Benson John Lossing - Lives of Signers of the Declaration of Independence

OF THE

SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION

OF

AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

THE DECLARATION HISTORICALLY CONSIDERED; AND A SKETCH OF THE LEADING EVENTS CONNECTED WITH THE ADOPTION OF THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION, AND OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION.

BY

B. J. LOSSING,

Author of The Field-Book of the Revolution,

History of the War of 1812, etc.,, etc.

Illustrated by Fifty Portraits and other Engravings.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870,

by EVANS, STODDART & CO.,

in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.

THERE ARE LESSONS OF DEEP, abiding interest, and of inestimable value, to be learned in studying the lives of the men who perilled their all to secure the blessed inheritance of free institutions which we now enjoy. We do not learn merely the dignity and sacredness of pure patriotism, by following them in their career amid the storms of the Revolution, but all the virtues which adorn humanity are presented in such bold relief, in the private and public actions of that venerated company, that when we rise from a perusal of a narrative of their lives, we feel as if all the noble qualities of our common manhood had been passing before us in review, and challenging our profound reverence.

The biography of a great man, is an history of his own times; and when we have perused the record of the actions of the men of our Revolution, we have imbibed a general knowledge of the great events of that struggle for Freedom. If this proposition is true, then we feel that this volume has a claim to the public regard, for we have endeavored to comprise within as small a compass as a perspicuous view of the subject would allow, the chief events in the lives of the men who stood sponsors at the baptism in blood of our Infant Republic.

The memoirs are illustrated by copious notes explanatory of events alluded to in the course of the biographical narrative, and these, we believe, will be found a highly useful feature of the work.

We have made free use of materials long since laid before the public by abler pens than our own. We did not expect to add much that is new to the biographical facts already published; our aim was to condense those facts into the space of a volume so small, that the price of it would make it accessible to our whole population. It is the mission of true patriotism to scatter the seeds of knowledge broad-cast amid those in the humbler walks of society, because adventitious circumstances deny them access to the full granary of information, where the wealthy are filled; for these humbler ones are equal inheritors of the throne of the peoples sovereignty, and are no less powerful than others at the ballot-box where the nation decides who its rulers shall be

The final adoption of the Federal Constitution, and the organization of the present government of the United States under it, formed the climaxthe crowning act of the drama of which the Declaration of Independence was the opening scene. We therefore thought it proper to append to the biographies, a brief sketch of the legislative events which led to the formation and adoption of the Constitution. The Declaration is pregnant with grave charges against the King of Great Britaincharges which his apologists have essayed to deny. We have taken them up in consecutive order as they stand in the document, and adduced proofs from historical facts, of the truth of those charges. These proofs might have been multiplied, but our space would not permit amplification

With these brief remarks, we send our volume forth with the pleasing hope that it may prove useful to the young and humble of our beloved land, unto whom we affectionately dedicate it.

B. J. L.

FROM NO POINT OF VIEW can the Declaration of American Independence, the causes which led to its adoption, and the events which marked its maintenance, be observed, without exciting sentiments of profound veneration for the men who were the prominent actors in that remarkable scene in the drama of the worlds history. Properly to appreciate the true relative position in which those men stood to the then past and future, it is necessary to view the chain of causes and effects, retrospective and prospective, united in them by a brilliant link.

For a long series of years the commercial policy of Great Britain, in her dealings with the American Colonies, was narrow and selfish, and its effects influenced the whole social compact here. The colonists felt the injustice of many laws, but their want of representation in the National Legislature, and their inherent political weakness, obliged them to submit. But when the wars with the French and Indians called forth their physical energies, and united, in a measure, the disjointed settlements, scattered in isolated communities along the Atlantic sea board, marked by hardly a semblance of union in feeling and interest, it was then that they perceived the strength and value of unity, and talked with each other respecting their common rights and privileges.

The royal governors viewed the interchange of political sentiments between the colonies with great disfavor, for they saw therein the harbinger of their own departing strength. Their representations to the British Ministry, more than any other single cause, contributed to the enactment of laws respecting the colonies, that finally generated that rebellious spirit in the hearts of the Anglo-Americans, which would not, and did not, stop short of absolute Political Independence.

The enactment of the Stamp Act in 1765, and the kindred measures that soon followed, made it plain to the minds of the colonists that even common justice would be denied them by the Home Government, if its claims interfered with the avaricious demands of an exhausted treasury. They saw plainly that the King and Parliament were resolved to turn a deaf ear to all petitions and remonstrances that were based upon the righteous assumption that taxation and equitable representation are one and inseparable . As this was a principle too vital in the very constitution of a free people, to be yielded the colonists felt the necessity of a General Council to deliberate upon the solemn questions involved. In this, the great heart of colonial America seemed to beat with one pulsation, and almost simultaneously, and without previous concert, the proposition for a General Congress was put forth in several of the colonies.

The time and place for holding a Congress were designated, and on the fifth of September, 1774, delegates from the various colonies assembled in Carpenters Hall, in Philadelphia. Their deliberations were orderly but firm. Loyalty to the crown, notwithstanding its oppressions, was a leading theme in their debates. Not a word was whispered of dismemberment and independence, but they solemnly consulted with each other upon the best means of maintaining the integrity of the British realm, compatible with the preservation of their own inalienable rights. To this end their efforts were directed, and they humbly petitioned the King, remonstrated with Parliament, and appealed to their brethren in Great Britain for justice. But their petitions and remonstrances were in vain. New oppressions were laid upon them, and the blood of American citizens was shed by British soldiery at Lexington and Concord!

Another Congress assembled in May, 1775, organized a temporary general government, made provisions for an army, and appointed Washington commander-in-chief And yet they talked not of independence. They armed in defence of rights bestowed by the British Constitution, and they were still willing to lay them down, and avow their loyalty, when those rights should be respected. Even with arms in their hands, and successfully opposing the force of British bayonets, they petitioned and remonstrated. But their petitions were unheeded; their remonstrances were insultingly answered; and their demands for justice were met by swarms of armed mercenaries, purchased by the British Government of petty German princes, and sent hither to butcher British subjects for asserting the rights of British subjects!