Chapter XXVII: Section 16: That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, (1)

and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practise Christian forbearance, love and charity towards each other.

* * * * *

[The failure of historians to give due credit to this bill of rights is remarkable. I call attention to two illustrations.

(1) Cushing's _Transition from Provincial to Commonwealth Government in Massachusetts_ (Columbia University Studies, VII, 1896) states incorrectly (p. 246, note 1) that the constitution of Virginia contained no preamble (cf. No. 137 below): and, on page 247 and notes, it quotes precedents from the Maryland bill of rights instead of from the Virginia document from which the Maryland statement was taken; while page 248, in referring to "others [than Massachusetts that] realized keenly the vital importance of a clear and abiding statement of the immunities and privileges of man in civil society," adds the note: "A Declaration of Rights was adopted by Delaware, Maryland, New Hampshire (1784), North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont, _and_ Virginia" (!) The order of statement is ingeniously misleading. All the others named drew mainly from the one named last.

(2) Merriam's _History of American Political Theories_ (1902) contains several such misleading statements. On page 49, to illustrate the fact that some State constitutions (as well as the Declaration of Independence) asserted the doctrine of "inalienable rights," including "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," reference is made in detail to the New Hampshire bill of rights (eight years later than the Declaration), but not at all to the Virginia bill of rights, which preceded the Continental Declaration. So, too, especially on page 153, a footnote is inserted expressly to show how the idea of "frequent recurrence to fundamental principles" was often expressed in Revolutionary State constitutions, as follows: "Massachusetts (1780), Art. 18; Pennsylvania (1776), Art. 14; New Hampshire, Art. 38; North Carolina, Art. 21; Vermont, Art. 16." Would it not have been well to recognize in such a list the State in whose constitution the phrase was first used?]

137. The First Declaration of Independence by a State

_Preamble to the Virginia Constitution, June 29, 1776_

The Virginia constitution, adopted on June 29, 1776, consisted of
three parts: (1) a declaration of independence; (2) the bill of
rights; (3) the frame of government. The original intention (No.
135, close) had been to include the last two only, and to leave
the declaration of independence to Congress. But on June 24, when
the convention had nearly completed its consideration of the
constitution, it received from Jefferson a draft of a constitution
prefaced by a declaration of independence. Of the adoption of this
preface, Jefferson wrote in 1825:

"I was then at Philadelphia ... knowing that the Convention of
Virginia was engaged in forming a plan of government, I turned my
mind to the same subject, and drew a sketch ... of a Constitution
with a preamble, which I sent to Mr. Pendleton, president of the
Convention ... He informed me ... that he received it on the day
on which the Committee of the Whole had reported to the House the
plan they had agreed to; and that it had been so long in hand,
so disputed inch by inch ... that they were worried with the
contentions it had produced, and could not, from mere lassitude,
have been induced to open the instrument again; but that, being
pleased with the Preamble to mine, they adopted it in the House,
by way of amendment to the report of the committee [June 29]; and
thus my Preamble was tacked to the work of George Mason, ... _The
Preamble was prior in composition to the Declaration_ [of July
4]."[132]

Whereas George Guelf, king of Great Britain ... and heretofore entrusted with the exercise of the kingly office in this government [Virginia], hath endeavored to pervert the same into a detestable and insupportable tyranny:

by putting his negative on laws the most wholesome and necessary
for the public good;

by ... [21 indictments follow--similar to the charges in the
Declaration soon after adopted at Philadelphia] by which
several acts of mis-rule the said George Guelf has forfeited
the kingly office, and has rendered it necessary for the
preservation of the people that he should be immediately
deposed from the same....

Be it therefore enacted by the authority of the people that the said George Guelf be, and he hereby is deposed from the kingly office within this government, and absolutely divested of all its rights, powers, and prerogatives: and that he and his descendants, and all persons acting by or through him, and all other persons whatsoever, shall be and forever remain incapable of the same: and that the said office shall henceforth cease, and never more either in name or substance be reestablished within this colony.

138. Revolutionary State Governments

_a. Recommendation of Congress, May 15, 1776_

_Journals of Congress_ (Ford edition), V, 357 ff.

IN CONGRESS, May 15, 1776.

_Whereas_, his Britannic majesty, in conjunction with the lords and commons of Great Britain, has, by a late act of parliament, excluded the inhabitants of these united colonies from the protection of his crown--And whereas no answer whatever to the humble petitions of the colonies for redress of grievances and reconciliation with Great Britain, has been, or is likely to be given, but the whole force of that kingdom, aided by foreign mercenaries, is to be exerted for the destruction of the good people of these colonies--and whereas it appears absolutely irreconcilable to reason and good conscience, for the people of these colonies NOW to take the oaths and affirmations necessary for the support of any government under the crown of Great Britain; =and it is necessary that the exercise of every kind of authority under the said crown should be totally suppressed, and all the powers of government exerted under the authority of the people of the colonies=, for the preservation of internal peace, virtue, and good order, as well as for the defence of their lives, liberties and properties, against the hostile invasions and cruel depredations of their enemies--Therefore,

=_Resolved_, That it be recommended to the respective assemblies, and conventions, of the united colonies, where no government sufficient to the exigencies of their affairs has been heretofore established, to adopt such government as shall, in the opinion of the representatives of the people, best conduce to the happiness and safety of their constituents in particular, and America in general.=

_b. John Adams' Comment upon the Bearing of that Action (#a# above) upon Independence_

_Letters of John Adams to His Wife_, I, 109-111. Adams had been
the special champion of the action finally recommended by Congress
as above. On the following Sunday, he wrote as follows of that
memorable action, and of the earlier action in South Carolina in
adopting a _temporary_ government of its own.

_John Adams to Abigail Adams_

Philadelphia, May 17, 1776.

I have this morning heard Mr. Duffield, upon the signs of the times. ... He concluded, that the course of events indicated strongly the design of Providence, that we should be separated from Great Britain, etc....

Is it not a saying of Moses, "who am I, that I should go in and out before this great people?" When I consider the great events which are passed, and those greater which are rapidly advancing, and that I may have been instrumental in touching some springs, and turning some small wheels, which have had and will have such effects, I feel an awe upon my mind, which is not easily described. Great Britain has at last driven America to the last step, a complete separation from her; a total absolute independence, not only of her Parliament, but of her crown, _for such is the amount of the resolve of the 15th. Confederation among ourselves, or alliances with foreign nations, are not necessary to a perfect separation from Britain. That is effected by extinguishing all authority under the crown, Parliament, and nation, as the resolution for instituting governments has done, to all intents and purposes._ Confederation will be necessary for our internal concord, and alliances may be so for our external defence.

_I have reasons to believe that no colony, which shall assume a government under the people, will give it up._ There is something very unnatural and odious in a government a thousand leagues off. A whole government of our own choice, managed by persons whom we love, revere, and can confide in, has charms in it, for which men will fight. Two young gentlemen from South Carolina in this city, who were in Charlestown when their new constitution was promulgated, and when their new Governor and Council and Assembly walked out in procession, attended by the guards, company of cadets, light horse, etc., told me, that they were beheld by the people with transports and tears of joy. The people gazed at them with a kind of rapture. They both told me, that the reflection, that these were gentlemen whom they all loved, esteemed and revered, gentlemen of their own choice, whom they could trust, and whom they could displace, if any of them should behave amiss, affected them so, that they could not help crying. _They say, their people will never give up this government. ..._

139. Instructions by "State" Conventions _against_ Independence (January-May, 1776)

_Proceedings of the Conventions of Maryland in 1774, 1775, and
1776_, pages 82-84, 140-142, 176.

Similar instructions were given in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

(1) _In Convention, January 12th,_

To the honorable Matthew Tilgham, Esq., Thomas Jefferson, Jr., Robert Goldsborough, William Paca, Samuel Chase, Thomas Stone, Robert Alexander, and John Rogers, Esquires.

The convention taking into their most serious consideration the present state of the unhappy dispute between Great Britain and the united colonies, think it proper to deliver you their sentiments, and to instruct you in certain points, relative to your conduct in congress, as representatives of this province.

The experience we and our ancestors have had of the mildness and equity of the English constitution, under which we have grown up to and enjoyed a state of felicity, not exceeded among any people we know of, until the grounds of the present controversy were laid by the ministry and parliament of Great Britain, has most strongly endeared to us that form of government from whence these blessings have been derived, and makes us ardently wish for a reconciliation with the mother country, upon terms that may insure to these colonies an equal and permanent freedom.

To this constitution we are attached, not merely by habit, but by principle, being in our judgments persuaded [that] it is of all known systems best calculated to secure the liberty of the subject, to guard against despotism on the one hand, and licentiousness on the other.

Impressed with these sentiments, we warmly recommend to you, to keep constantly in your view the avowed end and purpose for which these colonies originally associated,--the redress of American grievances and [the] securing the rights of the colonists.

* * * * *

We further instruct you, =_that you do not without the previous knowledge and approbation of the convention of this province, assent to any proposition to declare these colonies independent of the crown of Great Britain, nor to any proposition for making or entering into alliance with any foreign power, nor to any union or confederation of these colonies_=, which may necessarily lead to a separation from the mother country, unless in your judgments of any four of you, or of a majority of the whole of you, if all shall be then attending in congress, it shall be thought absolutely necessary for the preservation of the liberties of the united colonies; and =_should a majority of the colonies in congress, against such your judgment, resolve to declare these colonies independent of the crown of Great Britain, or to make or enter into alliance with any foreign power, or into any union or confederation of these colonies, which may necessarily lead to a separation from the mother country, then we instruct you immediately to call the convention of this province, and repair thereto with such proposition and resolve, and lay the same before the said convention, for their consideration, and this convention will not hold this province bound by such majority in congress, until the representative body of the province in convention assent thereto._=

Desirous as we are of peace with Great Britain upon safe and honourable terms, we wish you nevertheless, and instruct you to join with the other colonies in such military operations as may be judged proper and necessary for the common defence, until such a peace can be happily obtained.

[May 15, came the recommendation of Congress for extinguishing
all authority under the British crown and the setting up of
state governments (No. 138_a_ above), and also the instructions
of the Virginia Convention for Independence and Confederation.
The response in Maryland was merely a repetition of her previous
instructions, in the passage given below. Note the jealous
disposition to deny authority to Congress and to resent the wording
of its recommendations.]

(2) _Tuesday, May 21, 1776_

* * * * *

The convention took into their consideration the report from the committee appointed to report on the resolution of congress of the 15th instant, and thereupon came to the following resolutions.

_Resolved unanimously_, That the people of this province have the sole and exclusive right of regulating the internal government and police of this province.

* * * * *

_Resolved unanimously_, That this province has hitherto exerted itself, and will upon all occasions continue to exert itself, with cheerfulness and alacrity, in the common cause, agreeable to the faith pledged in the union of the colonies: and _if it shall appear to this province_ necessary to enter into a further compact for the preservation of the constitutional rights of America, this province will enter into such further engagement for that purpose.

_Resolved unanimously_, That this convention, by a resolution of the 15th day of this instant, hath made sufficient provision to prevent a necessity for any person within this province now taking the oaths for the support of government under the crown of Great Britain, and that it is the opinion of this convention, that =_it is not necessary that the exercise of every kind of authority under the said crown should be now totally suppressed_= in this province, and all the powers of government exerted under the authority of the people.

* * * * *

_Resolved unanimously_, That as this convention is firmly persuaded that a re-union with Great Britain on constitutional principles would most effectually secure the rights and liberties, and increase the strength and promote the happiness of the whole empire, objects which this province hath ever had in view, =_the said deputies are bound and directed to govern themselves by the instructions given to them by this convention in its session of December[133] last, in the same manner as if the said instructions were particularly repeated_=.

[These instructions continued in force until revoked on _June_ 28 as follows:]

(3) _Resolved unanimously_, That the instructions given by the convention of December last (and renewed by the convention in May) to the deputies of this colony in Congress be recalled, and the restrictions therein contained removed; and that the deputies of this colony attending in Congress ... be authorized and empowered to concur with the =_other_=[134] united colonies, or a majority of them, in declaring the united colonies free and independent states, in forming such further compact and confederation between them, in making foreign alliances, and in adopting such other measures as shall be judged necessary for securing the liberties of America; and this colony will hold itself bound[135] by the resolutions of a majority of the united colonies in the premises: provided the sole and exclusive right of regulating the internal government and police of this colony be reserved to the people thereof.

140. Motion in Congress for Independence

_Journals of Congress_, V, 425. In obedience to the instructions
from the Virginia Convention, Richard Henry Lee, on June 7,
moved in Congress the following resolutions. After delays, to
permit certain delegates to secure permission for their colonial
assemblies, the resolution was finally adopted July 2, by the vote
of all colonies but New York. For further detail, cf. _American
History and Government_, # 150.

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 it is expedient forthwith to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign alliances.

That a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the respective colonies for their consideration.

141. The Continental Declaration of Independence

While the debate was proceeding on Lee's resolutions (No. 140), to
save time, in case those resolutions should be adopted, Congress
appointed a committee (Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin
Franklin, Roger Sherman, and R. R. Livingston) to draft a full
"Declaration of Independence." Jefferson, the member from the
colony which had moved the resolution,[136] was naturally made
chairman and drew the document, which with slight modification
was presented to Congress on June 28. After the adoption of the
resolutions on July 2, this formal Declaration was taken up by
Congress, considered on the 2d, 3d, and 4th of July, and passed.
August 2, a copy, engrossed on parchment, was signed by the members
of Congress there present. Other signatures were added later until
all thirteen States were represented. The following capitalization,
paragraphing, and punctuation follow the original parchment.

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA

#When# in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.--We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.--That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such forms, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.--He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.--He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.--He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.--He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.--He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.--He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.--He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.--He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.--He has made Judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.--He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our People, and eat out their substance.--He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislature.--He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.--He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their acts of pretended legislation:--For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:--For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:--For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:--For imposing taxes on us without our Consent:--For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:--For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offence:--For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:--For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:--For suspending our own Legislature, and declaring themselves invested with Power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.--He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.--He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.--He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.--He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.--He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions. In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.--

#We, therefore,# the Representatives of the #united States of America#, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and 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; and that as FREE and INDEPENDENT STATES, they have 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.--And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

JOHN HANCOCK.

[Signatures of the other representatives of the thirteen States.]

142. Anti-Social Tendencies of the Pre-Revolutionary Measures

_a. Closing of the Courts_

From "Passages from an Autobiography" in John Adams' _Works_ (II,
420-421).

The passage illustrates one of the forces that drove many of the
respectable classes into Tory ranks.

* * * * *

An event of the most trifling nature in appearance, and fit only to excite laughter in other times, struck me into a profound reverie, if not a fit of melancholy. I met a man who had sometimes been my client, and sometimes I had been against him. He, though a common horse-jockey, was sometimes in the right, and I had commonly been successful in his favor in our courts of law. He was always in the law, and had been sued in many actions at almost every court. As soon as he saw me, he came up to me, and his first salutation to me was, "Oh! Mr. Adams, what great things have you and your colleagues done for us! We can never be grateful enough to you. There are no courts of justice now in this Province and I hope there never will be another." Is this the object for which I have been contending? said I to myself, for I rode along without any answer to this wretch. Are these the sentiments of such people, and how many of them are there in the country? Half the nation, for what I know; for half the nation are debtors, if not more, and these have been, in all countries, the sentiments of debtors. If the power of the country should get into such hands, and there is great danger that it will, to what purpose have we sacrificed our time, health and every thing else? Surely we must guard against this spirit and these principles, or we shall repent of all our conduct. However, the good sense and integrity of the majority of the great body of the people came into my thoughts, for my relief, and the last resource was after all in a good Providence.

_b. Mob Violence, to enforce the "Association"_

From an anonymous parody, expressing the loyalist's dilemma, in
Moore's _Diary of the American Revolution_, I, 169.

To sign, or not to sign!--That is the question:
Whether 'twere better for an honest man
To sign--and so be safe; or to resolve,
Betide what will, against 'associations'
And, by retreating, shun them. To fly--I reck
Not where--and by that flight to 'scape
Feathers and tar, and thousand other ills
That Loyalty is heir to. 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To fly--to want--
To want--perchance to starve! Ay there's the rub!

* * * * *

_c. Correspondence between a Tory and a Committee_

Niles' _Principles and Acts of the Revolution_, 260-261.

I acknowledge to have wrote a piece, and did not sign it, since said to be an extract of a letter from Kent county, on Delaware, published in Humphreys' Ledger, No. 3. It was not dated from any place, and is some altered from the original. I folded it up and directed the same to J. F. and Sons. I had no intention to have it published; and further, I let them know the author thought best it should not be published; nor did I think they would.--I am sincerely sorry I ever wrote it, as also for its being published, and hope I shall be excused for this, my first breach in this way, and I intend it shall be the last.

R. H.

_To the committee of correspondence for Kent county, on Delaware. May 2d, 1775._

SIR.--The president of the committee of correspondence, by and with the advice of such other of the members of that committee as he was able to collect and consult, this day laid before the committee of inspection for this county, your letter wherein you confess yourself to be the author of the Kentish letter (commonly so called) published in 3d No. of Humphreys' Ledger.

The committee took the same into consideration, and have unanimously resolved that it is unsatisfactory, and you are requested to attend the committee at their next meeting on Tuesday the 9th inst. at French Battell's, in Dover and render such satisfaction to the committee, as will enable them to clear the good people of this county from the aspersions of that letter, and justify them in the eyes of the public.

Signed by order of the committee.

_To R. H._

GENTLEMEN.--With sorrow and contrition for my weakness and folly, I confess myself the author of the letter, from which an extract was published in the 3d No. of Humphreys' Ledger, said to be from Kent county, on Delaware; but at the same time to declare it was published without my consent, and not without some alterations.

I am now convinced that the political sentiments therein contained, were founded on the grossest error; more especially that malignant insinuation, that "if the king's standard were now erected, nine out of ten would repair to it," could not have been suggested, but from the deepest infatuation. True indeed it is, the people of this county have ever shewn a zealous attachment to his majesty's person and government, and whenever he raised his standard in a just cause, were ready to flock to it: but let the severe account I now render to an injured people, witness to the world, that none are more ready to oppose tyranny or to be first in the cause of liberty, than the inhabitants of Kent county.

Conscious that I can render no satisfaction adequate to the injury I have done my country, I can only beg the forgiveness of my countrymen, upon those principles of humanity, which may induce them to consider the frailty of human nature--and I do profess and promise, that I will never again oppose those laudable measures, necessarily adopted by my countrymen, for the preservation of American freedom: but will cooperate with them to the utmost of my abilities, in their virtuous struggle for liberty (so far as is consistent with my religious principles).

R. H.

Resolved unanimously, that the committee do think the above
recantation fully satisfactory.

THO'S. NIXON, Jr. Clerk.

_May 9th, 1775._

143. An Oath of Allegiance to a New State, 1777

A facsimile from Scharf and Westcott's _History of Philadelphia_,
I, 338.

I DO hereby CERTIFY, That Fransis Hopkinson of the City of Philad Esquire hath voluntarily taken and subscribed the Oath [or Affirmation] of Allegiance and Fidelity, as directed by an Act of General Assembly of Pennsylvania, passed the 13th day of June, A.D. 1777. Witness my hand and seal, the first day of July _A.D._ 1777

(L.S.) Jon Ord No: 662.

PRINTED BY JOHN DUNLAP.]

144. A Loyalist's Suggestion of the Danger to American Liberty in the French Alliance, 1779

Tyler's _Literary History of the Revolution_, II, 75-76. The
extracts come from a keen pamphlet by a Tory, with the style of a
"diary" of the year 1789--ten years later than the publication, to
intimate what would then be the condition in America under French
rule.

Boston, November 10, 1789.--His Excellency, Count Tyran, has this day published, by authority from his majesty, a proclamation for the suppression of heresy and establishment of the inquisition in this town, which has already begun its functions in many other places of the continent under his majesty's dominion.

The use of the Bible in the vulgar tongue is strictly prohibited, on pain of being punished by discretion of the inquisition.

November 11.--The Catholic religion is not only outwardly professed, but has made the utmost progress among all ranks of people here, owing, in a great measure, to the unwearied labors of the Dominican and Franciscan friars, who omit no opportunity of scattering the seeds of religion, and converting the wives and daughters of heretics. We hear that the building formerly called the Old South Meeting, is fitting up for a cathedral, and that several other old meeting-houses are soon to be repaired for convents.

November 12.--This day being Sunday, the famous Samuel Adams read his recantation of heresy, after which he was present at mass, and we hear he will soon receive priest's orders to qualify him for a member of the American Sorbonne....

The king has been pleased to order that five thousand of the inhabitants of Massachusetts Bay should be drafted to supply his garrisons in the West Indies; the officers for them are already arrived from France.

* * * * *

New York, November 15.--The edict for prohibiting the use of the English language, and establishing that of the French in all law proceedings, will take place on the 20th instant. At the same time, the ordinance for abolishing trials by juries, and introducing the imperial law, will begin to take effect....

November 17.--A criminal of importance, who has been long imprisoned in the New Bastille, was this day privately beheaded. He commanded the American forces against Great Britain for a considerable time, but was confined by order of the government on suspicion of possessing a dangerous influence in a country newly conquered, and not thoroughly settled.[137]...

The king has been pleased to parcel out a great part of the lands in America to noblemen of distinction, who will grant them again to the peasantry upon leases at will, with the reservation of proper rents and services.

His majesty has been graciously pleased to order that none of the natives of America shall keep any firearms in their possession, upon pain of being sentenced to the galleys....

November 22.--We hear from Williamsburg, in Virginia, that some commotions took place there when the new capitation tax was first executed. But the regiment of Bretagne, being stationed in that neighborhood, speedily suppressed them by firing upon the populace, and killing fifty on the spot. It is hoped that this example will prevent any future insurrection in that part of the country.

November 23.--His majesty has directed his viceroy to send five hundred sons of the principal inhabitants of America, to be educated in France, where the utmost care will be taken to imbue them with a regard for the Catholic faith, and a due sense of subordination to government.

145. How the Revolution set free Social Forces

David Ramsey's _History of the American Revolution_ (1789), II, 315
ff. Dr. Ramsey was a citizen of South Carolina.

When the war began, the Americans were a mass of husbandmen, merchants, mechanics, and fishermen; but the necessities of the country gave a _spring_ to the active powers of the inhabitants, and set them on thinking, speaking, and acting, in a line far beyond that to which they had been accustomed. The difference between nations is not so much owing to nature, as to education and circumstances. While the Americans were guided by the leading strings of the mother country, they had no scope nor encouragement for exertion. All the departments of government were established and executed _for_ them, but not _by_ them. In the years 1775 and 1776, the country, being suddenly thrown into a situation that needed the abilities of all its sons, these generally took their places, each according to the bent of his inclination. As they severally pursued their objects with ardor, _a vast expansion of the human mind speedily followed_. This displayed itself in a variety of ways. It was found that the talents for great stations did not differ in kind, but only in degree, from those which were necessary for the proper discharge of the ordinary business of civil society....

FOOTNOTES:

[130] For the recommendation of Congress, on this same day, regarding setting up State governments, cf. _American History and Government_, # 148. (For earlier recommendations as to temporary governments, cf. _ib._) This action, of course, was not known in Virginia when this Convention took action regarding independence and a permanent State constitution.

[131] The sixth article seems to have been designed by George Mason, who drew it, as an argument for extending the franchise to heads of families. Mason drew also a plan for the _frame of government_, which the convention in the main adopted on _June 29_. In this plan he proposed to "extend" the franchise to leaseholders with seven-year terms, and to any "housekeeper" who was also the father of three children (Article V of Mason's Plan; printed in full in Kate Mason Rowland's _Life and Correspondence of George Mason_, I, 444 ff.). The convention, however, left the franchise as "now established by law"--on a freehold basis (_American History and Government_, ## 105, 107). Mason, in his plan, suggested graded landed qualifications for holding office: £500 freehold to act as a member of his proposed electoral college to choose state senators; £1000 freehold to sit in the lower House; £2000 freehold to sit in the upper House.

It is often said that Mason proposed a £1000-freehold qualification for the franchise. The language of Section III of his "plan," _taken by itself_, would so indicate. But the clauses III and IV are very loosely worded and punctuated; and, when they are read in conjunction with Section V, the only possible conclusion is the one stated above. In proposing so liberal a franchise, however, Mason stood alone in Virginia in his day. Even Jefferson's plan for a Virginia constitution called for "a freehold of 1/4 of an acre of land in a town, or 25 acres in the country" (_Works_, Ford edition, II, 7 ff.).

Eleven years later at the Philadelphia convention, Mason used the same language as in the Virginia bill of rights, in opposing a real-estate qualification for the national franchise; but he still advocated a landed qualification for membership in even the lower House of Congress.

[132] Jefferson's plan was indorsed. " ... It is proposed that this bill, after correction by the Convention, shall be referred by them to the people, to be assembled in their respective counties; and that the suffrages of two-thirds the counties shall be necessary to establish it." Jefferson always contended that the Virginia constitution, since it was not so submitted to popular ratification, was not a "fundamental law," but was subject to repeal, like any other statute, by ordinary legislative action. Cf. _American History and Government_, # 152.

[133] The action of January 12 in (1) above belonged to the session beginning in December.

[134] Is the following word "united" then, in this place, part of a proper noun, or merely an adjective?

[135] Would that colony have felt itself "bound" _before_ it gave them instructions, if Congress had acted on these matters? Cf. _American History and Government_, # 187, for a discussion of this and allied points.

[136] Lee was about to return to Virginia, and so was not placed on the committee.

[137] The student will see that Washington is here designated.

E. CONFEDERATION AND CONSTITUTION

XXIV. THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

146. Debates in the Continental Congress on the Articles of Confederation

John Adams (_Works_, II, 492-502) preserved fairly full notes upon
part of the discussion on the Articles. The parts dealing with
western lands, with basis of taxation, and with the equality of
the States in Congress are reproduced here. The form is rather
fragmentary; and, in some cases, allusions are made which it would
take too long to explain here. But the student can at least get the
general drift and the alignment of the States on the opposing sides.

_In Committee of the Whole_

1776. July 25. Article 14 of the confederation. Terms in this Article equivocal and indefinite.[138]

_Jefferson._ The limits of the Southern Colonies are fixed. Moves an amendment, that all purchases of lands, not within the boundaries of any Colony, shall be made by Congress of the Indians in a great Council.

_Sherman_ seconds the motion.

_Chase_ [Maryland]. The intention of this Article is very obvious and plain. The Article appears to me to be right and the amendment wrong. It is the intention of some gentlemen to limit the boundaries of particular States. No Colony has a right to go to the South Sea; they never had; they can't have. It would not be safe to the rest. It would be destructive to her sisters and to herself.

ARTICLE 15. _Jefferson._ What are reasonable limits? What security have we, that the Congress will not curtail the present settlements of the States? I have no doubt that the Colonies will limit themselves.

_Wilson._ Every gentleman has heard much of claims to the South Sea. They are extravagant. The grants were made upon mistakes. They were ignorant of the Geography. They thought the South Sea within one hundred miles of the Atlantic Ocean. It was not conceived that they extended three thousand miles. Lord Camden considers the claims to the South Sea, as what never can be reduced to practice. Pennsylvania has no right to interfere in those claims, but she has a right to say, that she will not confederate unless those claims are cut off. I wish the Colonies themselves would cut off those claims....

July 30. Article 17. "In determining questions, each Colony shall have one vote."

_Dr. Franklin._ Let the smaller Colonies give equal money and men, and then have an equal vote. But if they have an equal vote without bearing equal burthens, a confederation upon such iniquitous principles will never last long.

_Dr. Witherspoon._ [New Jersey]. We all agree that there must and shall be a confederation for this war. ... The greatest danger we have, is of disunion among ourselves. Is it not plausible that the small States will be oppressed by the great ones? The Spartans and the Helots. The Romans and their dependents. Every Colony is a distinct person....

_Clark._ We must apply for pardons if we don't confederate.

_Wilson._ We should settle upon some plan of representation.

* * * * *

_Wilson._ If the war continues two years, each soul will have forty dollars to pay of the public debt. It will be the greatest encouragement to continue slave-keeping and to increase it, that can be, to exempt them from the numbers which are to vote and pay. Slaves are taxables in the Southern Colonies. It will be partial and unequal. Some Colonies have as many black as white; these will not pay more than half what they ought.[139] Slaves prevent freemen from cultivating a country. It is attended with many inconveniences.

_Lynch_ [South Carolina]. If it is debated, whether their slaves are their property, there is an end of the confederation. Our slaves being our property, why should they be taxed more than the land, sheep, cattle, horses, etc.?

Freemen cannot be got to work in our Colonies; it is not in the ability or inclination of freemen to do the work that the negroes do. Carolina has taxed their negroes; so have other Colonies their lands.

_Dr. Franklin._ Slaves rather weaken than strengthen the State, and there is therefore some difference between them and sheep; sheep will never make any insurrections.

_Rutledge._ I shall be happy to get rid of the idea of slavery. The slaves do not signify property; the old and young cannot work. The property of some Colonies is to be taxed, in others, not. The Eastern Colonies will become the carriers for the Southern; they will obtain wealth for which they will not be taxed.

August 1. _Hooper._ North Carolina is a striking exception to the general rule that was laid down yesterday, that the riches of a country are in proportion to the numbers of inhabitants. A gentleman of three or four hundred negroes don't raise more corn than feeds them. A laborer can't be hired for less than twenty-four pounds a year in Massachusetts Bay. The net profit of a negro is not more than five or six pounds per annum. I wish to see the day that slaves are not necessary. Whites and negroes cannot work together. Negroes are goods and chattels are property. A negro works under the impulse of fear, has no care of his master's interest.[140]

_The Consideration of the Seventeenth Article resumed_

Article 17. _Dr. Franklin_ moves that votes should be in proportion to numbers. Mr. _Middleton_ moves that the vote should be according to what they pay.

_Sherman_ thinks we ought not to vote according to numbers. We are representatives of States, not individuals. States of Holland. The consent of every one is necessary. Three Colonies would govern the whole, but would not have a majority of strength to carry those votes into execution. =The vote should be taken two ways; call the Colonies, and call the individuals, and have a majority of both=.[141]

_Dr. Rush._ Abbé Raynal has attributed the ruin of the United Provinces [Netherlands] to three causes. The principal one is, that the consent of every State is necessary; the other, that the members are obliged to consult their constituents upon all occasions. We lose an equal representation; we represent the people. It will tend to keep up colonial distinctions. We are now a new nation. ... If we vote by numbers, liberty will be always safe. Massachusetts is contiguous to two small Colonies, Rhode Island and New Hampshire; Pennsylvania is near New Jersey and Delaware; Virginia is between Maryland and North Carolina. ... Montesquieu pronounces the confederation of Lycia the best that ever was made; the cities had different weights in the scale. ... I would not have it understood that I am pleading the cause of Pennsylvania; when I entered that door, I considered myself a citizen of America.

* * * * *

_G. Hopkins_ [Rhode Island]. A momentous question; many difficulties on each side; four larger, five lesser, four stand indifferent. Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, make more than half the people.

... It can't be expected that nine Colonies will give way to be governed by four. The safety of the whole depends upon the distinctions of Colonies.

_Dr. Franklin._ I hear many ingenious arguments to persuade us that an unequal representation is a very good thing. If we had been born and bred under an unequal representation, we might bear it; but to set out with an unequal representation is unreasonable. It is said the great Colonies will swallow up the less. Scotland said the same thing at the union.

* * * * *

August 2. "Limiting the bounds of States, which by charter, &c. extend to the South Sea."

_Sherman_ thinks the bounds ought to be settled. A majority of States have no claim to the South Sea. Moves this amendment to be substituted in place of this clause, and also instead of the fifteenth article;--"No lands to be separated from any State, which are already settled, or become private property."

_Chase_ [Maryland] denies that any Colony has a right to go to the South Sea.

_Harrison_ [Virginia]. How came Maryland by its land, but by its charter? By its charter, Virginia owns to the South Sea. Gentlemen shall not pare away the Colony of Virginia. Rhode Island has more generosity than to wish the Massachusetts pared away. Delaware does not wish to pare away Pennsylvania.

_Huntington._ Admit there is danger from Virginia, does it follow that Congress has a right to limit her bounds? The consequence is, not to enter into confederation....

_Stone_ [Maryland] ... Is it meant that Virginia shall sell these lands for their own emolument? All the Colonies have defended these lands against the King of Britain, and at the expense of all. Does Virginia intend to establish quit rents?...

_Jefferson._ I protest against the right of Congress to decide upon the right of Virginia. Virginia has released all claims to the land settled by Maryland, &c.

[This clause, as to limiting the western claims, was stricken
out in committee. The subsequent history of the struggle is well
known, terminating in the acts of cession of claims to the western
territory. For details, cf. _American History and Government_, ##
179-180.

Jefferson's Notes on this same debate (_Journals of Congress_, VI,
1104,--from a MS. of Jefferson's) contain the following additional
item: "_John Adams_ advocated voting in proportion to numbers. He
said that we stand here as representatives of the people; that in
some States the people are many, in others they are few ... that
the individuality of the colonies is a mere sound. ... =_It has
been said we are independent individuals making a bargain together:
the question is not what we are now, but what we ought to be when
our bargain shall be made._= The Confederacy IS TO MAKE US ONE
individual only; it is to form us, like separate parcels of metal,
into one common mass. ..."[142]]

147. Articles of Confederation.

November 15, 1777

March 2, 1781

Text from _Revised Statutes_ of 1878. For history, cf. _American
History and Government_, ## 179, 186-188 ff. The editor has used
black-faced type to indicate a few passages especially important
for study.

The Articles were adopted by Congress, and recommended to the
States, November 15, 1777. The delegates from the several States
signed as follows: New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island
and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, and South Carolina, July 9, 1778; North Carolina, July
21, 1778; Georgia, July 24, 1778; New Jersey, Nov. 26, 1778;
Delaware, May 5, 1779; Maryland, March 1, 1781. Congress met under
the Articles, March 2, 1781.

_To all to whom these Presents shall come, we the undersigned Delegates of the States affixed to our Names send greeting._

Whereas the Delegates of the United States of America in Congress assembled did on the fifteenth day of November in the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy-seven, and in the Second Year of the Independence of America, agree to certain articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States of New-Hampshire, Massachusetts-bay, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, South-Carolina and Georgia in the Words following, viz.

_Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States of New-Hampshire, Massachusetts-bay, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia._

ARTICLE I.--The stile of this Confederacy shall be, "The United States of America."

=_Art. II.--Each State retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled._=

Art. III.--The said States hereby severally enter into a =_firm league of friendship with each other_=, for their common defence, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretence whatever.

Art. IV.--The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship and intercourse among the people of the States in this Union, =_the free inhabitants of each of these states_=, paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from justice excepted, =_shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several States_=; and the people of each State shall have free ingress and egress to and from any other State, and shall enjoy therein all the privileges of trade and commerce subject to the same duties, impositions, and restrictions as the inhabitants thereof respectively; provided that such restrictions shall not extend so far as to prevent the removal of property imported into any State to any other State of which the owner is an inhabitant: provided also that no imposition, duties, or restriction shall be laid by any State on the property of the United States, or either of them.

=If any person guilty of, or charged with treason, felony, or other high misdemeanor in any State, shall flee from justice, and be found in any of the United States, he shall upon demand of the Governor or Executive power of the State from which he fled, be delivered up and removed to the State having jurisdiction of his offence.=

=Full faith and credit shall be given in each of these States to the records, acts, and judicial proceedings of the courts and magistrates of every other State.=