THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
=171. The Colonists still regard themselves as English Subjects.=--It
seems to us now very remarkable that all through the year 1775,
notwithstanding the conflicts at Lexington and Concord, and even after
the battle of Bunker Hill, our forefathers still considered themselves
loyal British subjects. Although they were violently opposing the
despotism of the king of England, they never for a moment hesitated to
acknowledge him as their rightful ruler. They regarded all the unjust
acts of the king and the Parliament as so many encroachments upon their
rights as Englishmen, just as much as if they were living in their old
home in England instead of in a British colony. They insisted that,
although they were three thousand miles away, distance did not diminish
their just claims as free subjects of King George. They had fought as
Englishmen, not against England.
Therefore, even for months after Bunker Hill, the colonists had no
intention of separating from the mother country. Very few had much faith
in such a scheme, and still fewer had seriously urged it. A large
number of the people, probably a majority, thought the quarrel might
even at that time be settled, and the colonies might resume their former
friendly relations with England. All they had asked and all they had
fought for was simply their rights as Britons.
Washington, when he took command of the army soon after the battle of
Bunker Hill, said that he abhorred the idea of our separating from the
mother country, and becoming an independent nation. Franklin declared
that he had traveled all over the country and talked with all classes of
people, but had never heard independence mentioned.
=172. Slow Growth of the Idea of Independence.=--We must not fail to
remember that the idea of independence took form very slowly. The first
"Stamp Act," so offensive to the colonists, became a law in 1764, more
than ten years before actual hostilities broke out. During all those
years our ancestors were gradually losing their friendly feeling for
England. They were slowly drifting towards an open conflict, in fact,
the Revolution.
This hostility to England grew to be a serious matter after the battle
of Bunker Hill. It was deepened and embittered early in 1776 by a number
of events that still more sharply estranged America from her unkind
mother. After the battle the British continued to occupy Boston with
many hostile demonstrations, just as if it were an enemy's country,
until at the end of a long siege they were driven out by Washington.
This weary investment caused a great deal of bitterness. Everything took
on the sombre shadow of war, and this of course meant permanent
hostility to England.
Another step that greatly angered the Americans, and very justly too,
was a British proclamation, the design and effect of which was to
destroy all the commerce of the colonies by forfeiting their ships. This
was itself equal to a declaration of war by England.
Then three petitions to the king, George III, by three different
congresses, were treated with indifference or even with insolent
contempt. The only obvious effect of the petitions was to goad England
to greater severities. To a proposal at one time to exchange prisoners,
it was answered that England "received no applications from rebels,
unless they came to implore the king's mercy." This stinging and
insolent reply necessarily implied that all American patriots were
rebels; that they were guilty of treason; that, but for the king's
mercy, they must expect the penalty of treason, which is death!
=173. Active Measures taken by the British.=--Meanwhile obstinate King
George, humored by his prime minister, Lord North, was busily making
enormous preparations for pushing the war upon a large scale. Already
twenty-five thousand British soldiers had been sent to America, or had
been enlisted for immediate service. But so large a party in England was
opposed to the war against their own countrymen in the colonies, that
the king could not raise at home all the troops he needed. So he made a
bargain with a German state, Hesse, hiring twenty thousand foreign
soldiers to cross the ocean and fight his rebellious subjects.
[Illustration: "INDEPENDENCE HALL," PHILADELPHIA, AS IT APPEARED IN
1776.]
When our forefathers heard of this, it angered them more than anything
else that had been done. But even worse still, it was learned that the
British government was taking steps, by means of secret agents, to
employ the Indians to fight on the British side, and use their tomahawks
against British colonists!
Finally, to all petitions and appeals the English government replied
that it would not abate any of its demands, and that it would accept
from us nothing short of entire submission and obedience.
=174. Independence slowly but surely becomes a Stern Necessity.=--Now, if
we recall all the wrongs as to taxation that we have read of in a
previous chapter, and add to them this list of subsequent outrages, the
preparations for a long war, the hiring of Hessians, and the incitement
of Indians to fight us, we must see that our forefathers were compelled
to regard England as their determined enemy. Such were the successive
steps by which the old feeling of loyalty to the mother country
gradually vanished, and bitter hostility took its place.
What should the colonies do to protect themselves? This was the
all-important question. The people had been tending toward the
conviction that the only remedy was to break off all connection with
England and to be independent.
But it was a long while before this feeling became general. It was a
steady and natural but slow growth. The public indignation, constantly
strengthened by repeated British outrages, at last culminated in mature
conviction--a conviction that the only course left us was to be wholly
free, and to stand by ourselves among the nations of the earth.
As this conviction became stronger and stronger among the good people
all along the narrow coast line from Boston to Charleston, it soon found
expression in many ways. The few newspapers spoke out; public meetings
were called to discuss it, and conventions dared to announce it.
[Illustration: THOMAS JEFFERSON.]
People learned at last that their chief enemy was the king. They saw
that the controversy which began merely as a colonial struggle for their
rights as British subjects had grown broader and deeper, till it became
a contest for our rights as MEN and for the freedom of our entire
country from British control. A pamphlet entitled "Common Sense,"
written by Thomas Paine, an Englishman who had recently arrived in
America, had an enormous sale and exerted a powerful influence. It
abounded in ready wit, sharp reasoning, and rough eloquence. It
stimulated the longing for independence and the determination to be
free or die. In May, 1775, the people of Mecklenburg County in North
Carolina were the first to pass resolutions advocating independence.
They sent them to their delegates in Congress; but these at that early
day did not dare present them.
In May, 1776, Congress, then in Philadelphia, following the trend of
public opinion, advised the colonies to consider themselves as no longer
holding any powers under the authority of Great Britain. That was about
the same as a declaration of independence. Many colonies accordingly set
up state governments of their own without asking the king's consent.
=175. Steps taken for a Formal Declaration of Independence.=--The second
Continental Congress met at Philadelphia, May 10, 1775. Early in June,
1776, one of the delegates, Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, offered a
resolution that "these United Colonies are and of right ought to be free
and independent states." John Adams, of Massachusetts, seconded it in a
powerful speech. Three weeks of delay, to enable some of the colonies to
send in their approval, occurred before its adoption. Then a committee
of five, consisting of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams,
Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston, who had been appointed to draw
up a formal statement, presented the Declaration of Independence.
=176. The Declaration of Independence; what it said to the World.=--The
simple and yet luminous words of this Declaration were written by
Jefferson. His draft was prepared in his lodgings, on a little writing
desk which still exists. Jefferson, in after years, delighted to tell
how the final vote was hastened by the extremely hot weather and by the
fact that there was a stable near by, and swarms of flies came in
through the open windows and added much to the discomfort of the
patriots already worn out with the debate and the heat.
[Illustration: JEFFERSON READING THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE TO
FRANKLIN.]
Jefferson read his "fair copy" of the Declaration to his friend Benjamin
Franklin. The old philosopher was delighted with the terse style and the
vigorous sentences.
"That's good; that's right to the point," said he; "that will make King
George wince. I wish I had written it myself."
One of Franklin's biographers declares that it is fortunate that
Franklin did not compose the Declaration, for he would surely have put a
joke into the immortal document!
Every line and sentence of the Declaration of Independence stirred the
hearts of the people then, and it does even now, after the lapse of more
than one hundred and twenty-four years. It embodies in a noble and
enduring form the hopes, feelings, convictions, and aspirations of every
true American. When first proclaimed, it said in thunder tones to all
the world that here was a people in far-away America willing to give
their fortunes and their lives for what they believed to be right.
=177. Independence declared.=--On the second of July, 1776, the
sub-committee of five patriots submitted to Congress the important
document. There was deep silence as the solemn and earnest words were
slowly read. Hearts beat faster and eyes flashed at the recital of the
tyranny of the king and the sufferings of the people.
A three days' discussion followed. Jefferson remained silent under the
sharp criticism, but the genial old philosopher, Franklin, sat next to
him and soothed his feelings by telling him stories that fitted the
case.
At last the great Declaration of Independence, in its final form, was
adopted, July 4, 1776.
During the discussion there was intense excitement in and around the old
State House in Philadelphia, where Congress was in session. Thousands
thronged about the building, watching the barred doors and closed window
shutters with feverish anxiety. The faces of the crowd are turned upward
to the steeple, for there hangs a bell brought from London nearly a
quarter of a century before, bearing the prophetic and singularly
appropriate words of Scripture, "Proclaim liberty throughout the land
unto all the inhabitants thereof."
[Illustration: LIBERTY BELL, INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIA.]
It had been arranged by some one that the bell should be rung the moment
the Declaration of Independence was adopted. The old bell-ringer placed
a small boy at the hall door to await the signal of the doorkeeper.
When at last the vote for independence was declared, the doorkeeper gave
the signal, and the boy ran out shouting, "Ring, ring, ring!"
And the old bell-ringer did ring as he never rang before!
[Illustration: THE PEOPLE WAITING FOR THE FINAL VOTE ON THE
DECLARATION.]
=178. How the Declaration was received by the People.=--After it had
passed Congress, the Declaration was sent to be read to the people
throughout the thirteen colonies. It was received everywhere with the
greatest joy. Bells were rung, cannon were fired, fireworks were burned,
and flags were flung to the breeze. The bands played martial music, and
even the smallest towns and villages were in a blaze of excitement.
Washington ordered the Declaration to be read to all the brigades of
the patriot army in and around New York City. The occasion was
celebrated the same night by pulling down the leaden statue of George
III on Bowling Green, and casting it into bullets.
The magic word was INDEPENDENCE.
John Adams truthfully predicted that these demonstrations of joy would
be reflected in many a year to come by the people of our free country.
The eloquent words of the Declaration of Independence had been
pronounced, but it was left for Washington and his little army to make
it good.
England at this time was the most powerful nation in the world. Her navy
was large, and her army was fully equipped and well drilled. Her
resources were vast, and she had now made up her mind to crush the
"rebels" in America. To men in foreign lands it seemed madness for the
feeble colonies in America to resist the royal power of England.
The Declaration of Independence after a time was signed by fifty-six
delegates from all the colonies.
=179. Incidents connected with the Great Event.=--If we look at a
facsimile of the signatures to the Declaration, we notice that the name
of Stephen Hopkins, of Rhode Island, was written with a tremulous hand.
This was due to a partial paralysis. After he had signed, he smiled at
his irregular penmanship and said, "You see my hand trembles, but my
heart doesn't!"
John Hancock's signature is noted for its big, bold letters.
"There," said he, "John Bull can read that without 'specs'!"
As they gathered round to sign their names to the document, "pledging
their lives, their fortune, and their sacred honor" to maintain and
defend their action, every one of them understood very well that, if
this revolution failed and, he should be captured, he was liable to be
hanged as a traitor.
John Hancock said to a group of the signers, "We must stand by each
other; no pulling different ways--we must all hang together in this
matter."
"Yes," said Franklin, "we must indeed, or we shall all hang separately!"
The Fourth day of July, marked by the momentous event popularly known as
the adoption of the "Declaration of Independence," has properly become
our National Holiday. The day has been celebrated, just as our
forefathers said it would be, with the firing of cannon, the ringing of
bells, parades, and bonfires. From that day to the present, the immortal
document has been listened to with reverence by our people.
=180. What the Declaration of Independence should mean to us.=--Thus we
have traced the growth of the passion for liberty which finally reached
its loftiest expression in this noble Declaration. Read it and let it
grow into your memory. Do not forget that lovers of liberty, the world
over, regard it as the sublimest state paper ever produced by man,
marking the grandest advance in political progress ever made by the
human race.
To us of the present day its chief charm lies in its noble beginning and
its no less noble end. We care little now about the faults and the
follies of King George, but the bold assertions of great truths in the
opening sentences of the Declaration appeal as warmly to us to-day as
they did to those for whom they were first written.
It is interesting to know that it was signed by men of lofty purpose and
exalted character, every one of whom held to his last day a reputation
never dishonored. These were the chosen men, worthy to be leaders with
Washington of the young nation.
For good or evil this most momentous step was now taken. There was no
choice left the colonies but to win by hard fighting or to be crushed by
their enemy.