obedience to instructions from their constituents, that the Congress
should declare that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be,
free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance
to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and
the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; that
measures should be immediately taken for procuring the assistance of
foreign powers, and a confederation be formed to bind the colonies more
closely together.
The House being obliged to attend at that time to some other business,
the proposition was referred to the next day, when the members were
ordered to attend punctually at ten o'clock.
Saturday, June 8th. They proceeded to take it into consideration, and
referred it to a committee of the whole, into which they immediately
resolved themselves, and passed that day and Monday, the 10th, in
debating on the subject.
It was argued by Wilson, Robert R. Livingston, E. Rutledge, Dickinson,
and others--that, though they were friends to the measures themselves,
and saw the impossibility that we should ever again be united with Great
Britain, yet they were against adopting them at this time:
That the conduct we had formerly observed was wise, and proper now, of
deferring to take any capital step till the voice of the people drove us
into it:
That they were our power, and without them our declarations could not be
carried into effect:
That the people of the middle colonies (Maryland, Delaware,
Pennsylvania, 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 the resolution, entered into by this House on May 15th, for
suppressing the exercise of all powers derived from the Crown, had
shown, by the ferment into which it had thrown these middle colonies,
that they had not yet accommodated their minds to a separation from the
mother-country:
That some of them had expressly forbidden 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 particular colony had no power to declare
such colony independent, certain they were the others could not declare
it for them, the colonies being as yet perfectly independent of each
other:
That the Assembly of Pennsylvania was now sitting above stairs, their
convention would sit within a few days, the convention of New York was
now sitting, and those of the Jerseys and Delaware counties would meet
on the Monday following, and it was probable these bodies would take up
the question of Independence, and would 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 Union:
That such a secession would weaken us more than could be compensated by
any foreign alliance:
That in the event of such 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 place us, they would insist on terms
proportionately more hard and prejudicial:
That we had little reason to expect an alliance with those to whom alone
as yet we had cast our eyes:
That France and Spain had reason to be jealous of that rising power,
which would one day certainly strip them of all their American
possessions:
That it was more likely they should form a connection with the British
court, who, if they should find themselves unable otherwise to extricate
themselves from their difficulties, would agree to a partition of our
territories, restoring Canada to France, and the Floridas to Spain, to
accomplish for themselves a recovery of these colonies:
That it would not be long before we should receive certain information
of the disposition of the French court, from the agent whom we had sent
to Paris for that purpose:
That if this disposition should be favorable by waiting the event of the
present campaign, which we all hoped would be successful, we should have
reason to expect an alliance on better terms:
That this would in fact work no delay of any effectual aid from such
ally, as, from the advance of the season and distance of our situation,
it was impossible we could receive any assistance during this campaign:
That it was prudent to fix among ourselves the terms on which we should
form alliance, before we declared we would form one at all events:
And that if these were agreed on, and our Declaration of Independence
ready by the time our ambassador should be prepared to sail, it would be
as well as to go into the Declaration at this day.
On the other side, it was urged by J. Adams, Lee, Wythe, and others that
no gentleman had argued against the policy or the right of separation
from Britain, nor had supposed it possible we should ever renew our
connection; that they had only opposed its being now declared:
That the question was not whether, by a Declaration of Independence, we
should make ourselves what we are not; but whether we should declare a
fact which already exists:
That, as to the people or Parliament of England, we had always been
independent of them, their restraints on our trade deriving efficacy
from our acquiescence only, and not from any rights they possessed of
imposing them, and that so far, our connection had been federal only,
and was now dissolved by the commencement of hostilities:
That, as to the King, we had been bound to him by allegiance, but that
this bond was now dissolved by his assent to the last act of Parliament,
by which he declares us out of his protection, and by his levying war on
us, a fact which had long ago proved us out of his protection; it being
a certain position in law, that allegiance and protection are
reciprocal, the one ceasing when the other is withdrawn:
That James the II never declared the people of England out of his
protection, yet his actions proved it, and the Parliament declared it:
No delegates then can be denied, or ever want, a power of declaring an
existing truth:
That the delegates from the Delaware counties having declared their
constituents ready to join, there are only two colonies, Pennsylvania
and Maryland, whose delegates are absolutely tied up, and that these
had, by their instructions, only reserved a right of confirming or
rejecting the measure:
That the instructions from Pennsylvania might be accounted for from the
times in which they were drawn, near a twelvemonth ago, since which the
face of affairs has totally changed:
That within that time it had become apparent that Britain was determined
to accept nothing less than a _carte-blanche_, and that the King's
answer to the lord mayor, aldermen and common-council of London, which
had come to hand four days ago, must have satisfied everyone of this
point:
That the people wait for us to lead the way:
That _they_ are in favor of the measure, though the instructions given
by some of their _representatives_ are not:
That the voice of the representatives is not always consonant with the
voice of the people, and that this is remarkably the case in these
middle colonies:
That the effect of the resolution of May 15th has proved this, which,
raising the murmurs of some in the colonies of Pennsylvania and
Maryland, called forth the opposing voice of the freer part of the
people, and proved them to be the majority even in these colonies:
That the backwardness of these two colonies might be ascribed, partly to
the influence of proprietary power and connections, and partly to their
having not yet been attacked by the enemy:
That these causes were not likely to be soon removed, as there seemed no
probability that the enemy would make either of these the seat of this
summer's war:
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 question:
That the conduct of some colonies, from the beginning of this contest,
had given reason to suspect it was their settled policy to keep in the
rear of the confederacy, that their particular prospect 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 Revolution, of whom 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 till this they would not receive our vessels into their ports, nor
acknowledge the adjudications of our courts of admirality to be
legitimate in cases of capture of British vessels:
That though France and Spain may be jealous of our rising power, they
must think it will be much more formidable with the addition of Great
Britain; and will therefore see it their interest to prevent a
coalition; but should they refuse, we shall never know whether they will
aid us or not:
That the present campaign may be unsuccessful, and therefore we had
better propose an alliance while our affairs wear a hopeful aspect:
That to wait the event of this campaign will certainly work delay,
because, during the summer, France may assist us effectually, by cutting
off those supplies of provisions from England and Ireland on which the
enemy's armies here are to depend; or by setting in motion the great
power they have collected in the West Indies, and calling our enemy to
the defence of the possessions they have there:
That it would be idle to lose time in settling the terms of alliance,
till we had first determined we would enter into alliance:
That it is necessary to lose no time in opening a trade for our people,
who will want clothes, and will want money too for the payment of taxes:
And that the only misfortune is that we did not enter into alliance with
France six months sooner, as, besides opening her ports for the vent of
our last year's produce, she might have marched an army into Germany,
and prevented the petty princes there from selling their unhappy
subjects to subdue us.
It appearing in the course of these debates that the colonies of New
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and South Carolina
were not yet matured for falling from the parental stem, but that they
were fast advancing to that state, it was thought most prudent to wait a
while for them, and to postpone the final decision to July 1st; but,
that this might occasion as little delay as possible, a committee was
appointed to prepare a Declaration of Independence. The committee were
John Adams, Dr. Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert R. Livingston, and
myself. Committees were also appointed, at the same time, to prepare a
plan of confederation for the colonies, and to state the terms proper to
be proposed for foreign alliance.
The committee for drawing the Declaration of Independence desired me to
do it. It was accordingly done, and, being approved by them, I reported
it to the House on Friday, June 28th, when it was read, and ordered to
lie on the table. On Monday, July 1st, the House resolved itself into a
committee of the whole, and resumed the consideration of the original
motion made by the delegates of Virginia, which, being again debated
through the day, was carried in the affirmative by the votes of New
Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey,
Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. South Carolina and
Pennsylvania voted against it. Delaware had but two members present, and
they were divided. The delegates of New York declared they were for it
themselves, and were assured their constituents were for it; but that
their instructions having been drawn near a twelvemonth before, when
reconciliation was still the general object, they were enjoined by them
to do nothing which should impede that object. They, therefore, thought
themselves not justifiable in voting on either side, and asked leave to
withdraw from the question; which was given them.
The committee rose and reported their resolution to the House. Mr.
Edward Rutledge, of South Carolina, then requested the determination
might be put off to the next day, as he believed his colleagues, though
they disapproved of the resolution, would then join in it for the sake
of unanimity. The ultimate question, whether the House would agree to
the resolution of the committee, was accordingly postponed to the next
day, when it was again moved, and South Carolina concurred in voting for
it.
In the mean time a third member had come post from the Delaware
counties, and turned the vote of that colony in favor of the resolution.
Members of a different sentiment attending that morning from
Pennsylvania also, her vote was changed, so that the whole twelve
colonies who were authorized to vote at all, gave their voices for it;
and, within a few days, the convention of New York approved of it; and
thus supplied the void occasioned by the withdrawing of her delegates
from the vote.
Congress proceeded the same day to consider the Declaration of
Independence, which had been reported and laid on the table the Friday
preceding, and on Monday referred to a committee of the whole. The
pusillanimous idea that we had friends in England worth keeping terms
with still haunted the minds of many. For this reason, those passages
which conveyed censures on the people of England were struck out, lest
they should give them offence. The clause, too, reprobating the
enslaving the inhabitants of Africa, was struck out in complaisance to
South Carolina and Georgia, who had never attempted to restrain the
importation of slaves, and who, on the contrary, still wished to
continue it.
Our northern brethren also, I believe, felt a little tender under those
censures; for though their people had very few slaves themselves, yet
they had been pretty considerable carriers of them to others. The
debates, having taken up the greater parts of July 2d, 3d, and 4th,
were, on the evening of the last, closed; the Declaration was reported
by the committee, agreed to by the House, and signed by every member
present except Mr. Dickinson.
JOHN ANDREW DOYLE
Before this it had become evident that to defer any longer the formation
of an independent government was to keep up an unnecessary source of
weakness. Already the voice of the nation had protested unmistakably
against the longer continuance of anarchy. The first definite step
toward such a change had been taken in 1775 by New Hampshire. On October
11th their delegates had petitioned Congress to allow them to establish
a government, but Congress, having still hopes of the success of the
petition, had deferred answering their appeal. The majority of Congress
saw at last that independence was only a question of time. An answer was
sent to the Convention of New Hampshire, recommending it to form a
government. Similar advice was sent the next day to South Carolina, and
a little later to Virginia. Yet New Hampshire shrank from so decisive a
step, and coupled the formation of their new government with a studious
expression of their allegiance. Virginia showed a nobler spirit.
In January the convention passed a motion, instructing their delegates
to recommend Congress to throw their ports open to all nations, and thus
to cast off the commercial supremacy of England. But the mere
establishment of independent State governments was not enough. An
imperial government, also independent of England, was essential. To
establish independence without confederation would be only doing half
the work. In the words of Franklin, "We must all hang together, unless
we would all hang separately." About this time Franklin's scheme for a
confederation was laid before Congress. The scheme did not include, but
it evidently implied, independence. Franklin had been throughout a
strenuous advocate of reconciliation, as long as reconciliation was
possible, and his opinion ought to have convinced all that the time for
separation had come. But the timid counsels of his colleague, Dickinson,
overruled the motion, and the scheme of a confederation was not even
formally considered. On February 16th the question of opening the ports
was formally laid before Congress. In the next month measures were taken
which clearly showed that independence was at hand. A private agent was
sent to France by the authority of the committee of secret
correspondence, and the instructions of the commissioners sent to Canada
contained a clause inviting the people of Canada to "set up such a form
of government as will be most likely in their judgment to produce their
happiness." The clause was objected to as implying independence, and
gave rise to a debate, but was ultimately carried. At last, after seven
weeks' deliberation, the Congress resolved to emancipate the colonies
from all commercial restrictions, and on April 6th the ports of America
were thrown open to the world.
On March 27th South Carolina proceeded to construct a government. They
asserted as their principle of action that the good of the people is the
origin and end of all government, and they set forth the misconduct of
the King, the Parliament, and the officers of the English Government. At
the same time they introduced no change into the system of
representation or the qualification of voters. On May 4th the Assembly
of Rhode Island passed an act discharging the inhabitants of the colony
from allegiance to the King, and at the same time authorized its
delegates in Congress to conclude a treaty with any independent power
for the security of the colonies. On May 6th the Assembly of Virginia
met at Williamsburg. After a declaration that all pacific measures were
useless, and that "they had no alternative left but an abject submission
to the will of those overbearing tyrants, or a total separation from the
Crown and Government of Great Britain," they passed two resolutions; the
first empowering their delegates at the convention to propose a
declaration of independence and a confederation of the colonies; the
second appointing a committee to draw up a declaration of rights and a
scheme of government for the colony. On June 12th the Declaration of
Rights was laid before the Assembly, and on the 29th a constitution was
produced.
The Assembly then proceeded to elect a governor. The choice fell on
Patrick Henry. Rightly was he, who had first foreseen independence and
bidden his countrymen look the danger of it in the face, deemed worthy
to be the first to govern the State which he had called into being. All
the colonies except Pennsylvania and Maryland followed the example of
Virginia, and when, on July 1st, the motion for independence was laid
before the Congress, the delegates of nine colonies were pledged to vote
in its favor. The delegates of Pennsylvania and Maryland were divided,
those of South Carolina unanimously opposed independence. The New York
delegates were all in favor of independence, and represented the opinion
of the colony, but could not vote, as their convention had not yet been
duly elected. When the question came forward for decision next day,
Dickinson, who had opposed it on the first day with great earnestness,
stayed away, as did one of his colleagues, and the vote of Pennsylvania
was altered. Another delegate arrived from Delaware, whose vote turned
the scale, and South Carolina, rather than stand alone, withdrew its
opposition. New York alone was unable to vote, and on July 2d, by the
decision of twelve colonies, without one adverse vote, it was resolved
"that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and
independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the
British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the
state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved." Seldom
was the irony of history more strikingly illustrated than when Hancock,
a rebel specially selected for proscription by the English government,
put the question to the vote, and declared the American colonies forever
independent.
Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, was selected to draw up the Declaration
which had been resolved upon. His pen had already served his country. In
1774 he had published _A Summary View of the Rights of British America_,
setting forth the dangers which menaced the country, and encouraging the
people in defence of their liberties. He had signalized himself in his
own colony by his opposition to slavery. "Wherever he was, there was
found a soul devoted to the cause of liberty, power to defend and
maintain it, and willingness to incur all its hazards."
On July 4th the Declaration was produced. It declared the abstract
principles on which their secession was justified; it then drew up an
indictment against the King, in eighteen heads, setting forth the
various ways in which he had proved himself "a tyrant unfit to be the
ruler of a free people." Finally it declared that the united colonies
were free and independent states; that the connection with Great Britain
was and ought to be totally dissolved, and that as free and independent
states, they had full power to "levy war, conclude peace, contract
alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which
independent states may of right do."
Seldom in human events do the facts of history carry their own
explanation so clearly with them. A people who had grown up gradually,
almost unconsciously, under democratic institutions, at last saw those
institutions subverted. To preserve the spirit of them, they changed
their form. We must not be misled into the error of underrating the
importance of the American struggle by any idea of the insignificance of
the issue at stake. We must not suppose that it was, as an earnest and
eloquent writer has called it, "a war for the vindication of the
principle of representative taxation." Its immediate origin, it is true,
involved no vital interest, such as often has been at stake when nations
have risen against their rulers. But "rebellions may fall out on small
occasions; they do not spring from small causes," was said by the first
and wisest of political philosophers. Taxation was, as Burke says, that
by which the colonists felt the pulse of liberty, "and as they found
that beat, they thought themselves sick or sound."
The whole key to the American Revolution lies in two facts; it was a
democratic and a conservative revolution. It was the work of the people,
and its end was to preserve, not to destroy or to construct afresh. The
policy of an early father of New England, "In a revolution burn all, and
build afresh," was far from being that of his descendants. Throughout
the whole War of Independence the colonists had a fixed known end in
view. More than that, they had already within themselves the means for
effecting that end, and making it enduring, as far as what is human can
endure. The future that they proposed to themselves was not independent
of their past: it was a fuller development of it. There was no need for
beginning with the year one, or for throwing aside as worn out anything
that their ancestors had left them. And it was essentially a democratic
revolution. Throughout, the movement came from the people. The very
blunders made by the hesitation and timidity of Congress were the
mistakes of an assembly of delegates, not of representative statesmen.
When the final step was taken, the Congress was not the originator of
it, but was little more than a mouthpiece giving expression to the
declared wishes of the nation.
DEFEAT OF BURGOYNE AT SARATOGA
A.D. 1777
SIR EDWARD SHEPHERD CREASY
Viewed by itself, the victory over Burgoyne might have
little appearance of being one of the decisive battles of
the world, among which Creasy reckons it. That it acquired
such importance was due, as Creasy himself shows, to its
direct consequences, especially its influence upon the
French. It led them to espouse the American cause, and by
their aid the Revolution was brought to a successful ending.