A Desire for Independence
There are more than one Declarations and Treaties
Black’s Law Dictionary – 4th Edition
“TITLE. The radical meaning of this word appears to be that of a mark, style, or designation; a distinctive appellation; the name by which anything is known. Thus, in the law of persons, a title is an appellation of dignity or distinction, a name denoting the social rank of the person bearing it; as "duke" or "count."“
It is important to understand the definition of the word “title” and why Title’s of Nobility (TON) were so despised by the founders of the American government. Oppression was often enforced by those with conflicting interests. Looking around the world, if a man has an oath to an organization or hierarchy other than the Creator, we see oppression creep in and loyalty to the organization before man or woman and their respective property. Having a TON automatically institutes in its very existence, the loyalty to something else and not humanity. We will revisit this definition of “title” as we progress in future articles and why it is more important than you know.
So, let’s pick up where we left off ; the French and Indian War (7 Years’ War).
This was an ongoing war between England, France and Spain starting in Europe and reaching out to other parts of the world
Colonists were technically landowners by this time with no direct loyalty to the crown in Britain except the debts to permanently claim the land through the land grant process
The first Treaty of Paris ending the 7 Years’ War was actually signed separately by the British, French and Spanish negotiators and went into effect on February 10, 1763
The focus for Britain becomes the America’s and ongoing parliament imposed Acts and laws to control the commerce and resulting revenue potential. The Acts continue up to, and include the 1774 “Intolerable Acts”. These were a series of laws passed by British Parliament that were extremely overbearing and coercive. This directly led to the “Declaration of Rights and Grievances”.
We are often only taught the Declaration of Independence in our modern schooling. However, this was not the turning point. 1774 was a bigger year as it coalesced the people and the concepts of freedom around a document that placed a line in the sand between the “colonists” and the British.
In response to the Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts) passed by British Parliament, the Declaration of Rights and Grievances was the document created by the first Continental Congress in March 1774 to push back against the oppression and formally declare the stance of the colonists. This was in addition to the Declaration of Resolves from the same initial Continental Congress with Sullivan's Draught. “The Intolerable Acts, called "impolitic, unjust, and cruel," included the Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Quartering Act, and the Administration of Justice Act.” https://www.usconstitution.net/intol.ht
A very important reality to grasp is how the initial American government emerged. It did not happen overnight with the Declaration of Independence. It did not happen with George Washington becoming president of the United States unincorporated Federal Republic and his inauguration on Thursday, April 30, 1789 at Federal Hall in New York. As new challenges to self-governance, and international and territorial trade arose, more building blocks needed to be put in place.
One important detail includes the distinction of the first President of the Continental Congress in 1774. His name was Peyton Randolph and he was from Virginia, and was Thomas Jefferson’s cousin. He was elected for the Continental Congress. This was not as a President of a federal government. The next question becomes, how was the Continental Congress formed? There are many sources that state the delegates were sent to represent the 13 colonies. So, the next question is, how were they selected? This comes back to the core of government within the colonies (soon to become Nation-States) of decentralized jural assemblies. These are the local areas that became counties who picked their representative to go and speak on behalf of the needs of those local areas within the colony. Then the colony selected the representative who became part of the Continental Congress. This is a huge step in the escalation of representative government.
“The good people of the colonies of New-Hampshire, Massachusetts-Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex on Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, justly alarmed at these arbitrary proceedings of parliament and administration, have elected, constituted, and appointed deputies to meet, and sit in general Congress, in the city of Philadelphia, in order to obtain such establishment as that their religion, laws, and liberties may not be subverted…”
https://alphahistory.com/americanrevolution/declaration-and-resolves-1774/
(bold added for effect)
Going back to the initial post in this series, it starts to become clear how the Shire-Moots, Ten-tithings, and Hundred Tithing structure impacted the method of representation that goes back to before the Norman Conquest.
From 1774 to 1775, a number of events and decisions lead to the start of the American Revolutionary War with the shots fired in Lexington and Concord, MA.
“On Wednesday, September 7, 1774, Congress appointed a committee, consisting of two delegates from each colony in attendance. The committee's duty was defined in this resolution: "That a Committee be appointed to state the rights of the Colonies in general, the several instances in which these rights are violated or infringed, and the means most proper to be pursued for obtaining a restoration of them." The committee read its draft of the rights of the colonies on Thursday the 22nd and a draft of the grievances on the 24th. Congress debated the drafts on October 12 and 13, and a final draft was agreed on Friday, October 14, 1774.”
“Whereas since the accession of the present King, Parliament has [and]
Whereas, since the close of the last war, the British parliament, claimed a power of right to bind the people of the Colonies in North America by statutes in all cases whatsoever; and for carrying the said power into execution, has, by some statutes, expressly taxed the people of the said Colonies, and by divers other statutes under various pretences, but in fact for the purpose of raising a revenue, has imposed 'rates and duties,' payable in the said Colonies, established a Board of Commissioners, and extended the jurisdiction of Courts of Admiralty therein, for the collection of such 'rates and duties.’”
Journals of Congress, October, 1774; “Sullivan’s Draught”; John Sullivan.
https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hlaw:@field(DOCID+@lit(jc00132))
The Declaration of Rights and Grievances was the basis for the Declaration of Resolves:
The First Continental Congress met in 1774 to discuss a unified trade boycott against Britain, in response to the Coercive Acts. On September 6, 1774, a committee was formed to write a document that stated the rights and grievances of the colonies. On October 14, Congress approved this document, which also outlined the steps the colonies would take if their grievances were not addressed by Britain.
“And whereas, in consequence of other statutes, judges, who before held only estates at will in their offices, have been made dependent on the crown alone for their salaries, and standing armies kept in times of peace: And whereas it has lately been resolved in parliament, that by force of a statute, made in the thirty-fifth year of the reign of King Henry the Eighth, colonists may be transported to England, and tried there upon accusations for treasons and misprisions, or concealments of treasons committed in the colonies, and by a late statute, such trials have been directed in cases therein mentioned:”
“That the inhabitants of the English colonies in North-America, by the immutable laws of nature, the principles of the English constitution, and the several charters or compacts, have the following RIGHTS:
Resolved, 1. That they are entitled to life, liberty and property: and they have never ceded to any foreign power whatever, a right to dispose of either without their consent.”
And another 10 resolved declaration of rights…
This was only the start of the full documented push back to the oppressive British government. In July 1775, after the Revolution had already begun, the second Continental Congress passed another set of resolves called the “Declaration of the Causes and Necessities for taking up Arms”.
In this document, Congress explained its reasons for military preparation and mobilization, and pledged to maintain the war until the British parliament removed its impositions on the American colonies:
https://alphahistory.com/americanrevolution/causes-and-necessities-for-taking-up-arms-1775/
If you have the time, please read this document and consider the events going on in the world today. Do you see any similarities? Do you think about the same type of grievances? Are there people with a TON (Title Of Nobility) in office in any part of government (esquire perhaps)? Is there a potential for conflicts of interest?
The full title of this last Declaration is as follows: “A Declaration by the Representatives of the United Colonies of North-America Setting Forth the Causes and Necessity of Their Taking Up Arms (1775)”, and declares the republican nature of the colonies and claims right of self-defense for each colony (farm family assembly) due to the increasing transgressions and atrocities by the crown of England.
The colonies claimed their air (global), soil and land (national), and sea (international) jurisdictions by natural right in the same way that individual people have the right to self-defense.
In the next post, we will cover the hectic years of 1775 through 1790 which include the Articles of Confederation (created September 1777 and ratified May 1781), the 2nd Treaty of Paris (1783), the creation of the 1st Constitution (1787), the Northwest Ordinance (1787), and the 2nd Constitution (1789), and then the 3rd Constitution (1790). The dates and what actually occurred for each of these Constitutions have been obscured over history including the reason for the additional businesses. Was this obscuring intentional to give more power to the federal government? An important distinction is to understand it only took 9 States (colonies) to ratify the Constitution. So, the additional ratification activity we are taught for the subsequent Constitutions are suspect, with a larger number of States/colonies participating in additional ratification, and this starts to beg the question of the changes being made and why…
More to come!
Thank you. They really glossed over this history in ‘school’, didn’t they?