and treated as enemies, the political compact which had hitherto united them to Great Britain should have been considered as no longer binding, and the people as at liberty to take care of the republic that it sustained no damage ? 3
But that which, more than all else, perhaps, confirmed them in the conviction that longer delay would be hazardous, if not suicidal, was the failure of the attempt of the Duke of Graf- ton to prevent the continuance of hostilities. This amiable Mar.14. nobleman, who to the qualities of integrity, sincerity, and
1 Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 77. John Adams, Diary in Works, ii. 408, inti- mates that " the Quakers had intimi- dated Mr. Dickinson's mother and wife, who were continually distressing him with their remonstrances," and that his mother said to him, " John- ny, you will be hanged; your estate will be forfeited and confiscated ; you will leave your excellent wife a widow, and your charming children orphans, beggars, and infamous." This may be true, yet it must be conceded that the honesty of Mr. Dickinson stands unim- peached ; nor does it seem very likely that one of his ability should have been influenced in his course by other
than the convictions of his own judg- ment.
2 " It is thought," says Gordon, Am. Rev. ii. 43, " that a treaty with the court of Petersburg, for 20,000 Russians, was at one time, the last year, in considerable forwardness, but that the extreme distance of the ser- vice, the difficulty of recall, and the critical state of public affairs through Europe rendered it abortive, after the most sanguine hopes of success." See also Sparks's Corresp. of the Rev. i. 126.
3 " Ne quid detrimenti respublica capiat."
102
THE DUKE OF GRAFTON'S CONCILIATORY PLAN.
CHAP. intellectual ability joined a reverent regard for the liberties III. of America, as well as for the honor and dignity of England, 1776. moved that an address should be presented to the throne, re- Mar. 11.
questing that, in order to stop the further effusion of blood, and to manifest the sincere desire of king and Parliament to restore peace and redress grievances, a proclamation might be issued, declaring that, if the colonies should present a petition to the commander-in-chief of his majesty's forces in America, or to the commissioners appointed for such purposes, setting forth what they considered to be their just rights and real griev- ances, the king would consent to a suspension of arms, and refer their petition to Parliament, where they might be confi- dent it would be duly considered and answered. But this proposition, however well meant, was too unpalatable to the ministry to admit of its adoption. The reasoning of its friends was as water spilled on the ground ; and it was reject- ed by a majority of three to one.1
This defeat checked for a time all further attempts for con- ciliatory measures in either House of Parliament ; and though the lord mayor, aldermen, and commons of the city of London still continued their endeavors, in a decent address which they Mar 22. presented to his majesty, the answer was unfavorable ; 2 and the departure of Commodore Hotham in the Preston, with all the transports,3 having on board the first division of Hessians, sent over to spread devastation in America, was too palpable a proof of the inflexibility of the ministry, and of their deter- mination at all hazards to carry out their schemes, to admit
1 Stedman's Am. War, i. 164; Gordon's Am. Rev. ii. 59; Bissett's Hist. Eng. i. 459.
2 This address was published in the Boston Gazette for June 17, 1776, with the reply of the king, in which he says, " I deplore, with the deepest concern, the miseries which a great part of my subjects in North America have brought upon themselves by an
unjustifiable resistance to the consti- tutional authority of this kingdom ; and I shall be ready and happy to al- leviate those miseries by acts of mer- cy and clemency, whenever that au- thority is established, and the now existing rebellion is at an end."
3 Letter of June 25, 1776, in Al- mon's Remembrancer, iii. 119.
103
DISCUSSION OF THE QUESTION OF INDEPENDENCE.
of question on the part of those, if such there were, who still CHAP. fondly trusted in the clemency of the king, and who could not III. persuade themselves that all overtures, however reasonable, 1776. would be peremptorily rejected. Both the people of England and the people of America had much yet to learn relative to the persistency with which misguided statesmen adhere to their schemes of oppression, and the delusion and blindness which seem to possess them when once they have surrendered themselves to the dominion of their passions. The moral obstacles thus interposed in the way of an amicable adjustment of difficulties are often insuperable ; and when otherwise, can only be overcome by a radical change in the springs of action, or by such overwhelming calamities as cause even the most hardened to pause in their career, and to tremble, when it is too late, at the fatal consequences of their own folly.1
The question of the independence of the colonies was now discussed in all quarters more earnestly than ever ; and prep- arations were making, by the Assemblies of the different col- onies, not only to ascertain the views of the people, but the lengths to which they were willing to go, in case independence should be declared.2
1. Lord George Germaine to Gen. Howe, March 28 and April 27, 1776. 2 "The votes of the Congress," wrote J. Adams to H. Knox, June 2, 1776, Corresp. of J. Adams, in Works, ix. 385, " and the proceedings of the colonies separately, must, before this time, have convinced you that this is the sense of America, with infinitely greater unanimity than could have been credited by many people a few months ago. Those few persons, in- deed, who have attended closely to the proceedings of the several colo- nies for a number of years past, and reflected deeply upon the causes of this mighty contest, have foreseen that such an unanimity would take place as soon as a separation should become necessary. These are not at all sur-
prised, while many others really are, and some affect to be, astonished at the phenomenon." Joseph Galloway, in his examination before the House of Commons, in 1779, gave his views of the progress of independence in the following words : " I do not believe, from the best knowledge I have of the state of America at that time, that one fifth of the people had independence in view. I wish, when I give an opin- ion, always to give my reasons for it. The progress of the spirit of inde- pendence was very gradual. So early as the year 1754, there were men in America - I may say, in the towns of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Williamsburg - who held inde- pendence in prospect, and who were determined to seize any opportunity
104
ACTION OF VIRGINIA.
CHAP. III. Virginia followed Massachusetts in recommending measures " towards dissolving the connection between America and
1776. Great Britain totally, finally, and irrevocably ; "1 and, on May 15. the same day that the resolve was passed by the General Con gress recommending to the people of the states to institute governments, Mr. Cary, from the committee of the whole House on the state of the colony, reported a preamble and resolutions, which were unanimously adopted, instructing the delegates from that colony in the General Congress "to pro- pose to that respectable body to declare the United Colonies free and independent states, absolved from all allegiance to, or dependence upon, the crown or Parliament of Great Brit- ain ; and that they give the assent of this colony to such dec-
that offered to promote it, by procur- ing additional persons to their num- ber. These men, when the stamp act was passed, made a stalking horse, or screen, of the gentlemen of the law in every part of America to cover their designs, and to sound the trumpet of opposition against government, but avowed that their conduct was on the ground of obtaining a redress of American grievances, and not with a design to separate the two countries. Upon this ground, I am confident, the gentlemen of the law acted. When the tea act was passed, they made the same use of the merchants, who were smugglers in America, as they had done of the lawyers before - still de- claring that they meant not independ- ence. So late as the sitting of Con- gress in 1774, the same men, when charged with it in Congress, and whilst they held it tenaciously and religious- ly in their hearts, they almost to a de- gree of profanity denied it with their tongues. And all this was done on their knowledge that the great bulk of the people of North America were averse to independence. If we look at the resolves of Congress, down al- most to the very period of their dec- laration of independence, we shall find the same language, the same pretence of obtaining a redress of grievances,
held out to the people. And, for the same reason, at the very time they declared independence, they gave out that it was not with a view to a total separation of the two countries, but from necessity; because, unless they declared independence, the powers of Europe would not trade with them, and they were in great distress for want of a great many foreign necessa- ries. So that, from all these circum- stances, I am convinced that not one fifth part of the people had independ- ence in view." The Examination of Galloway was printed at London, in 1779, in a pamphlet of 85 pages.
1 Instructions to R. C. Nichols and W. Norvali, Esquires, in Wirt's Pat- rick Henry, 210, 211. " Virginia," wrote Elbridge Gerry to James War- ren, May 1, 1776, "is always to be depended upon ; and so fine a spirit prevails among them, that unless you send some of your cool patriots among them, they may be for declaring inde- pendency before Congress is ready." Austin's Life of Gerry, i. 198. It should be remembered, however, that only a short time before a quite dif- ferent spirit prevailed in that colony ; and the change was wrought chiefly by the eloquence of Henry, and Jef- ferson, and Lee, and others.
105
ACTION OF VIRGINIA.
laration, and to whatever measures may be thought proper CHAP. and necessary by the Congress for forming foreign alliances, III. and a confederation of the colonies, at such time, and in the 1776. manner, as to them shall seem best." 1 Upon the passage of this resolve, Washington wrote, " I am very glad to find that May 31 the Virginia convention have passed so noble a vote, and with so much unanimity. Things have come to such a pass now as to convince us that we have nothing more to expect from the justice of Great Britain ; also, that she is capable of the most delusive arts ; for I am satisfied that no commissioners ever were designed, except Hessians and other foreigners, and that the idea was only to deceive and throw us off our guard. The first has been too effectually accomplished ; as many mem- bers of Congress- in short, the representatives of whole provinces - are still feeding themselves upon the dainty food of reconciliation ; and, though they will not allow that the expectation of it has any influence upon their judgment with respect to their preparations for defence, it is but too obvious that it has an operation upon every part of their conduct, and is a clog to their proceedings." 2
The ice thus broken by the leading colony at the south, the other colonies had less hesitancy in following the example
1 Corresp. of J. Adams, in Works, ix. 374, 389 ; Force's Am. Archives, vi. 1524; Sparks's Corresp. of the Rev. i. 202; Lee's Lee, i. 168; Wirt's Patrick Henry, 211, 213; Jefferson's Works, i. 12; Almon's Remembran- cer, iii. 222; Niles's Principles and Acts of the Rev. 251, 252 ; Hildreth's U. S. iii. 132. A proviso was attached to these resolutions, " that the power of forming government for, and the regulation of, the internal concerns of each colony, be left to the respective colonial legislatures ; " and this doc- trine of state rights, thus suggested, was never lost sight of by any of the colonies.
2 Sparks's Washington, iii. 403. Acts of the Rev. 252.
Upon the adoption of these reso-
lutions, which were " universally re- garded as the only door which will lead to safety and prosperity," " some gentlemen," we are told, "made a handsome collection for the purpose of treating the soldiery " the next day ; and " during the whole of this cere- mony, the UNION FLAG of the Amer- ican States waved upon the Capitol, the soldiers partook of the refresh- ments prepared for them by the affec- tion of their countrymen, and the evening concluded with illuminations and other demonstrations of joy - every one seeming pleased that the domination of Great Britain was now at an end." Niles's Principles and
106
MOTION SUBMITTED BY RICHARD HENRY LEE.
CHAP. which had been set. Some of them, indeed, were still averse III. to the idea of independence, and so remained throughout the
1776. discussion upon the subject ; but experience, which proves the best counsellor in such cases, eventually led to a change in their views, and to greater unanimity in the national councils.
In accordance with the instructions which had been given for that purpose, the preliminary motion relative to independ- June 7. ence was submitted in due form, on the seventh of June, by Richard Henry Lee, as the head of the delegation from Vir- ginia, "amidst the hesitation of some colonies, the foreseen opposition of many able men of the Congress, the malice of the tories, and the vengeance of the ministry." The words of his motion were, " that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states ; and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved ; "1 and John Adams, who had longed for this hour to arrive, seconded the motion with hearty good will. Thus the question was fairly before the House ; but as that body was obliged, at the time, to attend to some other business, and as the measure proposed was of "fearful hazard and awful responsibility," and "it could not be concealed, nor was it attempted to be denied, that the act which was required by their country might be fatal to themselves," further delib- eration was deferred until the next day; and the members were enjoined " to attend punctually at ten o'clock, in order to take the same into their consideration." 2
1 Jour. Cont. Cong. ii. 194, 195 ; Ramsay's Am. Rev. i. 340; Lee's Lee, i. 169; Jefferson's Works, i. 12, 118; Marshall's Washington, ii. 409; Aus- tin's Life of Gerry, i. 196; Curtis's Hist. of the Const. i. 49. "That it was the opinion of Congress that the member who made the first motion on the subject of independence would certainly be exposed to personal and imminent danger, may be inferred from the manner in which the motion
is entered on the journal" - the name of the mover not being given. Lee's Lee, i. 170.
Jour. Cont. Cong. ii. 195; Jef- ferson's Works, i. 12, 118; Austin's Life of Gerry, i. 168, 196. "They could not but feel that while, on the one hand, the establishing of a new nation would insure their imperisha- ble glory, the result of an abortive attempt to sever the connection of the colonies with the mother country
F
107
DEBATES ON THE QUESTION OF INDEPENDENCE.
At the appointed hour the Congress assembled ; and, hav- CHAP. ing resolved themselves into a committee of the whole, the III. motion of the previous day was debated with closed doors. 1776. Who were the speakers on this memorable occasion, and what June 8. was said by them, we have but slight means of determining, as no official report of their proceedings has been published.1 As the result, however, after considerable discussion, the pres- ident resumed the chair ; and Mr. Harrison reported that " the committee having taken into consideration the matter to them referred, but not having come to any resolutions, they directed him to move for leave to sit again on Monday ;" and it was accordingly "resolved that the Congress will, on Mon- day next, at ten o'clock, resolve themselves into a committee of the whole, to take into further consideration the resolutions referred to them." 2
Monday came, and with it the business which for more than Jun. 10. a month was to engross the attention of the American people. The deliberative assembly of the colonies, which was the na- tional forum, was once more resolved into a committee of the whole; and the question which involved the liberties of a continent came before them for discussion. The proceedings. even of this day are but imperfectly known, for no full report of the debates was taken ; 3 but from scattered hints, gleaned
would ruin their constituents, and independence ; but it appeared to me subject themselves to the disgrace and penalty of treason."
1 J. Adams to T. M'Kean, July 30, 1815, and M'Kean's Reply, Nov. 15, 1815, in Adams's Works, x. 171, 177 ; Austin's Life of Gerry, i. 188. " Who," asks Mr. Adams, " shall write the his- tory of the American revolution ? Who can write it? Who will ever be able to write it ? The most essential documents, the debates and delibera- tions in Congress from 1774 to 1783, were all in secret, and are now lost forever. Mr. Dickinson printed a speech, which he said he made in Congress against the declaration of
very different from that which you and I heard. Dr. Witherspoon has pub- lished speeches, which he wrote be- forehand, and delivered memoriter, as he did his sermons. But these, I be- lieve, were the only speeches commit- ted to writing. The orations, while I was in Congress, from 1774 to 1778, appeared to me universally extempo- raneous ; and I have never heard of any committed to writing, before or after delivery."
2 Jour. Cont. Cong. ii. 195; Lee's Lee, i. 170.
3 " The Congress of the revolu- tion," says Mr. Webster, in his Eulo-
108
DEBATES ON THE QUESTION OF INDEPENDENCE.
CHAP. from different sources, it appears that the speeches were ani- III. mated, and that the ground covered by the resolution was
1776. thoroughly surveyed. The speakers in favor of the resolution were John Adams, Richard Henry Lee, George Wythe, and others ; and those against it were James Wilson, Robert R. Livingston, Edward Rutledge, John Dickinson, and others.1 No one opposed the measure as impolitic and improper at all times, but as inexpedient at that time ; 2 and the leading argu- ments against its adoption were, that the people of the mid- dle colonies - particularly Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylva- nia, the Jerseys, and New York - were "not yet ripe for bidding adieu to British connection, but that they were fast ripening, and in a short time would join in the general voice of America ; " that some of these colonies had "expressly for- bidden their delegates to consent to such a declaration, and others had given no instructions, and consequently no powers, to give such consent ;" that "if the delegates of any particu- lar colony had no power to declare such colony independent, the others could not declare it for them, the colonies being as yet perfectly independent of each other ; " that the Assemblies of the dissenting colonies were, or soon would be, sitting, and would probably take up the question of independence, and declare to their delegates the voice of their state ; that, "if such a declaration should now be agreed to, these delegates must retire, and possibly their colonies might secede from the
gy on Adams and Jefferson, p. 32, the House." Austin's Life of Gerry, " sat with closed doors, and no report of its debates was ever taken. The discussion, therefore, which accompa- nied this great measure, has never been preserved, except in memory and by tradition." Mr. Gerry, it seems, preserved some notes and frag- Jefferson's Works, i. 12, 14. 1 ments among his papers ; but, says his 2 Lee's Lee, i. 171, on the author- ity of a conversation with Governor Johnson, of Maryland, then a mem- ber of the Congress. biographer, they were "much too loose and imperfect to warrant the transcript of a speech, either delivered by himself. or any other member of
i. 188. Mr. Jefferson likewise pre- served some minutes, which have since been published in the first volume of his collected works. The notes of Mr. Adams are also contained in his works.
109
ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE DECLARATION.
union ; " that such secession would weaken the cause of the CHAP. country more than could be compensated by any foreign alli- III. 1776. ance ; that, in the event of a division, " foreign powers would either refuse to join themselves to our fortunes, or, having us so much in their power as that desperate declaration would make us, they would insist on terms proportionably more hard and prejudicial ; " that " France and Spain had reason to be jealous of that rising power which would one day certainly strip them of their American possessions," and "it was more likely they should form a connection with the British court, who, if they should find themselves unable otherwise to extri- cate themselves from their difficulties, would agree to a parti- tion of our territories, - restoring Canada to France, and the Floridas to Spain, - to accomplish for themselves a recovery of those colonies ; " that it would not be long before certain information would be received of the disposition of the French court from the agents sent to Paris for that purpose, and should it be favorable, there would then be reason to expect an alli- ance on better terms, which should be settled beforehand ; and, finally, that the want of money, of the munitions of war, and of disciplined and efficient troops, on the part of the col- onies, with the power and strength of Great Britain by sea and land, were reasons of themselves sufficiently strong to justify delay, until further arrangements could be made for conducting the war upon more equal terms.1
On the other hand, it was argued, that the question was not whether, by a declaration of independence, we should make ourselves what we were not, but whether we should declare a fact already existing ; that we had always been independent of the people and Parliament of England, and as to the king, allegiance to him had been dissolved by his assent to the recent act declaring the colonies out of his protection ; that there were only two colonies, Pennsylvania and Maryland,
1 Jefferson's Works, i. 12-14 ; Corresp. of J. Adams, in Works, ix. 400.
1
110
ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE DECLARATION.
CHAP. whose delegates were absolutely tied up, and these had, by III. their instructions, only reserved a right of confirming or re- 1776. jecting the measure ; that the people were waiting for Con- gress to lead the way ; that they were in favor of the measure, though the instructions given by some of their representatives were not; that the voice of the people could not be absolutely inferred from the voice of the representatives, as peculiar circumstances had originated the instructions which had been given to them ; that it would be "vain to wait either weeks or months for perfect unanimity, since it was impossible that all men should ever become of one sentiment on any occa- sion ; " that " the conduct of some colonies, from the begin- ning of this contest, had given reason to suspect it was their settled policy to keep in the rear of the confederacy, that their particular prospects might be better even in the worst event ; " that therefore "it was necessary for those colonies who had thrown themselves forward, and hazarded all from the beginning, to come forward now also, and put all again to their own hazard ;" that " the history of the Dutch revolu- tion, in which three states only confederated at first, proved that a secession of some colonies would not be so dangerous. as some apprehended ; " that "a declaration of independence alone could render it consistent with European delicacy for European powers to treat with us, or even to receive an ambassador from us ; " that though France and Spain might be jealous of our rising power, it would be more formidable with the addition of Great Britain, and hence it would be for their interest to prevent such a coalition ; that it would be idle to lose time in settling the terms of alliance until the alliance itself had been fully determined upon; and that it was necessary to proceed at once to open a trade with other nations, to supply our own people with clothes and money.1
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