CHAPTER X. BIRTH OF A NEW NATION (1774-1776) 116. The First Conti nental Con THE last act of the Massachusetts House of Representatives under the old charter was to propose (June 17, 1774) a colonial congress, already informally suggested in Virginia; and delegates were appointed from all the colonies, except Georgia. This First Continental Congress met, Septem- gress (1774) ber 5, 1774, in Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, and was the most distinguished body that had ever gathered in America. Among its members were John and Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, John Jay of New York, John Dickinson of Pennsylvania, Edmund Randolph and Patrick Henry of Virginia, Charles Carroll of Maryland, and John Rutledge of South Carolina. The important action was of three kinds: (1) Congress protested in dignified and loyal phrases against the treatment of Massachusetts and of the colonies in general; they respectfully petitioned the king to remove their griev ances, and they sent out a series of addresses explaining the situation. Except a few radicals, of whom Samuel Adams was the chief, Congress hoped and expected that Great Britain would yield to this strong and united protest. (2) Congress drew up a Declaration of Rights which laid. claim to the liberties and immunities of Englishmen, including a "Right of Representation . . . in all Cases of Taxation and internal Polity, subject only to the Negative of their Sovereign"; and they enumerated various acts of Parliament which they declared were "infringements and violations of the rights of the colonists." Journals of Congress, Oct. 14, 1774 (3) On October 20, 1774, Congress drew up the "Associa tion," which was an agreement for a boycott on an immense scale: no British goods (including slaves) were to be imported or sold; and after September, 1775, no American goods were to be exported to Great Britain, Ireland, or the British West Indies. It was signed by fifty-two members and was recommended to all the colonies, most of which put it into force. Since no action by the colonies could take away the legal right of the people to buy, import, and sell British goods, the Association could be enforced only by violence. From north to south there was an era of terrorism; mob methods were called in; and he was a fortunate ship captain who, having arrived in port with a shipload of merchandise, was allowed even to sail away again with his goods on board. Meanwhile the House of Representatives of Massachusetts broke off relations with Governor Gage, organized itself as a 117. War breaks out "Provincial Congress" (October 7, 1774), and created a Committee of Safety under the chairmanship of John Hancock, which began to collect military supplies and organize "minutemen," ready to march at a minute's notice. To break up the preparations of the colonists, during the winter Gage sent and arms at various on the march; the object was to capture John Hancock and Samuel Adams, who were staying at Lexington, and to destroy military stores at Concord. At five o'clock of the morning of April 19, 1775, the British van of six companies appeared on the green at Lexington and found a line of provincial militia drawn up. To this day it is uncertain just how the fight began; an English officer who was present at the battle says, "On our approach they dispersed and soon after firing began; but which party fired first I cannot exactly say, as our troops rushed on shouting and huzzaing previous to the firing." BATTLE OF LEXINGTON, APRIL 19, 1775. From Earl's drawing, made a few days later. When the smoke cleared away, seven patriots were found killed and nine wounded. The responsibility for this outbreak of open war goes back to the king of Great Britain, who had forced matters to this issue; and is shared by men like Samuel Adams and Washington who were ready to resist the authority of the mother country rather than yield what they felt to be their rights. From Lexington the British marched seven miles to Concord, where a body of militia boldly marched down to oppose them, and beat them back at a little bridge where now stands the statue of the minuteman. Emerson "Here once the embattled farmers stood As the weary British troops 118. Union in the Sec- The Continental Congress of 1774 called a Second Continental Congress to meet in Philadelphia, May 10, 1775. It came together in what is now Independence Hall, burning with indignation over the Lexington and Concord fight; and speedily found itself the center of organization and resistance for the thirteen colonies. Without any formal authority from the colonial governments, but supported by their good will and assent, Congress made itself a national government. For example, from May to July, 1775, it forbade certain exportations, ordered a state of defense, organized a post office, voted an American continental army, appointed George Washington commander in chief, authorized bills of credit, sent a last petition to the king, and considered Franklin's scheme for a federal constitution. THE MINUTEMAN. Statue by Daniel French, on site of the battle of Concord. Congress, Congress also went into the minutiae of government. For instance, on a single day it received a petition from a loyalist parson in jail; resolved to open trade with the non-British West Indies; considered a report on a French artillery Journals of officer; advanced $400 to a Canadian prisoner; appointed a committee to investigate charges against a military officer; and fixed the pay of a regimental surgeon at $25 a month. Immediately after the battle of Lexington, virtual war began throughout the thirteen colonies, for the people of the middle and southern colonies showed their sympathy with Massachusetts by driving out their governors and setting up provincial congresses and conventions which force (1775) assumed the government. The four other continental colonies, Quebec, Nova Scotia, East Florida, and West Florida, had few English-speaking people and did not join in the revolution, though repeatedly invited to do so. 119. The The British government met the issue of war before it came, when Parliament (February 2, 1775) declared that rebellion existed. The farthest point of conciliation offered by Parliament was Lord North's resolution, to the effect that no taxes should be laid on the colonies if they would provide a revenue of their own for the common defense. The American issue of formal declaration of war was a vote of Congress setting Journals of forth the necessity of their taking up arms. "Our Congress, cause is just," said they. "Our Union is perfect. Our July 6, 1775 internal resources are great, and, if necessary, foreign Assistance is undoubtedly attainable." 120. Can ada and After the battle of Lexington and Concord, the New England militia streamed into Cambridge, and Gage was formally besieged in Boston. Ethan Allen of Vermont, without waiting for anybody's authority, surprised and captured the great fortress of Ticonderoga (May 10, 1775), with (1775-1776) an invaluable store of powder and other munitions; and that winter forty great guns from the fort were dragged across New Boston |