John Adams: “…It is Religion and Morality Alone, Which can Establish the Principles upon which Freedom can Securely Stand.”
Letter to Zabdiel Adams (21 June 1776) My dear Sir, Philadelphia June 21.1776 Your Favour of the Ninth of this Month was delivered to me,(1) Yesterday by Mr. Whitney, whose Health I hope will be fully restored by the Small Pox for which he was innoculated the day before. Your Letter, Sir, gave me great Pleasure and deserves my most hearty Thanks. I am fully with ...
General William Livingston Made a Resolution of Congress that May 17th Should be Observed by All Colonies as a Day of Humiliation, Fast, and Prayer
General William Livingston made a resolution to Congress which passed without dissent: “We earnestly recommend that Friday, the 17th day of May be observed by the colonies as a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer, that we may with united hearts confess and bewail our manifold sins and transgressions … and by a sincere repentance … appease God’s righteous displeasure, and through the merits and mediation ...
Reverend John Peter Gabriel Muhlenburg Removes His Robe to Reveal his Colonel Uniform, Recruiting 300 Patriots to Enlist & Defend Liberty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPo3SjqOhMI Toward the end of 1775, Muhlenberg was authorized to raise and command as its colonel the 8th Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army. After George Washington personally asked him to accept this task, he agreed. However, his brother Fredrick Augustus Muhlenberg, who was also a minister, did not approve of him going into the army until the British burned down his own church in front ...
Thomas Paine’s ‘Common Sense’ is Published
It was first published anonymously on January 10, 1776, during the American Revolution. Common Sense was signed "Written by an Englishman", and the pamphlet became an immediate success. In relation to the population of the Colonies at that time, it had the largest sale and circulation of any book in American history. Common Sense presented the American colonists with a powerful argument for independence from British ...
Benjamin Franklin Article on the Rattlesnake as a Symbol for America
The following letter from "An American Guesser" was published in the Pennsylvania Journal on December 27, 1775. Its author has been identified as Benjamin Franklin. Written after fighting had begun between the Colonists and the British, but before the Declaration of Independence, it gives us a glimpse into Franklin's observant mind. ‘Tis curious and amazing to observe how distinct and independent of each other the rattles ...
The Olive Branch Petition: A letter from the 2nd Continental Congress to King George to Repeal his Tyrannous Laws
The Olive Branch Petition was issued (shipped by boat) from the American colonies to King George III in England. It proposed a final peace deal with England and promised loyalty to the British government if it repealed the Coercive Acts and ended its taxation without representation policies. The King completely disregarded the petition. The Olive Branch Petition, drafted on July 5, 1775, was a letter to King George III, ...
John Adams, letter to Abigail Adams 1775: “Liberty once lost is lost forever.”
My Dear I have received your very agreable Favours of June 22d. and 25th. They contain more particulars than any Letters I had before received from any Body. It is not at all surprizing to me that the wanton, cruel, and infamous Conflagration of Charlestown, the Place of your Fathers Nativity, should afflict him. Let him know that I sincerely condole with him, on that melancholly ...
Thomas Jefferson: “We are Reduced to the Alternative of Choosing an Unconditional Submission to Tyranny, or Resistance by Force. The Latter is our Choice!”
The Continental Congress issued A Declaration by the Representatives of the United Colonies of North-America, Now Met in Congress at Philadelphia, Setting Forth the Causes and Necessity of Their Taking Up Arms. This was written by Thomas Jefferson and Pennsylvania lawyer John Dickinson. In response to England sending soldiers to "restore order" in the colonies, Jefferson wrote: We are reduced to the alternative of choosing an unconditional submission ...
General Gage gives Ultimatum to Bostonians: Surrender Your Firearms
General Gage finally gave an ultimatum to the Bostonians that they were to surrender their firearms. Anyone that was found in possession of arms would be deemed guilty of treason. (Source) ...
Congress Approves General George Washington as the new Commander in Chief
Congress approved the choice of Washington as the new commander in chief, who then read a letter of acceptance. ‘Mr. President, tho’ I am truly sensible of the high honour done me in this appointment, yet I feel distress from the consciousness that my abilities and Military experience may not be equal to the extensive and important Trust,’ he said. ‘However, as the Congress desires, I ...
