Letters of Delegates to Congress: Volume: 3
[January 24? 1776] (1) How far We have discharged it with skill, must be determined by You, who are our Principals and Judges, to whom We esteem it our Duty as faithful Servants, to render an Account of our Conduct, our Motives, the situation of our Affairs, and the Ends We have kept and still keep in View.(2)
We think it unnecessary to recapitulate all the Circumstances of the present unhappy Controversy with G B, previous to our appointment. They have been so frequently and fully [discussed?] in several Publications, that we shall content ourselves with recommending to your Perusal for particular Information on that subject, the Address made to You by the late Congress.
In brief, the Sentence of universal Slavery has gone forth against You, declaring, "that his Majesty in Parliament hath a Right to bind You by Statutes & Laws in all Cases whatsoever." Your Fortunes, your Liberties, your Lives-every Thing that can render You or your Posterity happy-all are the Objects of Laws: all must be enjoyed, impaired, or destroyed, as the Laws direct. From this monstrous & detestable position just [. . .] Parliament inferrs, that You are a miserable People, the lowest Class of Wretches in human shape, who have nothing, that of Right You can or ought to carry our own. All the Bounties of Nature, all the Blessings of Providence, your Health, your Strength, the Fertility of your Country, the Commerce of your ports, the Riches of your Seas & Rivers, the Profits of your Industry, Prudence & Virtue, all these they contend, were not design'd for your own Use, but for the use of those, (3) who by some inexplicable Mistery of Politics, in opposition to all Reason, Equity & Humanity, hold an unbounded & superriding Authority over your persons and consequently over every possession You have accustomed to consider as belonging to Your persons. The Acts of Parliament for taxing You against your Consent, for shutting up the Port of Boston, indemnifying the "Murderers" of the Inhabitants of the Massachusetts Bay and [altering?] their chartered Constitution of Government, for altering the Government of Quebec, thereby depriving the People of an Assembly, trials by Jury and the English Laws, and extending the Limits of that province so as to comprehend those vast Regions that lye adjoining to the northernly & westernly Boundaries of these Colonies, are all parts of the grand System of Operations lately concerted for carrying that direful Sentence into Execution with full Effect.
Before We assembled in last May, and while You were waiting patiently for the Result of his Majesty's Determinations in Parliament on the humble & dutiful Petition from the late Congress, which one of the principal Secretaries of State told our Agents, "was a decent one & had been graciously received," the answer was unexpectedly written in Letters of Blood at Lexington and Concord by the unprovoked Murder of our brave Fellow Citizens.
War having been thus wantonly and cruelly begun by our Enemies, We met together at Philadelphia.
Immediately taking the State of these Colonies into our most serious Consideration, and having no other Objects in View, than their Defence and Preservation against the Force actually employed for executing the destructive System before mentioned, and the Restoration of the former Harmony wlth G.B., these Resolutions were formed. (Here insert the Resolutions beginning with these Words, "Resolved unanimously" inclusively in pa. 62 to the Words "the King" in pa. 64-inclusively.)
Knowing, that we represented a People who preferr'd Death to servitude, a People whose Loyalty to their Sovereign and whose Affection to their British Fellow subjects on the other side of the Atlantic, all the Outrages of Administration had not extinguished, We endeavoured to combine their magnanimous and generous Sentiments in our Determinations.
In order to render your Resistance successful as to the objects of the war already pointed out, and also to defend You as much as possible from Suffering in the Course of it, we not only employed a large Army in the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, then actually invaded by your Enemies, and a smaller one in the Colony of New York, which we expected to be soon invaded; but have used our utmost Industry to put the Militia of all the Colonies upon the best footing, to import arms and military Stores from foreign Countries & to promote the Manufactory of those Articles on this Continent. We can with Truth, and with- a Pleasure of which every worthy American may be sensible, inform You, that our Counsels have been prosecuted with such spirit & Prudence by all Ranks of People, but more especially by the several Assemblies, Conventions, Councils of Safety & Committees of Observation, whose Zeal & Wisdom merit the highest Applauses from all Lovers of their Country, that these Colonies are now put into a respectable State of Defence, which will in a short Time certainly receive great Additions by the Accomplishments of some well founded Measures, of which we have not the least Reason to doubt.
These Efforts were soon attended with such Effect, that the British Army still confined within the Town of Boston & its Environs, and the Fleet sent to cooperate with it, finding the Fruits of their plundering our seacoasts too precarious and dangerous, Ships of war began to seize our vessels, carry them to Boston & take out their Cargos of provisions. It therefore became expedient to make some Regulations to prevent their receiving such supplies, which have been effectual.
The war being thus prosecuted against these Colonies by Sea as well as by Land, Several armed vessels have been fitted out by us, and many considerable Captures have been made of Transports loaded with warlike Stores and Provisions for the army in Boston.
Upon this same Principle of self preservation, founded on the Laws of Nature, and justified by the Laws of Nations, We approved of an Expedition into Canada, against the British Forces in that Province. With such a dangerous Caution did We proceed in this important Measure, that when the proposal was first made in Congress, it was rejected: But sometime after, receiving undoubted Intelligence that Governor Carleton was by every Artifice exciting our fellow subjects in Canada & the Indians to commence Hostilities, and that Administration entertained Designs and Expectations of putting these Colonies between two Fires, and even of carrying on the War by the worst of Assassinations, even those of Women & Children, in letting loose & enflaming the Tribes of Barbarians, with whom Mercy is a Reproach, We judged, that We should be impardonably criminal with Regard to You, who had put your Lives into our Hands, if We hesitated any longer to frustrate as much as We could the cruel Machinations of your Enemies.
We knew Governor Carleton's Forces were not great, but We also knew the Power vested in him by the late act of Parliament for changing the Government of that Province to be so exorbitant, that there was Reason to fear, that, if he was allowed time to strengthen himself in quiet, by using all the advantages his authority or art could give him, he would quickly grow formidable. Besides, We were convinc'd that if he requested Assistance from G.B. it would be sent to him early in the Spring; and that whenever he was fully prepared, the Storm would burst with its greatest Fury by the Way of the Lakes on the Colonies of New York, Connecticut & New Hampshire, and if the first of those Colonies should at the same Time be attacked from the Sea, he might make a very considerable Impression. Influenced by these Reasons, We directed the army in the Colony of New York, where its Reserve was not so immediately necessary, to march into Canada. You are now in Possession of the whole Province except Quebec. All the success We could expect has attended your Arms; but great as it has been, We almost regret advantages purchased at so high a Price as the Life of General Montgomery.
Several large Reinforcements are now marching into that Country, and others will soon follow them. The Inhabitants are well affected to your Cause.
The Indians in the northern, middle & southern Departments, have entered into Treaties of Friendship with You.
It seems needless to us, to give a more particular Detail of our Transactions, and the Events that have happened in Consequence of them, because they have been so regularly communicated to You in the public Prints.
Upon the whole, the situation of your Affairs at present appears to us to be so favorable, that We can look in the Face the Trials preparing for Us next spring without Terror. The Justice of your Cause is a perpetual Source of Comfort to us. We humbly hope, that the all wise and all gracious Ruler of the Universe, will bless the Means afforded you by his Goodness, and employed for the purpose of preserving the Innocent from the Fury of their unprovoked Foes. He hath declared, that he "will be a Refuge for the oppressed in Times of Trouble," and We trust in his sacred promise. But, beloved Brethren, We most earnestly beseech You, that You will not confide too much in the Injustice of your Adversaries, for a Recommendation of yourselves to the Divine protection. Let every Individual entering into a strict Examination of himself, & renouncing and repenting of his Offences, cultivate such Affections, and observe such a Tenor of Conduct for the Future, as he knows will be pleasing to the Allmighty, & may thro his infinite Mercys procure Favor to this distressed Land. We entreat You also in your applications to the Throne of Grace, to remember us, on whom You have devolved Duties so important and so difficult, and fervently to pray, that We may be endued with wisdom to conduct your Affairs in the most advantageous Manner amidst the Convulsions that now shake the British Empire to its deepest Foundations.
Upon a Review of our whole Conduct We do not recollect a single Step We have taken that appear'd so likely to draw down upon Us the Censure of our Constituents, as our Petition to the King. After so many Petitions from assemblies had been treated by Administration with such Uniformity of Contempt; after the Petition from the late Congress had been not only treated in the same Manner, but had been immediately succeeded by Fleets & Armies sent to invade Us, by the Slaughter of our Countrymen and by the Burning of Charlestown, petitioning seem'd not only to be useless, but even dangerous, as that Mode of proceeding had so recently produced additional Rage and fresh Violences on the Part of our Enemies.
However, so passionate was our Desire to stop the Effusion of British Blood by British Hands, and to bind up the wounds of this unnatural War, that We resolved once more to lay his American People in all Humility at his Majesty's Feet, and to strive, if it were possible, to frame our address in such a manner, as might procure some Degree of Attention to our Supplications. We had been well inform'd that all the Petitions from America for several Years past, had been rejected, because they insisted on Claims said to be derogatory of the Dignity and Authority of the British Crown & Parliament. We therefore determined to make an Attempt hitherto untried on this Continent, and thro the Representatives of so many united Colonies, to use a Language, which no single Colony had ever condescended to employ. Sincerely aiming at Peace & Reconciliation, We avoided every Expression, that might raise any Obstruction to the attainment of those desired Objects, by irritating Minds, however causelessly, which We wish'd to sooth into a Temper equally amicable with our own. Accordingly waving even the slightest mention of every Right & every Grievance, We confined ourselves to the measured, & even in the opinion of our Enemies, respectful Terms, of praying for "Relief from our Fears & Jealousies," and "that his Majesty would be pleased to direct some Mode, by which the united applications of his faithful Colonists, in Pursuance of their Common Councils, might be improved into a happy & permanent Reconciliation."
Thus, the injured made the first Advance for promoting Peace, which perhaps might have been made more consistently with the Character of a magnanimous Nation, by the Aggressors; and in making this proposal, tho a cruel War was then levied against Us in his Majesty's Name, yet we carried our Reverence for the royal Character so far, that sufficiently declaring our Meaning, yet We forbore using the Word Treaty, least the Term should appear too harsh, when offered by subjects to their sovereign. Nor could we devise a more dutiful and unexceptionable Method of conveying our ardent and loyal Wishes to his Majesty, than by relying on his "wisdom" for "the Direction of a Mode" that might improve the Requests of his American subjects into a perfect accommodation. It appeared to us too, a fortunate Circumstance, that our Petition would be delivered to his Majesty by so respectable a Gentleman as the honorable Richard Penn Esquire late Governor of Pennsylvania, who had taken no Part in the present unhappy Dispute.
Having in this Manner guarded aginst every Objection to the gracious Reception of our Petition, We flattered ourselves that it would produce the desired Effect. The Exception taken by some persons against the Reception of the former Petition, because a Congress is a Body not known to the Constitution, we considered as too frivolous to damp our Expectations. We all individually signed the Petition, "in behalf of ourselves and the Inhabitants of these Colonies," and our President signed as a Common Member, without the Addition of his Office. So that tho We mentioned a Matter of Fact, that the Inhabitants of these Colonies had deputed us to represent them "in general Congress," yet that Circumstance could not deprive us of the Right of petitioning, which is so solemnly recognized & established by the Bill of Rights. This Right is the same, whether the Petition be that of one or of many. The very Reason alledged in the Exception, is a Reason for receiving a Petition from a Number of his subjects, even tho they stiled their Meeting a Congress, which indeed is convertible Terms with the other: For if a Congress is a "Body not known to the Constitution," the Reception of a Petition from a Congress, is not an Acknowledgment express or implied, of any Powers, Authority or Priveledges as attended or annexed to such a Body: Whereas, on the other side, if the Framers of a Petition usurp or unjustly assume the Name or Title of a Body known to the Constitution, the general Reception of their Address might involve in it in some Degree an Acknowledgment that the Powers, Authority or Priviledges attach'd by the Constitution to such a Body, were vested in the Petitioners. Let the advocates for the mistaken Dignity of the British Government point out the constitutional Principles that warranted the Assembly of the Barons at Runnamede when Magna Charta was granted, the Convention Parliament, that restored Charles the second, and the Convention of Lords & Commons that placed William on the Throne at the Revolution. When they have done this, We shall perhaps be able to apply their Principles to prove the propriety & Legality of a Congress. (4)
As our Enemies well knew, that We were vested with the highest Trust & Power, which the Freemen of their united Colonies could delegate, and acted in pursuance of that Trust & Power for them, We were perswaded administration could not neglect a Petition in every Respect so unexceptionable, and containing such Grounds for an honourable and advantageous Accommodation with G.B. unless they were resolved to reduce Us to the unconditional submission heretofore dictated to Us, by the Edge of the Sword. This Conduct, as We had by the last Measure exhausted all peacable Modes of obtaining Redress, We were assured, would convince every Man of Sense upon the Continent, that these Colonies could only rely, in an humble Dependance on Divine Providence, upon their own virtuous & vigorous Exertions for Relief. Contrary (5)
MS (PHi). In the hand of John Dickinson.
1 The committee appointed by Congress on January 24 "to prepare an address to the inhabitants of the United Colonies" consisted of Robert Alexander, John Dickinson, James Duane, William Hooper, and James Wilson, five of the most conspicuously conservative delegates in Congress. since committees responsible for stating positions upon which Congress was to take a public stand were normally balanced to represent several points of view, the composition of this committee suggests that the majority of delegates did not expect to endorse its work. During the two weeks that had elapsed since Wilson originally introduced the motion calling for its appointment, several developments had sharply altered the chances that its report would be received favorably. The reception accorded common Sense, which was published only the day before Wilson first offered his motion, and the nearly simultaneous dissemination throughout the colonies of reports of Lord Dunmore's attack on Norfolk and General Montgomery's repulse at Quebec virtually ensured that the committee would be ignored. In any event, when the committee's report was submitted and read on February 13, it sparked little comment and was quietly tabled. In the words of Richard Smith, it "was very long, badly written and full against Independency (Wilson percieving the Majority did not relish his Address and Doctrine never thought fit to stir it again)."
Because the journals contain little information on the subject, recording nothing beyond the appointment of the committee and the submission of its report, almost everything that is known about the circumstances that led to its appointment and the delegates' reaction to its work rests upon a few references contained in the writings of a handful of delegates, although the committees report, in the hand of James Wilson, is in the PCC and was published with the journals by Worthington C. Ford in 1906. See Richard Smith's Diary, January 9, 24, and February 13; Samuel Adams to John Adams, January 15 ; and Thomas McKean to George Read, January 19, 1776, note 2. See also John Dickinson's Proposed Resolutions on a Petition to the King, January 9 24? 1776, and Notes for a Speech in Congress, January 24? 1776.
But the opening of the R. R. Logan Collection of Dickinson's papers at PHi in 1969 made available two additional documents bearing upon this episode. The longer of these is a draft in Wilson's hand of the committee's address that is essentially the same as the document Ford printed in 1906 and was undoubtedly prepared for the perusal of other committee members. It contains suggested alterations in Dickinson's hand and was endorsed by him: "Amendments of a Draft made in Congress by Mr. W. in order to prevent People inclining to a total separation from G.B." Because Wilson ignored nearly all of Dickinson's suggested deletions and incorporated fewer than half of his minor and chiefly verbal substitutions into the final report, the MS confirms that the committee's report was primarily Wilson's work. It also contains a few minor suggestions in another, unidentified hand, indicating that Wilson may have circulated it among other delegates as well but that they too contributed only slightly to the final product.
The second document, entirely in Dickinson's hand and printed here for the first time, is apparently a major fragment of an earlier draft prepared for the committee. Because little of it survives in the final report, however, its influence on Wilson's work remains obscure. Nor is it apparent why or at what stage Dickinson prepared it. There is little in the text to support the conclusion that Dickinson was asked to make the committee's first draft, and considering his eminence as a writer it seems unlikely that he would have been assigned a duty of this nature that was subsequently reassigned to another It seems more likely that he simply committed his thoughts to paper and passed them on to Wilson to use as he pleased. Although a few passages (designated in the notes below) survive nearly verbatim in Wilson's draft these do not indicate that Dickinson's contribution was a major one. The document contains few passages adding significantly to what we know about Dickinson's views through other products of his pen, but it does represent a conservative's review of the course of events of the preceding year and the steps Congress had taken to preserve American rights in the struggle with Britain. Cast in the form of a report to the delegates' constituents who are acknowledged to be the final judges of Congress' conduct, it also suggests that Dickinson hoped thereby to appeal to the American people to check a congressional majority who appeared to him to be taking needless risks and courting a confrontation that might yet be avoided if officials on both sides of the Atlantic would only recognize the merits of reconciliation.
2 See JCC, 4:134-35.
3 See JCC, 4: 136.
4 See JCC, 4:137.
5 Remainder of MS missing.
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