231. Committees of Correspondence. The colonies all had what they termed "Committees of Correspondence," and through these committees they kept one another informed by letter of what was going on. In Boston, only one town meeting a year was permitted by the governor. The citizens accordingly held one town meeting, and by adjourning from time to time made it last through all the year. Throughout the colonies first steps were being taken. They knew not whither these. steps would lead; they hoped to redress of grievances. As the result showed, they could lead only to independence. Samuel Adams, one of the leaders of the Revolutionary patriots, probably foresaw independence quite as early as any other man. His influence in shaping public sentiment for absolute independence of Great Britain was, doubtless, second to that of no one. He was born in Boston in 1722, and died there in 1803. He was graduated from Harvard when he was eighteen years old. On taking the master's degree in 1743, he discussed the affirmative of the question, "whether it be lawful to resist the supreme magistrate if the Commonwealth cannot otherwise be preserved." He was always courageous and ardent, but was also always prudent and successful in bending the wills of others to his own purposes. His prominent characteristics were "an enthusiastic love of liberty, an inextinguishable hate of tyranny, great promptness of decision, and inflexible firmness." 232. A Continental Congress proposed. On the 17th of June, 1774, Samuel Adams proposed in the Massachusetts General Court, held at Salem, that a Continental Congress should be called to meet in Philadelphia the first of September. Five delegates from Massachusetts were chosen. Two days earlier, Rhode Island had elected delegates to such a congress. 233. The Massachusetts Provincial Congress. A few months later, the House again met in Salem and resolved itself into a Provincial Congress to be joined by such other members as should be chosen. They then adjourned to Concord, and there elected John Hancock president. After transacting what business was necessary, they In The Massachusetts Seal shows the figure of an Anglo-American holding a drawn sword, with the motto "Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem." (With the sword she seeks calm peace under liberty.) The story of this motto is an interesting one. Algernon Sidney was a famous patriot in Cromwell's time. In 1659 he was one of the council of State, and he was sent to Denmark on a political mission. While there he wrote his name in the king's autograph book, and added this motto in Latin. The minister from France felt that this was an insult to the monarchs of Europe, and cut out the motto from the king's book. 1772 Sidney's works, having been out of print for a long time, were republished in a fine edition by that other famous lover of liberty, Thomas Hollis. The frontispiece was a profile likeness of Sidney, and underneath it was told this story of the Latin motto. Hollis was a great friend and benefactor of Harvard College, and he sent over a copy of this book, and presented it to the Harvard Library. There it fell under the eyes of the Massachusetts patriots. Its sentiment so neatly expressed their own thought, and was so applicable to the time and the conditions surrounding them, that they promptly adopted it for the motto of this new Commonwealth. It has never been changed, and will doubtless go down to the centuries to come, perpetuating the sentiment so dear to the heart of that famous liberty-loving patriot of Cromwell's time. adjourned to Cambridge, and there, October 21st, 1774, a committee drew up a plan for the immediate defence of the colony. A committee of safety was appointed to attend to all military matters, and a committee of supplies to furnish resources for the committee of safety. 234. Massachusetts raises an Army.— In November, this Congress decided to raise an army of twelve thousand men, and appointed proper officers for it. Thus a revolutionary government was in full operation in Massachusetts. The drift toward revolution was apparent in every colony. The Provincial Congress remained the government of the people in Massachusetts until the 19th of July, 1775, when it dissolved itself, and a new House of Representatives, whose members had been chosen by the several towns, according to their usage and their charter, organized, by choosing James Warren as speaker. James Bowdoin was made president. The present seal of the Commonwealth was adopted. 235. The First Congress. The first Continental Congress met in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, on the 5th of September, 1774. This Congress resulted from an almost universal and simultaneous demand from the various colonies. The first call came from Virginia. 236. Proposed by Massachusetts. The Massachusetts General Court, at Salem, on June 17th, appointed five delegates to a Congress "That might be convened the first of September at Philadelphia." All the colonies except Georgia appointed delegates. This Congress included many sagacious men, well versed in governmental affairs. Among them may be named George Washington, Richard Henry Lee, Peyton Randolph, Patrick Henry, and Benjamin Harrison, of Virginia; Samuel Adams and John Adams, of Massachusetts; John Dickinson, of Pennsylvania; Christopher Gadsden and John Rutledge, of South Carolina; Dr. John Witherspoon, President of the College of New Jersey; Stephen Hopkins, of Rhode Island; Roger Sherman, of Connecticut; and John Jay, of New York. 237. What it Did.-All votes taken by this Congress were by States, every State having one vote. John Hancock. (After a painting by J. Singleton Copley in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.) The important action was as follows: 1. A declaration of rights. 2. An agreement to stop exports to Great Britain and imports from there, and to discontinue the slave trade after the first of December. 3. An address to the British people. 4. A petition to the king. 5. The formation of the "American Association." 6. An address to the people of Canada, Nova Scotia, and the Floridas. 7. A provision for another Congress, to be held in May, 1775. 238. How it was Done. The business of this Congress was executed with remarkable skill. William Pitt said: "For solidity of reason, force of sagacity, and wisdom of conclusion under a combination of difficult circumstances, no nation or body of men can stand in preference to the General Congress at Philadelphia. The histories of Greece and Rome give us nothing equal to it, and all attempts to impose servitude upon such a mighty continental nation. must be in vain." CHAPTER XXXV. THE FIRST ARMED RESISTANCE. 239. Resistance. The king and his prime minister were bent on subduing the colonies. They thought the task would be an easy one. The appeal of the Continental Congress to the king was as idle as the wind. But all the colonies were solid in their determination that they would never submit to the king's arbitrary measures. Patrick Henry in Virginia, and Samuel Adams in Massachusetts, lighted the torch of liberty for the South and the North, preceding the American Revolution. Henry was born in 1736, and died in 1799. He was a good Latin scholar, and acquired some proficiency in mathematics before he was fifteen years of age. He was admitted to the bar at the age of twentyfour years. His famous speech against the Stamp Act gave him a great reputation throughout the country. He was a member of the Continental Congress in 1774, of which he was the first speaker. His eloquence astonished all, and he soon took rank as the greatest American orator. He caused the colony of Virginia to be put in a thorough state of defence. He was the first Republican governor of his State, serving from 1776 to 1779. After the close of the war he was again governor until 1786. In 1788 he was a member of the State Convention which ratified the National Constitution, which he opposed with all his eloquence and strength. He declined high offices under the Federal government, offered him by Washington and by Adams. (See his "Life and Times," in two volumes, by his grandson, William Wirt Henry.) 240. Independence foreseen. Here and there one among the leaders was able to see that a revolution was inevitable. James Otis, Samuel Adams, and Joseph Hawley, in Massachusetts, and Patrick Henry in Virginia, were probably the first men who clearly saw that independence was the only solu tion of the problem. Washington foresaw that these parchment measures of the Congress would prove of no avail. Hawley of Massachusetts wrote, " After all, we must fight." When Patrick Henry heard his letter read, he replied, “I am of that man's opinion." 241. Leslie at Salem. Gage had fortified Boston Neck, and determined to prevent the people from arming themselves. He sent Colonel Leslie with three hundred of the king's troops from Castle Island to Salem, to capture a number of cannon secreted there. On Sunday morning, February 26th, 1775, this force sailed out of Boston Harbor, and by noon anchored at Marblehead. The good people of that town at once suspected the object of this Sunday excursion. Major John Pedrick mounted his horse, and, riding |