"But will they dare to sign it?"
"Dare? They dare not do otherwise."
Inside the hall grave men were discussing the acts of the King of
England.
"He has cut off our trade with all parts of the world," said one.
"He has forced us to pay taxes without our consent," said another.
"He has sent his soldiers among us to burn our towns and kill our
people," said a third.
"He has tried to make the Indians our enemies," said a fourth.
"He is a tyrant and unfit to be the ruler of a free people," agreed they
all.
And then everybody was silent while one read: "We, therefore, the
representatives of the United States of America, solemnly publish and
declare that the united colonies are, and of right ought to be, _free
and independent states_"
Soon afterward the bell in the high tower above the hall began to ring.
"It is done!" cried the people. "They have signed the Declaration of
Independence."
"Yes, every colony has voted for it," said those nearest the door. "The
King of England shall no longer rule over us."
And that was the way in which the United States came into being. The
thirteen colonies were now thirteen states.
Up to this time Washington and his army had been fighting for the rights
of the people as colonists. They had been fighting in order to oblige
the king to do away with the unjust laws which he had made. But now they
were to fight for freedom and for the independence of the United States.
By and by you will read in your histories how wisely and bravely
Washington conducted the war. You will learn how he held out against the
king's soldiers on Long Island and at White Plains; how he crossed the
Delaware amid floating ice and drove the English from Trenton; how he
wintered at Morristown; how he suffered at Valley Forge; how he fought
at Germantown and Monmouth and Yorktown.
There were six years of fighting, of marching here and there, of
directing and planning, of struggling in the face of every
discouragement.
Eight years passed, and then peace came, for independence had been won,
and this our country was made forever free.
On the 2d of November, 1783, Washington bade farewell to his army. On
the 23d of December he resigned his commission as commander-in-chief.
There were some who suggested that Washington should make himself king
of this country; and indeed this he might have done, so great was the
people's love and gratitude.
But the great man spurned such suggestions. He said, "If you have any
regard for your country or respect for me, banish those thoughts and
never again speak of them."
* * * * *