July 26, 2025 • 26 mins
Delve into the life of Joseph Warren, an influential figure in the early stages of the American Revolution. His understanding and advocacy for civil freedom made him a beloved leader in Boston and eventually propelled him to the forefront of public affairs in Massachusetts. Warrens ten-year commitment to the cause of liberty made him a notable figure in New Englands history. His life was marked by action, his words were as powerful as deeds. He tirelessly fought against the encroachments of unjust power, championing the principles of liberty through his writings, private club discussions, and leadership in public meetings. Join us as we explore the dignity and glory of Warrens life - a man whose legacy continues to inspire. - Summary by Richard Frothingham
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Chapter eleven, Part two of Life and Times of Joseph
Worm by Richard Frothingham. This libox recording is in the
public domain. Friday morning, about six o'clock I received a
message from Charlestown informing me that some boys and negroes
had called at mister Sewall's house at Cambridge, and by
the imprudent discharge of a pistol by a person in
(00:23):
the house, they were provoked to break the windows, but
very soon left the house without doing further damage. The
informant besides assured me that the County of Middlesex were
highly incensed against mister Braddle and some others, and advised
that some person from Boston should go up to Cambridge.
This message was scarcely finished when a billet was brought
(00:45):
requesting me to take some step in order to prevent
the people from coming to the immediate acts of violence.
As incredible numbers were in arms and lined the roads
from Sudbury to Cambridge. I summoned the Committee of Correspondence,
but as care had been taken to caution every man
who passed the ferry from alarming Boston, I judged it
(01:06):
best not to inform the person who warned the committee
of the business they were to meet upon. They therefore
made no great haste to get together. After waiting some time,
I took as many of the members as came in
my way to Charlestown, fearing that something amiss might take place.
I saw the gentleman at Charlestown, who begged us to
(01:26):
move forward to Cambridge. On our way we met the
Lieutenant Governor Oliver. He said he was going to the
General to desire him not to march his troops out
of Boston. We thought his precaution good and proceeded to Cambridge.
We there saw a fine body of respectable freemen with
whom we spent the day, and were witnesses of their patience, temperance,
(01:49):
and fortitude. A particular account of which you have per
this conveyance. The accounts from the western counties are such
as must give the most exalted eyes idea of the
resolution and intrepidity of the inhabitants. The people from Hampshire
County crowded the County of Worcester with armed men, and
both counties received the accounts of the quiet dispersion of
(02:12):
the people of Middlesex with apparent regret. Grudging them the
glory of having done something important for their country without
their assistance. Had the troops marched only five miles out
of Boston, I doubt whether a man would have been
saved of their whole number. But enough of this, we
find it difficult here to regulate the little matters in
(02:32):
which we are engaged. You move in a larger orbit, however,
I hope your superior abilities will not fail of carrying
you safely through you will, I am sure, consider the
very great difference that there is between this and the
other colonies. Their commerce glides in its usual channels. Their
(02:53):
charters have not yet been torn to pieces by the
harpies of power. They retain their usual forms of trials
by juries in courts duly constituted. What is left for us?
If we acquiesce but for an hour, the shackles will
be fixed forever. If we should allow the county courts
to sit one term upon the new establishment, what confusion,
(03:17):
what dissensions must take place? Our friends, I mean, particularly you,
mister Cushing, mister Adams, and mister Payne, are capable of
representing to your brethren the impossibility of our continuing long
in a state of inactivity. Our all is at stake.
We must give up our rights and boast no more freedom,
(03:38):
or we must oppose immediately our enemies press so close
that we cannot rest upon our arms. If this province
is saved, it must be by adopting measures immediately efficacious.
I have mentioned in my letters to you the most
mild plan that can be adopted, viz. Non importation and
non exportation to Britain, Ireland and the world West Indies.
(04:01):
I mentioned some of my reasons for believing that our
liberties might thereby be secured, But it may not be
amiss to try how far some further steps for securing
our rights might, if absolutely necessary, be approved by our
brethren on the continent. I firmly believe that the utmost
caution and prudence is necessary to gain the consent of
(04:22):
the province to wait a few months longer for their deliverance.
As they think the cord by which they were bound
to the King of Britain has been by his act
cut in sunder. They say they have a right to
determine for themselves under what government they will live hereafter.
But I shall now only subscribe myself, your friend and
humble servant, Joseph Warren, Doctor Adams, informs me that your
(04:47):
lady and family are in health and present their love
and duty to you. Joseph Warren to Samuel Adams, Boston,
September fourth, seventeen seventy four, Sir, since closing my letter
of this day, which I believe was without date, I
have received some little agreeable intelligence which I cannot fail
(05:09):
to communicate. The Solemn League and Covenant was signed by
the people of the towns in the neighborhood of Falmouth
Casco Bay. The traders and people of Falmouth ridiculed the
scheme and refused to sign it. The thirty first day
of August, the ship carpenters who were building vessels for
the Falmouth merchants demanded their dues and refused to work longer.
(05:31):
The employers remonstrated, told them their vessels would not rot
on the stocks, and said they could not dismiss them.
The tradesmen of all kinds war resolute. They who had
contracted to furnish the merchants with lumber, likewise declared they
could have nothing to do with them. On Monday, the
merchants of Falmouth had a meeting and by Wednesday night,
(05:53):
the whole town signed the agreement. Last Thursday evening, three
fire clubs met in this town. One club voted out
of their society misters J, G, H, L and C.
And another voted out mister A. A third voted out
mister s All addressers. Indeed, the contention is who shall
(06:16):
most distinguish themselves at this grand crisis. I wish much
to be in England at this time, but the sacrifice
of my particular interest at this time by such a
step would be greater than I can afford to make.
I fear misters Oliver, Lieutenant Governor, and Colonel Leonard are
both going there immediately, and I hope they will not
(06:36):
be suffered to tell their tale uncontradicted. The resumption of
the old charter of this colony is very much talked of,
but I think should be handled very gently and cautiously
whenever brought upon the tapis lest the jealousy should arise
in the minds of any concerning it, and lest we
should be thought of as aiming at more than the
colonies are willing to contend for with Britain, for the
(06:59):
advantage of the colony only. But I know you can
remind our friend of mister Pitt's remark that three millions
of slaves would be fit engines to enslave the British Empire.
And you will not have occasion to tell a judicious
American that one colony of freemen will be a noble
bulwark for the rights of all America. Connecticut and Rhode
(07:21):
Island are instances that must immediately occur. May God bless
you and my other friends with you, mutatus mutands. What
I write to you, I write to all pray furnish
me with the fullest intelligence as soon as possible. I am,
dear Sir, your friend and humble servant, Joseph Warren. The
(07:43):
Regulating Act was now resisted with great energy. The temper
of the people was manifested in various ways in the
country and in the town. At newbury Bridge, the citizens
stationed an old man with a drum, who, when he
saw a prominent Tory about to enter, paraded with his
drum and went through the streets, crying as he beat
the drum. A Tory has come to town. In Bridgewater,
(08:07):
as Mandamus counselor stood up in meeting and read, as
usual the Psalm. The congregation refused to sing. In Boston,
opposite Joy's buildings, which are near the Townhouse, there were
shops occupied by a chase maker, a tailor, a barber,
a shoemaker, and two others, in each of which there
(08:27):
was a bell, And when a mandamus, counselor or a
high tory went by, one gave the signal by ringing
his bell, and the ringing was kept up through all
the shops until the obnoxious passer by was out of sight.
So great was the rage against all charged with introducing
arbitrary power, that a fatal a la lantern policy was suggested.
(08:51):
Some really think, Young wrote, an example or two will
be made in a very short time. I cannot say
I would be uneasy to hear. Was done Gage, in
the conviction that the time for conciliation, moderation and reasoning
was over, ordered cannon to be carried from the common
to the neck or main entrance to the town. This
(09:13):
commencement of a fortification added fuel to the general flame
and created great alarm. We are, Paul Revere says in Spirits,
though in a garrison the spirit of liberty was never
higher than at present. Our new fangled counselors are resigning
their places. Every day. Our justices of the courts, who
now hold their commissions during the pleasure of his majesty
(09:36):
or the Governor, cannot get a jury that will act
with them. In short, the tories are giving way everywhere
in our province. On the same day, Doctor Young wrote
to Samuel Adams, the temper of your countrymen is in
the condition your every wish, your every side for years
past panted to find it thoroughly aroused and unanimously in earnest.
(10:00):
Something very important must inevitably come of it. He promised
that the action of Suffolk should not come short of
that of other counties. On the next day, September fifth,
when the General Congress met, James Bodwin wrote that six
regiments were in town, and that it was said that
two or three more were coming from Canada and two
(10:20):
from Ireland. The journals stated that the force which was
encamped on Fort Hill distinguished itself in the famous Battle
of Mindon. There was war preparation also going on on
the side of the patriots, and the newspapers described the
parades of the volunteer corps as they practiced the military art,
so that a journal said the spirit of the people
(10:41):
was never known to be so great since the settlement
of the colonies as it is at this time. People
in the country for hundreds of miles are prepared and
determined to die or be free, while the public mind
was excited. The Suffolk Convention, on the sixth of September
reassembled at the house of mister rich Richard Woodward in Denham,
(11:01):
every town being represented. The delegates chose Richard Palmer President
and William Thompson Clerk. After choosing a large committee to
mature the business, with Warren for their chairman, the convention
adjourned to meet again at Milton, where on the ninth
of September, Warren reported to the convention the paper known
in history as this Suffolk Resolves, which he drafted. It
(11:24):
is said that they were read several times and unanimously adopted,
paragraph by paragraph. The first resolution cheerfully acknowledges George the
third as justly entitled to the allegiance of the British Realm.
Succeeding revolutions arraigned the recent Acts of Parliament as violative
of the laws of nature, the British Constitution and the
(11:46):
Charter of the Province, and provide for a forcible resistance
to them as the attempts of a wicked administration to
enslave America. The action recommended is the boldest and most
thorough of the time. The results. Elves declare the intention
to act merely on the defensive, so long as such
conduct may be vindicated by reason and the principles of
(12:07):
self preservation. But no longer they pledge submission to such
measures as the wisdom and integrity of the Continental Congress
might recommend, for the restoration of their rights and for
the renewal of the union between Great Britain and the colonies,
so earnestly wished for by all good men. They fix
(12:28):
the day for the assembling of a provincial Congress. One
of the resolutions embodied that adherence to social order as
the basis of political action, which for the past six
years had characterized the course of the wise popular leaders.
This resolve heartily recommends all persons to abstain from routes, riots,
(12:50):
or licentious attacks upon the property of any persons whatsoever,
as being subversive of all order and government, but urges
the patriots, by a steady and manly opposition, to convince
these enemies that in a contest so important, in a
cause so solemn, their conduct should be such as to
merit the approbation of the wives and the admiration of
(13:12):
the brave and free of every age and of every country.
The Convention, early in its session, appointed a large and
most respectable committee with Warren for chairmen to remonstrate with
Governor Gage against the new fortification and the insults which
his soldiers had offered to citizens. The committee waited on
him when the chairman presented to him in address, representing
(13:36):
that the works might be used to aggravate the miseries
of the distressed town by interrupting the supplies of provisions,
Expressing an inability to determine whence could originate the Governor's
policy towards a loyal and orderly community, declared that though
the people were resolved by divine assistants never to submit
to the new acts, yet they had no inclination to
(13:59):
war on the troops, representing that the existing ferment resulted
from seizing the powder in the arsenal at Charlestown, and
withholding the powder in Boston from its proprietors, and more
particularly from the fortifying the sole Avenue by land and
to Boston. Nothing, the Committee said in conclusion, short of
restoring the town to its former state and the cessation
(14:22):
from insult, could put the inhabitants in that tranquility in
which every free subject ought to live. To this, the
governor verbally expressed himself as follows, Good God, gentlemen, make
yourselves easy, and I will be so. You have done
all in your power to convince the world and me
that you will not submit to the acts, and I'll
(14:43):
make representation home accordingly, for which I will embrace the
earliest opportunity. He subsequently gave a written reply to the
address of the Committee, in which he said that it
was not possible for him to interrupt the intercourse between
town and country. He urged the general go behavior of
the army to balance the individual cases of insult. He
(15:04):
asked for the occasion of such numbers going through the
country armed, and for the private removal of the guns
from the Charlestown battery, and concluded by remarking that he
found the refusal to submit to the late Acts of
Parliament to be general, and that he should lay the
fact before his majesty. After considering this reply, the Committee
(15:25):
were of opinion that the answer could not be satisfactory
to the country. And farther the journals say, probably in
Warren's language, that his Excellency, in his reply, had been
pleased to propose several questions, which, if unanswered by the committee,
would leave on the minds of persons not fully acquainted
with the state of the facts, some very disagreeable impressions
(15:48):
concerning the conduct and behavior of this county and province.
And they unanimously agreed on the same day to present
to the Governor another address, which was longer than the first.
It says that the Governor was too well acquainted with
the human heart not to be sensible, that it is
natural for people to be soured by oppression and jealous
(16:08):
for their personal security when their exertions for the preservation
of their personal rights were construed into treason and rebellion.
It recapitulated facts relative to the new fortification, the army,
and the distressed condition of the town, and pointed to
the late hostile acts of the Governor as a sufficient
justification for their proceedings for self defense, for which he
(16:32):
seemed at a loss to account. It earnestly solicited the
Governor to desist from action that had a tendency to
create alarm, and particularly from fortifying the entrance to the
town of Boston. It averred and asked the Governor so
to represent to his Majesty that no wish of independency,
no adverse sentiments or designs towards his Majesty or his
(16:54):
troops now here actuate his good subjects in this colony,
but that their sole intention is to preserve, pure and
inviolate those rights to which, as men and English Americans,
they are justly entitled, and which have been guaranteed to
them by His Majesty's royal predecessors. Warren signed this address
(17:14):
as Chairman. The sequel is related in the journals which
contain both addresses over Warren's name. As he was in
the habit of supplying matter to the press, it is
probable that the following interesting relation is from his pen.
The address was delivered to mister Secretary Flucker by the Chairman,
(17:34):
with the desire that he would, as soon as was convenient,
present it to the Governor and request his Excellency to
appoint a time for receiving it in form The Secretary
informed the Chairman the ensuing day that he had seen
the Governor and had given him the copy of the address,
but that he declined receiving it in form. The Chairman
(17:55):
mentioned to him the importance of the business, declaring his
belief that the troops were not in any danger, and
that no person has, so far as he has been informed,
taken any steps which indicated any hostile intention until the
seizing and carrying off the powder from the magazine in
the County of Middlesex, and that if any ill consequences
(18:16):
should arise that should affect the interest of Great Britain,
the most candidate and judicious, both in Europe and America,
would consider the author of the ferment now raised in
the minds of these people as accountable for whatever consequences
might follow from it. He therefore desired the Secretary once
more to make application to his Excellency and to state
(18:37):
the affair to him in that serious manner which the
case seemed to require. The Secretary accordingly made a second
application to the Governor, but received for answer that he
had given all the satisfaction in his power, and he
could not see that any further argumentation upon the subject
would be to any good purpose. Upon this the Committee
(18:59):
were again convened, and it was unanimously resolved that they
had executed the commission entrusted to them by the County
to the utmost of their ability, And after voting that
the reply to His Excellency's answer should be inserted in
the public papers as soon as possible, they adjourned without delay.
It is observable that every vote passed by the delegates
(19:22):
of the County and by the committee appointed to wait
on the Governor, was unanimous. The resolves of the Convention
of Suffolk were adopted by men who were terribly in earnest.
They said that the power, but not the justice, the
vengeance but not the wisdom of Great Britain were acting
with unrelenting severity, and the liberal world as agreed on
(19:44):
this judgment. They said that it was an indispensable duty
which they owed to God, their country, themselves, and posterity,
by all lawful ways and means in their power, to maintain, defend,
and preserve those civil and religious rights and liber for
which many of their fathers fought, bled and died, and
to hand them down entire to future generations. These liberties
(20:09):
may be said to have been embodied in one word, Republicanism,
and when the titled world regarded this element with obloquy,
the Patriots as a party clung to it as the
awe of their political life. Warren sent these resolves with
a letter dated the eleventh of September to the Massachusetts
(20:30):
delegates in Congress in Philadelphia, and Paul Revere was the
messenger who carried also the addresses delivered to Governor Gage.
These papers, as they were listened to in Congress on
the eighteenth, elicited great applause. The esteem. John Adams says,
the affection the admiration for the people of Boston and
(20:50):
the Massachusetts which were expressed, and the fixed determination that
they should be supported, were enough to melt a heart
of stone. I saw the tears gush into the eyes
of the old grave Pacific Quakers of Pennsylvania. The sympathy
which the members expressed for their suffering countrymen was in
character with the constituency, who, by their flow of contributions,
(21:13):
were making Boston the granary of America. In a resolve
which was unanimously passed, the Congress denounced the late acts
most thoroughly approved the wisdom and fortitude with which opposition
to these ministerial measures had hitherto been conducted. Earnestly recommended
to their brethren a perseverance in the same firm and
(21:35):
temperate conduct that was indicated in the Suffolk Resolves, and
expressed the hope that the effect of the united efforts
of North America in behalf of Massachusetts would carry such
conviction to the British nation of the unwise, unjust, and
ruinous policy of the present administration, as quickly to introduce
better men and wiser measures. Another resolve recommended a continuous
(22:00):
of contributions from all the colonies to alleviate the distresses
of their brethren of Boston. These resolves, Samuel Adams wrote
to Doctor Chauncey, give a faint idea of the spirit
of Congress. I think I may assure you that America
will make a point of supporting Boston to the utmost.
It is always difficult to harmonize the views of earnest men,
(22:23):
and it is not strange that, when unity of action
was vital, the patriots of other colonies should have feared
that the Massachusetts patriots might break the line of opposition
by advancing too hastily before the rest or that the
Boston popular leaders should have been anxious to hear from Congress.
The great news of the endorsement by the colonies of
(22:44):
the Suffolk Resolves was brought by Paul Revere and was
printed in the Journals of the twenty sixth in the
form of brief letters addressed to Warren by Peyton Randolph,
the President, Thomas Cushing, one of the Massachusetts delegates, and
a copy of the resolutions passed by Congress attested by
Charles Thompson. It was, with the exception of the rule
(23:06):
adopted in that body in voting, the first account of
what had been done in their secret session. It was
a letter says the only thing which the members of
Congress were at liberty to mention to the people out
of doors. Here the Congress will support Boston and the
Massachusetts or perish with them. But they wished that blood
may be spared if possible, and all ruptures with the
(23:28):
troops avoided. The patriots were now in high spirits. Governor
Gage was surprised and astonished to see the union of
the colonies. Like his predecessor, he watched and reported signs
of its formation, and he confessed that the movements were
beyond all conception. He now informed Lord Dartmouth of the
approval by Congress of the Suffolk Resolves. The comments by
(23:51):
the Tories on these resolves were voluminous and uncommonly severe.
They said it was a mystery which filled their minds
with surprisement that the gentlemen of Congress were disposed to
enter in a league offensive and defensive with the New
England and other Presbyterian Republicans. But the fact was notorious
to the world. It could neither be denied nor palliated.
(24:15):
For they hastily and eagerly published, and it was the
first thing they did publish, their cordial approbation of the
Suffolk Resolves for erecting an independent government in New England.
They said that a rebellion was evidently commenced in New
England in the County of Suffolk, without room for retreating.
They pronounced the resolves nothing short of a declaration of independency.
(24:38):
They said that the men who had occasioned the political
troubles in Massachusetts, having become desperate themselves, had no other
card to play but to involve the whole country in
their rebellion. They wrote that they had persuaded themselves that
Congress would open the door for a settlement by advising
Boston to pay for the tea. But alas how we
(25:00):
have been disappointed. As soon as they Congress received by
express an authentic copy of the Suffolk Resolves, they broke
through all these rules of secrecy and at once gave
such a blast from the trumpet of sedition as made
one half of America's shutter. In due time, there appeared
in the newspaper's quotations from the British press of similar tenor.
(25:24):
It was the union that gave joy to the heart
of the Whig and supplied venom to the pen of
the Tory. The friends of America, an editorial in a
Boston journal, says, have the satisfaction to learn that the
resolve of the Late Continental Congress respecting the votes of
the County of Suffolk, published in the late English papers,
(25:45):
have not only surprised but quite confounded the Ministry, as
by it they perceived the union of the colonies to
be complete, and that their present menaces only mark their despair.
End of Chapter eleven, Part two
Chapter eleven, Part two of Life and Times of Joseph
Worm by Richard Frothingham. This libox recording is in the
public domain. Friday morning, about six o'clock I received a
message from Charlestown informing me that some boys and negroes
had called at mister Sewall's house at Cambridge, and by
the imprudent discharge of a pistol by a person in
(00:23):
the house, they were provoked to break the windows, but
very soon left the house without doing further damage. The
informant besides assured me that the County of Middlesex were
highly incensed against mister Braddle and some others, and advised
that some person from Boston should go up to Cambridge.
This message was scarcely finished when a billet was brought
(00:45):
requesting me to take some step in order to prevent
the people from coming to the immediate acts of violence.
As incredible numbers were in arms and lined the roads
from Sudbury to Cambridge. I summoned the Committee of Correspondence,
but as care had been taken to caution every man
who passed the ferry from alarming Boston, I judged it
(01:06):
best not to inform the person who warned the committee
of the business they were to meet upon. They therefore
made no great haste to get together. After waiting some time,
I took as many of the members as came in
my way to Charlestown, fearing that something amiss might take place.
I saw the gentleman at Charlestown, who begged us to
(01:26):
move forward to Cambridge. On our way we met the
Lieutenant Governor Oliver. He said he was going to the
General to desire him not to march his troops out
of Boston. We thought his precaution good and proceeded to Cambridge.
We there saw a fine body of respectable freemen with
whom we spent the day, and were witnesses of their patience, temperance,
(01:49):
and fortitude. A particular account of which you have per
this conveyance. The accounts from the western counties are such
as must give the most exalted eyes idea of the
resolution and intrepidity of the inhabitants. The people from Hampshire
County crowded the County of Worcester with armed men, and
both counties received the accounts of the quiet dispersion of
(02:12):
the people of Middlesex with apparent regret. Grudging them the
glory of having done something important for their country without
their assistance. Had the troops marched only five miles out
of Boston, I doubt whether a man would have been
saved of their whole number. But enough of this, we
find it difficult here to regulate the little matters in
(02:32):
which we are engaged. You move in a larger orbit, however,
I hope your superior abilities will not fail of carrying
you safely through you will, I am sure, consider the
very great difference that there is between this and the
other colonies. Their commerce glides in its usual channels. Their
(02:53):
charters have not yet been torn to pieces by the
harpies of power. They retain their usual forms of trials
by juries in courts duly constituted. What is left for us?
If we acquiesce but for an hour, the shackles will
be fixed forever. If we should allow the county courts
to sit one term upon the new establishment, what confusion,
(03:17):
what dissensions must take place? Our friends, I mean, particularly you,
mister Cushing, mister Adams, and mister Payne, are capable of
representing to your brethren the impossibility of our continuing long
in a state of inactivity. Our all is at stake.
We must give up our rights and boast no more freedom,
(03:38):
or we must oppose immediately our enemies press so close
that we cannot rest upon our arms. If this province
is saved, it must be by adopting measures immediately efficacious.
I have mentioned in my letters to you the most
mild plan that can be adopted, viz. Non importation and
non exportation to Britain, Ireland and the world West Indies.
(04:01):
I mentioned some of my reasons for believing that our
liberties might thereby be secured, But it may not be
amiss to try how far some further steps for securing
our rights might, if absolutely necessary, be approved by our
brethren on the continent. I firmly believe that the utmost
caution and prudence is necessary to gain the consent of
(04:22):
the province to wait a few months longer for their deliverance.
As they think the cord by which they were bound
to the King of Britain has been by his act
cut in sunder. They say they have a right to
determine for themselves under what government they will live hereafter.
But I shall now only subscribe myself, your friend and
humble servant, Joseph Warren, Doctor Adams, informs me that your
(04:47):
lady and family are in health and present their love
and duty to you. Joseph Warren to Samuel Adams, Boston,
September fourth, seventeen seventy four, Sir, since closing my letter
of this day, which I believe was without date, I
have received some little agreeable intelligence which I cannot fail
(05:09):
to communicate. The Solemn League and Covenant was signed by
the people of the towns in the neighborhood of Falmouth
Casco Bay. The traders and people of Falmouth ridiculed the
scheme and refused to sign it. The thirty first day
of August, the ship carpenters who were building vessels for
the Falmouth merchants demanded their dues and refused to work longer.
(05:31):
The employers remonstrated, told them their vessels would not rot
on the stocks, and said they could not dismiss them.
The tradesmen of all kinds war resolute. They who had
contracted to furnish the merchants with lumber, likewise declared they
could have nothing to do with them. On Monday, the
merchants of Falmouth had a meeting and by Wednesday night,
(05:53):
the whole town signed the agreement. Last Thursday evening, three
fire clubs met in this town. One club voted out
of their society misters J, G, H, L and C.
And another voted out mister A. A third voted out
mister s All addressers. Indeed, the contention is who shall
(06:16):
most distinguish themselves at this grand crisis. I wish much
to be in England at this time, but the sacrifice
of my particular interest at this time by such a
step would be greater than I can afford to make.
I fear misters Oliver, Lieutenant Governor, and Colonel Leonard are
both going there immediately, and I hope they will not
(06:36):
be suffered to tell their tale uncontradicted. The resumption of
the old charter of this colony is very much talked of,
but I think should be handled very gently and cautiously
whenever brought upon the tapis lest the jealousy should arise
in the minds of any concerning it, and lest we
should be thought of as aiming at more than the
colonies are willing to contend for with Britain, for the
(06:59):
advantage of the colony only. But I know you can
remind our friend of mister Pitt's remark that three millions
of slaves would be fit engines to enslave the British Empire.
And you will not have occasion to tell a judicious
American that one colony of freemen will be a noble
bulwark for the rights of all America. Connecticut and Rhode
(07:21):
Island are instances that must immediately occur. May God bless
you and my other friends with you, mutatus mutands. What
I write to you, I write to all pray furnish
me with the fullest intelligence as soon as possible. I am,
dear Sir, your friend and humble servant, Joseph Warren. The
(07:43):
Regulating Act was now resisted with great energy. The temper
of the people was manifested in various ways in the
country and in the town. At newbury Bridge, the citizens
stationed an old man with a drum, who, when he
saw a prominent Tory about to enter, paraded with his
drum and went through the streets, crying as he beat
the drum. A Tory has come to town. In Bridgewater,
(08:07):
as Mandamus counselor stood up in meeting and read, as
usual the Psalm. The congregation refused to sing. In Boston,
opposite Joy's buildings, which are near the Townhouse, there were
shops occupied by a chase maker, a tailor, a barber,
a shoemaker, and two others, in each of which there
(08:27):
was a bell, And when a mandamus, counselor or a
high tory went by, one gave the signal by ringing
his bell, and the ringing was kept up through all
the shops until the obnoxious passer by was out of sight.
So great was the rage against all charged with introducing
arbitrary power, that a fatal a la lantern policy was suggested.
(08:51):
Some really think, Young wrote, an example or two will
be made in a very short time. I cannot say
I would be uneasy to hear. Was done Gage, in
the conviction that the time for conciliation, moderation and reasoning
was over, ordered cannon to be carried from the common
to the neck or main entrance to the town. This
(09:13):
commencement of a fortification added fuel to the general flame
and created great alarm. We are, Paul Revere says in Spirits,
though in a garrison the spirit of liberty was never
higher than at present. Our new fangled counselors are resigning
their places. Every day. Our justices of the courts, who
now hold their commissions during the pleasure of his majesty
(09:36):
or the Governor, cannot get a jury that will act
with them. In short, the tories are giving way everywhere
in our province. On the same day, Doctor Young wrote
to Samuel Adams, the temper of your countrymen is in
the condition your every wish, your every side for years
past panted to find it thoroughly aroused and unanimously in earnest.
(10:00):
Something very important must inevitably come of it. He promised
that the action of Suffolk should not come short of
that of other counties. On the next day, September fifth,
when the General Congress met, James Bodwin wrote that six
regiments were in town, and that it was said that
two or three more were coming from Canada and two
(10:20):
from Ireland. The journals stated that the force which was
encamped on Fort Hill distinguished itself in the famous Battle
of Mindon. There was war preparation also going on on
the side of the patriots, and the newspapers described the
parades of the volunteer corps as they practiced the military art,
so that a journal said the spirit of the people
(10:41):
was never known to be so great since the settlement
of the colonies as it is at this time. People
in the country for hundreds of miles are prepared and
determined to die or be free, while the public mind
was excited. The Suffolk Convention, on the sixth of September
reassembled at the house of mister rich Richard Woodward in Denham,
(11:01):
every town being represented. The delegates chose Richard Palmer President
and William Thompson Clerk. After choosing a large committee to
mature the business, with Warren for their chairman, the convention
adjourned to meet again at Milton, where on the ninth
of September, Warren reported to the convention the paper known
in history as this Suffolk Resolves, which he drafted. It
(11:24):
is said that they were read several times and unanimously adopted,
paragraph by paragraph. The first resolution cheerfully acknowledges George the
third as justly entitled to the allegiance of the British Realm.
Succeeding revolutions arraigned the recent Acts of Parliament as violative
of the laws of nature, the British Constitution and the
(11:46):
Charter of the Province, and provide for a forcible resistance
to them as the attempts of a wicked administration to
enslave America. The action recommended is the boldest and most
thorough of the time. The results. Elves declare the intention
to act merely on the defensive, so long as such
conduct may be vindicated by reason and the principles of
(12:07):
self preservation. But no longer they pledge submission to such
measures as the wisdom and integrity of the Continental Congress
might recommend, for the restoration of their rights and for
the renewal of the union between Great Britain and the colonies,
so earnestly wished for by all good men. They fix
(12:28):
the day for the assembling of a provincial Congress. One
of the resolutions embodied that adherence to social order as
the basis of political action, which for the past six
years had characterized the course of the wise popular leaders.
This resolve heartily recommends all persons to abstain from routes, riots,
(12:50):
or licentious attacks upon the property of any persons whatsoever,
as being subversive of all order and government, but urges
the patriots, by a steady and manly opposition, to convince
these enemies that in a contest so important, in a
cause so solemn, their conduct should be such as to
merit the approbation of the wives and the admiration of
(13:12):
the brave and free of every age and of every country.
The Convention, early in its session, appointed a large and
most respectable committee with Warren for chairmen to remonstrate with
Governor Gage against the new fortification and the insults which
his soldiers had offered to citizens. The committee waited on
him when the chairman presented to him in address, representing
(13:36):
that the works might be used to aggravate the miseries
of the distressed town by interrupting the supplies of provisions,
Expressing an inability to determine whence could originate the Governor's
policy towards a loyal and orderly community, declared that though
the people were resolved by divine assistants never to submit
to the new acts, yet they had no inclination to
(13:59):
war on the troops, representing that the existing ferment resulted
from seizing the powder in the arsenal at Charlestown, and
withholding the powder in Boston from its proprietors, and more
particularly from the fortifying the sole Avenue by land and
to Boston. Nothing, the Committee said in conclusion, short of
restoring the town to its former state and the cessation
(14:22):
from insult, could put the inhabitants in that tranquility in
which every free subject ought to live. To this, the
governor verbally expressed himself as follows, Good God, gentlemen, make
yourselves easy, and I will be so. You have done
all in your power to convince the world and me
that you will not submit to the acts, and I'll
(14:43):
make representation home accordingly, for which I will embrace the
earliest opportunity. He subsequently gave a written reply to the
address of the Committee, in which he said that it
was not possible for him to interrupt the intercourse between
town and country. He urged the general go behavior of
the army to balance the individual cases of insult. He
(15:04):
asked for the occasion of such numbers going through the
country armed, and for the private removal of the guns
from the Charlestown battery, and concluded by remarking that he
found the refusal to submit to the late Acts of
Parliament to be general, and that he should lay the
fact before his majesty. After considering this reply, the Committee
(15:25):
were of opinion that the answer could not be satisfactory
to the country. And farther the journals say, probably in
Warren's language, that his Excellency, in his reply, had been
pleased to propose several questions, which, if unanswered by the committee,
would leave on the minds of persons not fully acquainted
with the state of the facts, some very disagreeable impressions
(15:48):
concerning the conduct and behavior of this county and province.
And they unanimously agreed on the same day to present
to the Governor another address, which was longer than the first.
It says that the Governor was too well acquainted with
the human heart not to be sensible, that it is
natural for people to be soured by oppression and jealous
(16:08):
for their personal security when their exertions for the preservation
of their personal rights were construed into treason and rebellion.
It recapitulated facts relative to the new fortification, the army,
and the distressed condition of the town, and pointed to
the late hostile acts of the Governor as a sufficient
justification for their proceedings for self defense, for which he
(16:32):
seemed at a loss to account. It earnestly solicited the
Governor to desist from action that had a tendency to
create alarm, and particularly from fortifying the entrance to the
town of Boston. It averred and asked the Governor so
to represent to his Majesty that no wish of independency,
no adverse sentiments or designs towards his Majesty or his
(16:54):
troops now here actuate his good subjects in this colony,
but that their sole intention is to preserve, pure and
inviolate those rights to which, as men and English Americans,
they are justly entitled, and which have been guaranteed to
them by His Majesty's royal predecessors. Warren signed this address
(17:14):
as Chairman. The sequel is related in the journals which
contain both addresses over Warren's name. As he was in
the habit of supplying matter to the press, it is
probable that the following interesting relation is from his pen.
The address was delivered to mister Secretary Flucker by the Chairman,
(17:34):
with the desire that he would, as soon as was convenient,
present it to the Governor and request his Excellency to
appoint a time for receiving it in form The Secretary
informed the Chairman the ensuing day that he had seen
the Governor and had given him the copy of the address,
but that he declined receiving it in form. The Chairman
(17:55):
mentioned to him the importance of the business, declaring his
belief that the troops were not in any danger, and
that no person has, so far as he has been informed,
taken any steps which indicated any hostile intention until the
seizing and carrying off the powder from the magazine in
the County of Middlesex, and that if any ill consequences
(18:16):
should arise that should affect the interest of Great Britain,
the most candidate and judicious, both in Europe and America,
would consider the author of the ferment now raised in
the minds of these people as accountable for whatever consequences
might follow from it. He therefore desired the Secretary once
more to make application to his Excellency and to state
(18:37):
the affair to him in that serious manner which the
case seemed to require. The Secretary accordingly made a second
application to the Governor, but received for answer that he
had given all the satisfaction in his power, and he
could not see that any further argumentation upon the subject
would be to any good purpose. Upon this the Committee
(18:59):
were again convened, and it was unanimously resolved that they
had executed the commission entrusted to them by the County
to the utmost of their ability, And after voting that
the reply to His Excellency's answer should be inserted in
the public papers as soon as possible, they adjourned without delay.
It is observable that every vote passed by the delegates
(19:22):
of the County and by the committee appointed to wait
on the Governor, was unanimous. The resolves of the Convention
of Suffolk were adopted by men who were terribly in earnest.
They said that the power, but not the justice, the
vengeance but not the wisdom of Great Britain were acting
with unrelenting severity, and the liberal world as agreed on
(19:44):
this judgment. They said that it was an indispensable duty
which they owed to God, their country, themselves, and posterity,
by all lawful ways and means in their power, to maintain, defend,
and preserve those civil and religious rights and liber for
which many of their fathers fought, bled and died, and
to hand them down entire to future generations. These liberties
(20:09):
may be said to have been embodied in one word, Republicanism,
and when the titled world regarded this element with obloquy,
the Patriots as a party clung to it as the
awe of their political life. Warren sent these resolves with
a letter dated the eleventh of September to the Massachusetts
(20:30):
delegates in Congress in Philadelphia, and Paul Revere was the
messenger who carried also the addresses delivered to Governor Gage.
These papers, as they were listened to in Congress on
the eighteenth, elicited great applause. The esteem. John Adams says,
the affection the admiration for the people of Boston and
(20:50):
the Massachusetts which were expressed, and the fixed determination that
they should be supported, were enough to melt a heart
of stone. I saw the tears gush into the eyes
of the old grave Pacific Quakers of Pennsylvania. The sympathy
which the members expressed for their suffering countrymen was in
character with the constituency, who, by their flow of contributions,
(21:13):
were making Boston the granary of America. In a resolve
which was unanimously passed, the Congress denounced the late acts
most thoroughly approved the wisdom and fortitude with which opposition
to these ministerial measures had hitherto been conducted. Earnestly recommended
to their brethren a perseverance in the same firm and
(21:35):
temperate conduct that was indicated in the Suffolk Resolves, and
expressed the hope that the effect of the united efforts
of North America in behalf of Massachusetts would carry such
conviction to the British nation of the unwise, unjust, and
ruinous policy of the present administration, as quickly to introduce
better men and wiser measures. Another resolve recommended a continuous
(22:00):
of contributions from all the colonies to alleviate the distresses
of their brethren of Boston. These resolves, Samuel Adams wrote
to Doctor Chauncey, give a faint idea of the spirit
of Congress. I think I may assure you that America
will make a point of supporting Boston to the utmost.
It is always difficult to harmonize the views of earnest men,
(22:23):
and it is not strange that, when unity of action
was vital, the patriots of other colonies should have feared
that the Massachusetts patriots might break the line of opposition
by advancing too hastily before the rest or that the
Boston popular leaders should have been anxious to hear from Congress.
The great news of the endorsement by the colonies of
(22:44):
the Suffolk Resolves was brought by Paul Revere and was
printed in the Journals of the twenty sixth in the
form of brief letters addressed to Warren by Peyton Randolph,
the President, Thomas Cushing, one of the Massachusetts delegates, and
a copy of the resolutions passed by Congress attested by
Charles Thompson. It was, with the exception of the rule
(23:06):
adopted in that body in voting, the first account of
what had been done in their secret session. It was
a letter says the only thing which the members of
Congress were at liberty to mention to the people out
of doors. Here the Congress will support Boston and the
Massachusetts or perish with them. But they wished that blood
may be spared if possible, and all ruptures with the
(23:28):
troops avoided. The patriots were now in high spirits. Governor
Gage was surprised and astonished to see the union of
the colonies. Like his predecessor, he watched and reported signs
of its formation, and he confessed that the movements were
beyond all conception. He now informed Lord Dartmouth of the
approval by Congress of the Suffolk Resolves. The comments by
(23:51):
the Tories on these resolves were voluminous and uncommonly severe.
They said it was a mystery which filled their minds
with surprisement that the gentlemen of Congress were disposed to
enter in a league offensive and defensive with the New
England and other Presbyterian Republicans. But the fact was notorious
to the world. It could neither be denied nor palliated.
(24:15):
For they hastily and eagerly published, and it was the
first thing they did publish, their cordial approbation of the
Suffolk Resolves for erecting an independent government in New England.
They said that a rebellion was evidently commenced in New
England in the County of Suffolk, without room for retreating.
They pronounced the resolves nothing short of a declaration of independency.
(24:38):
They said that the men who had occasioned the political
troubles in Massachusetts, having become desperate themselves, had no other
card to play but to involve the whole country in
their rebellion. They wrote that they had persuaded themselves that
Congress would open the door for a settlement by advising
Boston to pay for the tea. But alas how we
(25:00):
have been disappointed. As soon as they Congress received by
express an authentic copy of the Suffolk Resolves, they broke
through all these rules of secrecy and at once gave
such a blast from the trumpet of sedition as made
one half of America's shutter. In due time, there appeared
in the newspaper's quotations from the British press of similar tenor.
(25:24):
It was the union that gave joy to the heart
of the Whig and supplied venom to the pen of
the Tory. The friends of America, an editorial in a
Boston journal, says, have the satisfaction to learn that the
resolve of the Late Continental Congress respecting the votes of
the County of Suffolk, published in the late English papers,
(25:45):
have not only surprised but quite confounded the Ministry, as
by it they perceived the union of the colonies to
be complete, and that their present menaces only mark their despair.
End of Chapter eleven, Part two
Popular Podcasts
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!