After the Intolerable Acts, indignation against the English finally came to a boiling point and the First Continental Congress met to address these grievances. The colonists’ response to the Intolerable Acts was not an act of war or a call to arms against the Empire. At this point most colonists had no desire to withdraw from under English rule. To cement this as fact, there was composed at the end of the official address to England; “To prepare a loyal address to His Majesty…”. The colonists were willing to show loyalty to the oppressor in exchange for basic rights. What the colonists desired was restraint.
This and much more was the driving force behind the American Revolution. It was not a platitude of HOPE.
George Washington said, “We began a contest for liberty ill provided with the means for the war, relying on our patriotism to supply the deficiency.”, “…the once happy plains of America are either to be drenched with blood or inhabited by slaves. Sad alternative! But can a virtuous man hesitate in his choice?” “Let us therefore rely upon the goodness of the cause, and the aid of the Supreme Being, in whose hands Victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble actions.”
In a letter, Samuel Adams wrote, “…under God, trust our cause to our swords.”
John Adams, in 1777 said, “Let justice be done though the heavens should fall.”
Benjamin Franklin, 1775, “I cannot but lament … the impending calamities Britain and her Colonies are about to suffer, from the great Imprudencies on both sides …” also “we must hang together, or assuredly we shall hang separately.”
“In defense of the freedom that is our birthright … we have taken up arms. We shall lay them down when the hostilities shall cease on the part of the aggressors, and all danger of their being renewed shall be removed, and not before.” John Hancock; July 1776.
Patrick Henry, “The battle, Sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave … There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable; and let it come! I repeat, Sir, let it come!”
Joseph Warren, “Appealing to heaven for the justice of our cause, we determine to die or be free”, “You are to decide the important question, on which rest the happiness and liberty of millions yet unborn. Act worthy of yourselves.”
One of the last lines in Thomas Jefferson’s personal written account of the Declaration of Independence: “And for support of this Declaration we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.”
I believe it’s fair to say these men were not driven by the platitude of Hope.
Image: source http://cgfa.sunsite.dk/r/p-rotherm2.htm; author: Peter F. Rothermel (1817–1895);Patrick Henry in the House of Burgesses – NARA – 532930.tif
