may come when Parliament shall declare every American charter void, but the natural, inherent, and inseparable rights of the colonists as men and as citizens would remain and whatever became of charters can never be abolished until the general conflagration." Of the same opinion was the young and impetuous Alexander Hamilton. "The sacred rights of mankind," he exclaimed," are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written as with a sunbeam in the whole volume of human destiny by the hand of divinity itself, and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power." Firm as the American leaders were in the statement and defense of their rights, there is every reason for believing that in the beginning they hoped to confine the conflict to the realm of opinion. They constantly avowed that they were loyal to the king when protesting in the strongest language against his policies. Even Otis, regarded by the loyalists as a firebrand, was in fact attempting to avert revolution by winning concessions from England. "I argue this cause with the greater pleasure," he solemnly urged in his speech against the writs of assistance, "as it is in favor of British liberty . . . and as it is in opposition to a kind of power, the exercise of which in former periods cost one king of England his head and another his throne." Burke Offers the Doctrine of Conciliation. The flooding tide of American sentiment was correctly measured by one Englishman at least, Edmund Burke, who quickly saw that attempts to restrain the rise of American democracy were efforts to reverse the processes of nature. He saw how fixed and rooted in the nature of things was the American spirit - how inevitable, how irresistible. He warned his countrymen that there were three ways of handling the delicate situation - and only three. One was to remove the cause of friction by changing the spirit of the colonists an utter impossibility because that spirit was grounded in the essential circumstances of American life. The second was to prosecute American leaders as criminals; of this he begged his countrymen to beware lest the colonists declare that "a government against which a claim of liberty is tantamount to high treason is a government to which submission is equivalent to slavery." The third and right way to meet the problem, Burke concluded, was to accept the American spirit, repeal the obnoxious measures, and receive the colonies into equal partnership. Events Produce the Great Decision. The right way, indicated by Burke, was equally impossible to George III and the majority in Parliament. To their narrow minds, American opinion was contemptible and American resistance unlawful, riotous, and treasonable. The correct way, in their view, was to dispatch more troops to crush the "rebels "; and that very act took the contest from the realm of opinion. As John Adams said: "Facts are stubborn things." Opinions were unseen, but marching soldiers were visible to the veriest street urchin. "Now," said Gouverneur Morris, "the sheep, simple as they are, cannot be gulled as heretofore." It was too late to talk about the excellence of the British constitution. If any one is bewildered by the controversies of modern historians as to why the crisis came at last, he can clarify his understanding by reading again Edmund Burke's stately oration, On Conciliation with America. References G. L. Beer, British Colonial Policy (1754-63). E. Channing, History of the United States, Vol. III. R. Frothingham, Rise of the Republic. G. E. Howard, Preliminaries of the Revolution (American Nation Series). J. K. Hosmer, Samuel Adams. J. T. Morse, Benjamin Franklin. M. C. Tyler, Patrick Henry. J. A. Woodburn (editor), The American Revolution (Selections from the English work by Lecky). Questions 1. Show how the character of George III made for trouble with the colonies. 2. Explain why the party and parliamentary systems of England favored the plans of George III. 3. How did the state of English finances affect English policy? 4. Enumerate five important measures of the English government affecting the colonies between 1763 and 1765. Explain each in detail. 5. Describe American resistance to the Stamp Act. What was the outcome? 6. Show how England renewed her policy of regulation in 1767. 9. Contrast "constitutional" with "natural" rights. 10. What solution did Burke offer? Why was it rejected? C Research Topics Powers Conferred on Revenue Officers by Writs of Assistance. See a writ in Macdonald, Source Book, p. 109. The Acts of Parliament Respecting America. Macdonald, pp. 117 146. Assign one to each student for report and comment. Source Studies on the Stamp Act. Contemporaries, Vol. II, pp. 394–412. Hart, American History Told by Source Studies of the Townshend Acts. Hart, Vol. II, pp. 413–433. American Principles. - Prepare a table of them from the Resolutions of the Stamp Act Congress and the Massachusetts Circular. Macdonald, pp. 136-146. An English Historian's View of the Period. England, Chap. X. English Policy Not Injurious to America. pp. 85-121. A Review of English Policy. can People, Vol. II, pp. 129–170. -Green, Short History of Callender, Economic History, Woodrow Wilson, History of the Ameri The Opening of the Revolution. - Elson, History of the United States, pp. 220-235. CHAPTER VI THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION RESISTANCE AND RETALIATION The Continental Congress. When the news of the "intolerable acts" reached America, every one knew what strong medicine Parliament was prepared to administer to all those who resisted its authority. The cause of Massachusetts became the cause of all the colonies. Opposition to British policy, hitherto local and spasmodic, now took on a national character. To local committees and provincial conventions was added a Continental Congress, appropriately called by Massachusetts on June 17, 1774, at the instigation of Samuel Adams. The response to the summons was electric. By hurried and irregular methods delegates were elected during the summer, and on September 5 the Congress duly assembled in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia. Many of the greatest men in America were there George Washington and Patrick Henry from Virginia and John and Samuel Adams from Massachusetts. Every shade of opinion was represented. Some were impatient with mild devices; the majority favored moderation. The Congress drew up a declaration of American rights and stated in clear and dignified language the grievances of the colonists. It approved the resistance to British measures offered by Massachusetts and promised the united support of all sections. It prepared an address to King George and another to the people of England, disavowing the idea of independence but firmly attacking the policies pursued by the British government. The Non-Importation Agreement. The Congress was not content, however, with professions of faith and with petitions. It took one revolutionary step. It agreed to stop the importation of British goods into America, and the enforcement of this agreement it placed in the hands of local "committees of safety and inspection," to be elected by the qualified voters. The significance of this action is obvious. Congress threw itself athwart British law. It made a rule to bind American citizens and to be carried into effect by American officers. It set up a state within the British state and laid down a test of allegiance to the new order. The colonists, who up to this moment had been wavering, had to choose one authority or the other. They were for the enforcement of the non-importation agreement or they were against it. They either bought English goods or they did not. In the spirit of the toast" May Britain be wise and America be free" the first Continental Congress adjourned in October, having appointed the tenth of May following for the meeting of a second Congress, should necessity require. Lord North's "Olive Branch." When the news of the action of the American Congress reached England, Pitt and Burke warmly urged a repeal of the obnoxious laws, but in vain. All they could wring from the prime minister, Lord North, was a set of "conciliatory resolutions" proposing to relieve from taxation any colony that would assume its share of imperial defense and make provision for supporting the local officers of the crown. This "olive branch" was accompanied by a resolution assuring the king of support at all hazards in suppressing the rebellion and by the restraining act of March 30, 1775, which in effect destroyed the commerce of New England. Bloodshed at Lexington and Concord (April 19, 1775). Meanwhile the British authorities in Massachusetts relaxed none of their efforts in upholding British sovereignty. General Gage, hearing that military stores had been collected at Concord, dispatched a small force to seize them. By this act he precipitated the conflict he had sought to avoid. At Lexington, on the road to Concord, occurred "the little thing" that produced "the great event." An unexpected collision beyond |