CHAPTER IV. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. Moultrie (moo'tri). Kosciusko (kos-si-ŭs'kō). Kălb. Sometimes De Kalb. Pulas'ki. Marquis de la Fayette (mar-kee' dê-lä-fâ-yět'). But the English form (mar'quis) is commonly used, and the French name written as one word, Lafayette. When General Howe left 30. Movements of the British. Boston he carried his army to Halifax; but it was well understood that his plan was to take possession of New York. The patriots there had been busy, ever since the fight at Concord, raising an army, and throwing up fortifications. Washington hurried forward his troops, and prepared to defend the town, and the mouth of the Hudson. June 28, Meanwhile the British had sent an expedition to secure the Southern colonies. The fleet appeared off the harbor of Charleston, but the people erected defenses with great energy. When the British made their attack, Colonel Moultrie, commanding at Sullivan's Island, gallantly repulsed them. They could not capture the town, and so sailed away for New York, where they were to join Howe. 1776. 31. The Formation of States. All this time the Continental Congress was in session at Philadelphia. Heretofore each colony had been governed in the name of the king; courts were held and the laws were executed in his name. Now that there was open rebellion against the king's authority, all this must be changed. The people had their legislatures; they had all the machinery of government; and by the advice of the Continental Congress the colonies quickly formed themselves into States. March, 1776. South Carolina was the first to adopt a constitution for its government. It did this with the distinct purpose of carrying on the government only till there should be reconciliation with England, for which it still hoped. Rhode Island was the first publicly to declare its absolute independence of the crown. Immediately afterwards the Continental Congress advised all the colonies to set up their own governments. Before the close of 1776, six of the colonies had adopted State constitutions. Three others did the same in 1777. Two only, Connecticut and Rhode Island, continued into the present century to carry on their governments under the old royal charters; but they omitted the king's name from legal and business papers. May 16, 1776. 32. The Question of Independence. -Some of the colonies when they became transformed into States instructed their delegates in Congress to declare for independence. Still there were many persons who clung to the hope that difficulties might yet be settled, and the old relations with England restored. One of the most effective arguments employed in favor of independence was a small pamphlet by Thomas Paine, to which he gave the name Common Sense.1 On the seventh day of June, 1776, Richard Henry Lee, acting under instructions from Virginia, submitted this resolution. to Congress, "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." Thereupon Congress agreed to consider definitely the question of independence, but it took a recess of three weeks to give the delegates an opportunity to go back to the people and 1 The pamphlet was published anonymously. It had a good deal of foolish abuse, but it argued that common sense should lead the Americans to seek independence, and it pointed out that inasmuch as the Americans acknowledged the king, though they were fighting to resist Parliament, no foreign nation would interfere in their behalf. The essay was written in plain, direct English, which made it very popular and intelligible. learn what was the general judgment. When the members returned to their seats, there was no longer any doubt what course should be pursued. In different parts of the country, in town meetings, county meetings, and provincial congresses, resolutions were passed declaring that the time had come for the colonies to separate from Great Britain. 33. The Declaration of Independence. The delegates were by no means unanimous. There were able men who still urged more moderation. John Dickinson, of Pennsylvania, advised a more solid confederation first. But the great fact remained that all the colonies had practically become independent. On the second day of July, 1776, a final vote was taken, and Congress adopted a Declaration of Independence, written mainly by Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia.1 It declared what were the natural rights of all men; it recited the acts of George III., King of Great Britain, by which he had abused his authority over the colonies and deprived them of their rights and authority. It reminded the world how patiently the colonies had borne their injuries. It told of the petitions they had addressed to the king, which had no answer except new injuries. It showed that the colonies had appealed, not to the king only, but to their brethren, the people of England; but that all had been in vain. Therefore, as representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in general congress assembled, the delegates published this declaration of the independence of the States. 1 Thomas Jefferson was born in Albemarle Co., Virginia, April 2, 1743. He was a graduate of William and Mary College, where he was a hard student as well as a good horseman and hunter, and what was less common, an excellent performer on the violin. His father died in his early manhood, and Jefferson came into the management of a large estate. He took his seat with Washington in the Virginia House of Burgesses, and on becoming a public man he made a resolution which, fifty years after, he said he had always kept, never to engage while in public office in any kind of enterprise for the improvement of my fortune." His marriage brought him still more wealth. In January, 1779, he was governor of Virginia, and this history refers to him more than once. He was a man of scientific habit of mind, and one of his most useful contributions was our decimal system of coinage. See Morse's Thomas Jefferson. 66 They appealed to the Supreme Judge of the world, and ended with these words: "With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor" (see Appendix). The Fourth of July, 1776. - The Declaration was agreed to on the 4th of July. Later in the session it was signed by John Hancock of Massachusetts, President of Congress, and by fiftyfive delegates from the thirteen colonies. Every man who signed it knew that if independence were not secured he would be in peril of being hanged as a rebel and traitor.1 A great crowd was gathered before the State House in Philadelphia, where Congress held its sessions. From the balcony the Declaration of Independence was read, and the bell in the tower rang out the news. From that time the State House began to be called Independence Hall. The 4th of July has ever since been celebrated as the birthday of the nation. One important consequence of the formal Declaration of Independence was that it divided the people of the country into patriots and loyalists. No one could any longer persuade himself that he was a loyal John Hancock. Born 1737; died 1793. subject of Great Britain when he was making war upon her. 34. The Loyalists. In the eyes of Great Britain those who called themselves patriots in America were rebels; the real patriots were the loyalists. Many of these were sincere well 1 John Hancock's signature was a very bold one, and he said the King of England could read it without spectacles. When the members were about to sign, Hancock said: "We must be unanimous; there must be no pulling different ways; we must all hang together." "Yes," said Franklin, "we must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately." One of the signatures, that of Charles Carroll of Maryland, was that of a partly palsied hand and looked thus rather trembling. The story goes that some one jocosely remarked this, and Carroll added to the signature of Carrollton" that there might be no mistake as to who he was. 66 |