FOREWORD
The original thirteen American colonies faced an enormous challenge in coming to
agreement on declaring independence from Britain. Each colony had its own separate
issues. For numerous reasons that will be disclosed, Virginia was viewed as a key
player in convincing others that it was in the interest of all the colonies to declare
independence in united fashion. To shed light on Virginia’s role in the birth of this
nation, the Virginia State Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of
Independence asked Clifford R. Dickinson, a long-time history teacher and scholar at St.
Christopher’s School in Richmond, Virginia for assistance. Mr. Dickinson responded
with a thoroughly researched and documented paper on what transpired in Virginia in
the crucial years leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We hope
his paper will serve as an educational resource for teachers and all those interested in
knowing more about this extremely important part of Virginia and American history.
Lawrence M. Croft
1st Vice-President General of DSDI
Richmond, Virginia
R. Bruce W. Laubach
President, Virginia State Society of DSDI
Williamsburg, Virginia
“All America Looks Up to Virginia;” Virginia and the
Declaration of Independence
In 1763 British and French negotiators affixed their signatures to the Treaty of Paris,
thus ending what had come to be known in Europe as the Seven Years’ War and in
America as the French and Indian War. Some labeled this war “Virginia’s War” for that
colony’s role in initiating military confrontation with France in the Ohio River Valley in
the 1750s.
Following her victory, Britain moved to tighten control over her empire, particularly in
the provinces in North America. Few people in Europe or America could have foreseen
then that in thirteen short years, Great Britain would face the prospect of losing her
American colonies.
Fewer still would have predicted that Virginia, the oldest, largest, most populous
American colony, and the one with the closest cultural and economic ties to Britain,
would find herself at the storm center of a bitter continental debate: should the thirteen
American colonies declare their independence from Britain. “All America looks up to
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you to take the lead on the present occasion,” wrote the Philadelphia Committee of
Correspondence to its counterpart in Williamsburg Virginia in 1774. “You are ancient,
you are respected, and you are animated in the cause.”
Within months Virginia would find herself in the midst of revolution against royal
authority, spearheading a growing colonial movement for American independence. By
spring 1776 it had become clear that Britain’s goal was nothing less than absolute
subjugation of the American provinces, and that this would be achieved through force,
not conciliation.
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Virginia and Parliamentary Legislation In the wake of its global victory, Britain began
to devise new methods for generating revenue. During the Seven Years’ War her
national debt quadrupled: in 1763 it was seventeen times greater than the national
income. In an effort to offset a portion of the huge cost of colonial defense, Parliament
voted to place new taxes on the American provinces.
Hoping to avert another costly Indian war, Parliament closed lands west of the
Appalachian Mountains to further settlement. This was a blow to the colonies’ land
speculators. In April 1764 Parliament passed the Sugar Act, reasserting its control over
imperial trade and reaffirming its mercantile philosophy that colonies existed solely to
benefit the mother country. Since the American colonies had no elected members
representing their interests, the Sugar Act led to outcries of “taxation without
representation.” In 1765 the American economic situation worsened when Parliament
passed the Currency Act, which prohibited the colonies from printing paper money.
The first great test of political wills between Parliament and the American provinces
came in 1765 with the passage of the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act was Parliament’s first
direct tax on the American colonies, projecting London into the heart of American
affairs. It placed a tax on paper, a material used in virtually every type of transaction in
the colonies – court documents, deeds, records of goods and shipments at ports,
contracts, newspapers and other public prints (with the exception of books), and on all
newspaper advertisements. It also struck every nerve in American life. People from all
walks of colonial life realized that the stamp tax was to be implemented without
approval of their legislatures.
This was not the first time that Virginians challenged British authority over colonial
taxation. In 1715 the House of Burgesses had refused to authorize money for defense
against Indians, questioning Governor Alexander Spotswood’s demand that the colony
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furnish funds he requested. Spotswood in return denounced the Burgesses and sent
them home. He knew that any attempt to raise funds without the burgesses’ approval
would be resisted. Between 1715 and 1763 Virginia’s governors avoided run-ins that
might spark a debate over rights. Richard Henry Lee reignited the debate by claiming
that the Stamp Act denied the constitutional rights of all Americans.
Aroused by news of the stamp duty, Richard Henry Lee, a well-educated articulate
planter from Virginia’s Northern Neck (the area between the Potomac and
Rappahannock Rivers) and son of one of its wealthiest and most prominent families,
and a member of the colony’s House of Burgesses, communicated to an English
correspondent that Britain appeared bent on oppressing the American colonists. Lee
explained that he opposed the stamp tax because the American provinces were not
represented in Parliament. Their rights to be governed and taxed by elected
representative bodies, he reminded his friend, were essential elements of the British
constitution.
Controversy over the Stamp Act resulted in destruction and violence in several
colonies. A Stamp Act Congress convened in New York, and Virginia passed a series of
resolutions challenging the act’s constitutionality. Virginians of all ranks opposed the
Stamp Act through a boycott of British trade goods and rigid noncompliance. The
colony’s extreme constitutional position, articulated by Richard Henry Lee challenged
the very heart of Britain’s sovereignty.
An already financially stricken American merchant class pushed for repeal of the Stamp
Act in 1766. Parliament then passed the Declaratory Act, claiming exclusive power to
impose binding taxes on the colonies. Parliament declared its own authority to levy
taxes although it had repealed a specific tax.
In 1767, a second series of trade laws, the Townshend Acts, again challenged colonial
self government. Citing the supposed distinction between “internal” and “external”
taxes (taxes on commodities produced and sold within a colony versus commodities
produced overseas and imported into the colonies), Parliament placed taxes on glass,
paint, lead, and tea. The Townshend Acts sought to raise revenue in order to pay the
salaries of judges and governors in America, making them independent of colonial
legislatures. The American colonies, especially those in New England, met the
Townshend Acts with stiff resistance.
The following year March British occupation of Boston, Massachusetts led to a clash
between civilians and soldiers in which five Bostonians were killed. As a result of the
“Boston Massacre”, Parliament began considering a motion to partially repeal the
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Townshend duties. Most of the act’s provisions were repealed, but the tax on tea
remained in effect. In Virginia the remaining tea tax was generally seen as a continued
symbol of British oppression.
In 1773 Parliament granted the British East India Company a monopoly on the
American tea trade. In Virginia a boycott on tea was imposed and most Virginians quit
drinking tea. On December 16, 1774 a group of Bostonians boarded three vessels
dressed up as “Indians” and dumped 340 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. Parliament
responded by passing the Coercive Acts. Four of the Coercive Acts’ provisions targeted
the town of Boston and the colony of Massachusetts.
Simultaneously, and unconnected with the Coercive Acts, Parliament passed the
Quebec Act in an attempt to solve western land problems in America. All land north of
the Ohio River was to be transferred to the province of Quebec. This was a major blow
to Virginia land speculators, many of whom were members of the Virginia Council and
House of Burgesses. From now on land would be distributed from London, not from
Williamsburg.
In 1749 a group of northern Virginia land speculators established the Ohio Company
and acquired huge tracts of land. Since then half a dozen other land companies had
been created. The investors, many of them wealthy planters and merchants, most of
them members of the House of Burgesses, were angered by the unilateral assignment of
western lands to Quebec. They argued that the land beyond the Appalachian
Mountains had been granted to Virginia in royal charters.
Between the end of the French and Indian War and the outbreak of the American
Revolution, the greatest single economic activity in Virginia was land speculation.
Thomas Jefferson had investments in three land companies, Richard Henry Lee and his
brother Francis Lightfoot had sunk large sums in two companies. Patrick Henry saw
five land deals evaporate in the Quebec Act. George Washington, also an investor in
land companies, had title to thousands of acres of bounty lands purchased at low prices
from veterans of the French and Indian War. Every person of wealth and means was
involved in a land speculation scheme. All of Virginia’s delegates to the First and
Second Continental Congress were invested in the west.
The Coercive Acts, or the Intolerable Acts as they became known in the colonies, were
viewed as wholesale reprisal against the colonies. Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson,
Richard Henry and Francis Lightfoot Lee, possibly George Mason and others met on the
night of May 23 and drafted a resolution opposing the closing of Boston’s harbor. In it
they called for a declaration in support of the people of Boston. They set aside June 1 as
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“a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer.” To avoid appearing defiant, they decided
that the resolution would be introduced in the House of Burgesses.
Lt. Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore denounced the action and dissolved the
House of Burgesses. On May 27 eighty-nine former members privately reconvened in
Williamsburg’s Raleigh Tavern at the urging of former House speaker Peyton
Randolph. A convention to discuss future relations between Virginia and England was
called for August 1. Richard Henry Lee recommended that a committee of
correspondence invite all of the colonies to meet in a general congress to address issues
of common concern.
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First Virginia Convention (August 1-6, 1774) On August 1, 1774 thirty-one counties
and towns dispatched 153 representatives to the First Virginia Convention in
Williamsburg. Many convention delegates were former burgesses. The former speaker
of the House of Burgesses, Peyton Randolph, was chosen president of the convention.
The delegates then established the Virginia Association in order to set up and
implement a colony wide trade boycott. Importation of slaves and other commodities of
trade from Britain and the West Indies were to cease November 1, and colonial
Virginians would wear clothes that they themselves manufactured. They would not
drink tea. The convention also passed a declaration of rights and denied Parliament’s
right to tax the American colonies.
Many delegates also called for some sort of formal protest against Britain, but the
Convention was unable to reach a consensus on a course of action. The Convention then
passed definitive resolutions authorizing its delegation to the upcoming Congress to
enter into non-importation and non-exportation agreements with other colonies. The
First Virginia Convention’s final and most important step was to formally call for a
“general congress” to be held the following month in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On
Friday August 5 the Convention selected seven delegates to the September congress Peyton Randolph, Richard Henry Lee, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard
Bland, Benjamin Harrison and Edmund Pendleton. They were instructed to reach a
consensus with the other colonies on parliament’s arbitrary taxation policy.
A significant sidelight of the First Virginia Convention was the appearance of a
pamphlet written by Thomas Jefferson of Albemarle County. Jefferson hoped that A
Summary View of the Rights of British America might serve as a set of instructions for the
colony’s delegates to congress.
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A Summary View delineated the American interpretation of the British constitution. It
expressed the opinion of a growing number of colonials. It was also very frank and left
little room for backtracking: “The king is no more than the chief officer of the people,
appointed by the laws, and circumscribed with definite powers, to assist in working the
great machine of government erected for their use, and consequently subject to their
superintendence.” What was the political relation between England and America?
Jefferson asked. He denied Parliament’s authority to make trade laws and condemned it
for trying to take unfair advantage of the fruits of American labor. George Wythe, a
forty-eight year old Williamsburg lawyer and Thomas Jefferson’s former law instructor,
was the only delegate who shared Jefferson’s belief that Parliament did not have
absolute authority over the colonies. All of the other convention delegates believed that
A Summary View was too radical and voted to table it. Jefferson’s friends, however, had
the pamphlet printed and circulated, and it earned Jefferson an inter-colonial reputation
as a brilliant writer and ardent American patriot.
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“Our Rights and Privileges” The people of Virginia were well aware that they too had
a stake in the affairs set to transpire in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They would
certainly be affected by courses of action set upon there over the next few months.
Rumors circulated and everyone speculated about the convention’s purposes.
As delegate Benjamin Harrison rode out from Berkeley plantation, his estate on the
James River, he was approached by a group of plainly dressed local citizens. In Virginia
society Harrison was what they called a “better.” He knew that they had come to see
him, and pulled up his horse in order to hear what they had to say. The small group
expressed their confidence that Harrison would do what was best for the people of
Charles City County. “You assert,” one man addressed him, “that there is a fixed
intention to invade our rights and privileges. We own that we do not see this clearly,
but since you assure us that it is so, we believe the fact.” The fellow told Harrison that
they would return to their homes and abide by Congress’s decisions. He nodded and
rode on, not knowing what those decisions might be.
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First Continental Congress (September 5- October 26, 1774) The First Continental
Congress convened at Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 5,
1774. Peyton Randolph was elected “President,” and the gathering delegates decided
that they should be called “The Congress.” It was decided that votes would be taken by
colony. Every province but Georgia attended.
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Those in attendance were solid in their resolve to present a united front against
Parliament, but they were unable to agree on a strategy. The New York and
Pennsylvania delegations had firm instructions to seek a resolution with parliament.
The other colonies were also firm in asserting their rights. However, there were
delegates who believed that a satisfactory settlement could be reached and differences
reconciled. A few spoke of separation from Britain.
Virginia’s delegation was divided but understood the importance of presenting a
unified front. Richard Henry Lee, who would play a prominent role in the
independence movement later on, had little influence in the Virginia delegation in 1774.
In 1768 he had become embroiled in a bitter political dispute that pitted him against the
established James River-York River group in what Virginians remembered as the
“Robinson Affair.” Lee became a lightning rod for controversy by challenging several of
the colony’s most important leaders about former Speaker John Robinson’s malfeasance
of public funds. Several burgesses had been involved and owed the colony money, and
when leadership tried to keep the affair quiet, Lee and his friend Patrick Henry publicly
exposed it. It created great embarrassment for the House of Burgesses, and many of
those directly connected with the Robinson scandal never forgave Richard Henry Lee.
Although the objectives of the First Continental Congress were not entirely clear,
several tasks were accomplished. The delegates agreed that the King and Parliament
must be made to understand colonial grievances, and that Congress must do everything
in its power to communicate these grievances to the rest of the world.
Virginia’s two most outspoken critics of Parliamentary taxation, Patrick Henry and
Richard Henry Lee, were the first delegates to speak before Congress. Benjamin
Harrison of Charles City County chaired the preliminary debates over whether or not
American exports should be withheld from Britain. Harrison was a capable man on
committees, good-natured and forthright; he knew how to employ humor to thaw
tensions. Harrison also sat over the debates on the Articles of Association, a plan for
establishing a trade boycott against England.
Richard Henry Lee chaired three of the nine committees established by the First
Continental Congress and served on three others. Lee proved to be one of the most
active and radical members of the Virginia delegation, but he exerted little influence
within the Virginia delegation, which looked to Peyton Randolph for its leadership. Lee
struck up a fast friendship with John Adams and Sam Adams of Massachusetts. They
often breakfasted and dined together and were occasionally joined by Henry. “These
gentlemen from Virginia appear to be the most spirited and consistent of any,” John
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Adams noted in his diary. “Harrison said he would have come on foot rather than not
come,” and “Lee is for making the repeal of every revenue law.”
On September 22 Congress adopted the Suffolk Resolves and pledged itself to support
the people in the town of Boston. Three weeks later on October 14, Congress charted a
clearer course of action when it adopted the Declaration and Resolves. Colonial objections
to the Intolerable Acts were outlined, colonial rights spelled out, and a list of grievances
compiled. A trade boycott was also established: non-importation of British and West
Indian commodities would begin December 1, and if necessary, non-exportation of
American goods would commence September 1, 1775. Addresses to the peoples of
Great Britain and British America were also prepared, and a petition sent to King
George III. The Virginia delegation played a leading role in these tasks.
Congress then adopted the Continental Association to enforce the trade boycott. It was
based on the Virginia Association and called for the formation of organizations in all of
the colonies with police powers to enforce and regulate the boycott. Every county, city,
and town in the provinces was urged to enforce the embargo. “Virginia gave the signal
to the continent,” reported General Thomas Gage, commander of British forces in
Boston. The First Continental Congress’s final act was to agreement to meet again the
following year if its grievances had not addressed by parliament.
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The Virginia Association Before the First Continental Congress met, Virginia’s boycott
was largely ineffective. There was confusion and disagreement in the colony over when
importation of British goods should end and when exportation of Virginia commodities
would be halted. Now the colony moved quickly to strengthen its Association.
Tidewater and Eastern shore counties established committees of safety to monitor
economic activity and tighten the boycott. Participation increased and by the end of
1774 thirty-six Virginia counties and towns had formed local enforcement committees.
By the end of January 1775 the Association was aggressively and effectively enforcing
the boycott over a wide area in the province of Virginia.
As the boycott threatened to cause shortages of goods, dissension arose among
Virginians. Salt was in short supply, especially in the backcountry, and on several
occasions people there seized salt stocks. Governor John Murray, Earl Dunmore
believed that the trade boycott would split the patriots into factions: “The people of
fortune may supply themselves and their Negroes for two or three years; but the
middling and poorer sort, who live from hand to mouth, have not the means of doing
so, and the produce of their lands will not purchase those necessaries.” Dunmore was
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sure that the boycott would ruin many families. In October 1775 he reported that
shortages had already brought a decline in support for the trade boycott, even among
those who were initially enthusiastic.
When new county-level committees replaced county courts, enforcement improved. On
November 7, after receiving the green light from the York and Gloucester County
committees, Yorktown merchant Thomas Nelson, Jr. and a handful of other men
boarded an English vessel at Yorktown and dumped two and a half chests of tea into
the York River. Virginia had had its own scaled down version of the Boston tea party.
The hand of the Association grew stronger.
On November 9 a copy of the Continental Association boycott agreement with almost
500 Virginia merchant’s signatures appeared in Williamsburg. This was strong evidence
that the trade embargo had taken hold in Virginia.
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Second Virginia Convention (March 20-27, 1775) In January 1775 Governor Dunmore
again used his authority to prorogue the Virginia House of Burgesses. This was the fifth
time the governor had utilized his authority in this legal manner. This time it was to
keep the House of Burgesses from choosing delegates to a second continental congress.
On March 20 the colony’s former burgesses assembled at St. John’s Church in
Richmond as delegates to the Second Virginia Convention at the request of Peyton
Randolph. Virginia’s most important men assembled in the uncomfortable wooden
pews, among them six future signers of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas
Nelson, Jr. and George Wythe had ridden up from York County and Williamsburg
respectively. Benjamin Harrison represented Charles City County and Carter Braxton
represented King William County. From the Northern Neck came Richard Henry and
Francis Lightfoot Lee and the wealthy planter George Washington. Thomas Jefferson of
Albemarle County was also present.
The Second Virginia Convention assembled to review reports from the province’s
delegation to the First Continental Congress, and to check on the progress of the
Association. Peyton Randolph placed the published proceedings of the First
Continental Congress before the Convention and they were examined in detail. The
Convention then passed a resolution thanking the delegates for their efforts in
Philadelphia.
On the next to last day of the Convention, the delegates found themselves in a debate
over military preparation sparked by Patrick Henry. On March 23 Henry electrified the
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delegates with his immortal “Liberty or Death” speech, calling for a plan to establish a
Virginia militia. Richard Henry Lee seconded Henry’s motion. For the first time, it
appeared that the growing tensions between Great Britain and her American colonies
might lead to an open rupture. The possibility had not yet been publicly discussed
when Henry’s emotional proposal for military preparation was offered. The ensuing
debate intensified disagreements between Virginia’s two emerging political factions.
Within the convention delegation, these factions argued over how to handle the rapidly
escalating political situation. The conservatives, composed of primarily the large
established tobacco planters and Virginia merchants from the lower James River and
York River valleys, considered the idea of resisting Britain to be rash and unwise. They
believed that mobilization for war was premature and radical. Changes were taking
place, but a “revolution” was not underway that would lead to separation. The
conservatives wanted no part of anything that undermined established society and the
political structure holding it together. They were especially adamant in their opposition
to any actions that might introduce a more democratic, less class conscious form of
“mob rule” into Virginia.
Benjamin Harrison of Charles City County pointed out that creating a Virginia militia
was putting the cart before the horse. Petitions had been dispatched by the First
Continental Congress to Parliament, but as yet had been unanswered. Harrison
believed that Parliament needed more time to respond, and he encouraged the
delegates to be patient. Others feared that Virginia would never be able to meet the full
brunt of British military might if it were to be directed against the colony. George
Wythe surprised the delegation by opposing Henry’s resolution on the grounds that a
militia organization would be incapable of meeting a serious British threat. He
proposed instead that Virginia create a regular army of 10,000 men.
The younger more aggressive liberals did not share the optimism of their conservative
counterparts: they doubted that Parliament would be just in dealing with Virginia’s
claims. Many of the liberals, including George Mason, George Washington, Francis
Lightfoot Lee and his brother Richard Henry Lee hailed from the Northern Neck.
Others such as Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Patrick Henry came from the
Piedmont. George Wythe, Benjamin Harrison, and Thomas Nelson, Jr., were among the
small handful of liberals who came from the lower James River region.
Nelson, a son of one of the richest merchants in Virginia, and colonel of the York
County militia, staked out his place in the liberal ranks by supporting Patrick Henry.
British warships sat at anchor in the York within clear sight of his plantation house at
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Yorktown, and if they attempted to land troops in York County, Nelson promised the
convention, he would attack them at the beaches without orders. He surprised the
convention with his fervor and left no doubt that he favored a firm stance against
Britain. Thomas Nelson became one of staunchest supporters of independence and
would give his home and fortune to the American cause.
The radicals pushed through Henry’s militia resolution by one vote. Afterwards some
of the moderate delegates agreed to work to support the resolution, believing that it
was important to present a unified front. Benjamin Harrison had opposed the measure
at first, but once the convention voted in favor of the militia measure, he worked
actively to support it. Harrison was appointed to the twelve-man committee to pursue
the militia plan. Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, George Washington, and Thomas
Jefferson were also assigned to this committee. Two days later the committee submitted
a report calling for the recruitment of at least one infantry company and at least one
cavalry company in every county in Virginia. This action for mobilization constituted
the chief accomplishment of the convention.
The final act of the Second Virginia Convention was to appoint an alternate to the
upcoming continental congress in Philadelphia in the likelihood that a vacancy opened
up in the delegation. Edmund Randolph, overweight and in declining health, had
presided over the first two Virginia conventions and had indicated that he planned to
return to Williamsburg for the third, if and when it took place. Many Virginians
believed that Virginia’s affairs took precedence over those under consideration in
Pennsylvania, and Randolph was one of them. If called home from Congress, then he
would return to Virginia for the next convention. Thomas Jefferson was not excited by
his appointment as alternate on the delegation. Believing that Virginia would act
decisively and eventually declare independence on its own, Jefferson wanted to be at
the next convention to weigh in on a new government.
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Outbreak of hostilities On April 19, 1775 two small engagements took place between
British regulars and American militia outside of Boston, Massachusetts. The skirmishes
at Lexington and Concord are remembered as the beginning of military hostilities in
American Revolution. Some 450 miles to the south, in Williamsburg, Virginia, a third
episode had occurred earlier that night, when the colony’s royal governor, John
Murray, Lord Dunmore, ordered British marines to seize the colony’s gunpowder
supply from the town’s arsenal. This action was the governor’s response to the Second
Virginia Convention’s vote to organize the colony’s militia.
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It was not a coincidence that fighting at Lexington and Concord and the seizure of
powder by Virginia’s royal governor occurred on the same night. Both actions aimed to
seize gunpowder and weapons from the growing liberal or “radical” factions in the two
colonies. On April 24 news of the fighting in Massachusetts reached Philadelphia. When
word of the hostilities reached Virginia, many became enraged that British authorities
had deliberately tried to use shows of force to intimidate radicals in the two most
radical colonies. “This accident has cut off our last hope of reconciliation,” wrote
Thomas Jefferson, “and a frenzy of revenge seems to have seized all ranks of people.
…This may perhaps be intended to intimidate us into acquiescence; but the effect has
been most unfortunately otherwise.”
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Second Continental Congress (May-June 1775) On May 8 news of an American
military disaster at Quebec, Canada reached the delegates waiting for the Second
Continental Congress to begin. American forces had attacked Quebec in a blinding
snowstorm on the last night of the year, just before enlistments of most of the men were
to end. However, the attack had been defeated when British defenders received word
from a deserter of the impending attack. The Second Continental Congress convened on
May 10 to face a resistance movement already in motion. Virginia’s Peyton Randolph
was again elected president, and after handling several necessary organizational details,
Congress went into secret session “to take into consideration the State of America.” The
discussion centered on recent events in Massachusetts and Canada: how should
congress respond to military events? Thousands of New England militiamen had
responded to the British incursion into the Massachusetts countryside, but there was no
effective command structure and the colony could not manage the logistical issues
involved in supporting the growing force outside Boston. On June 2 Massachusetts
requested that Congress assume control of its militia, and the following day a resolution
was passed which allowed Congress to take control of the “army.”
Eight Virginians - Benjamin Harrison, George Washington, George Wythe, Carter
Braxton, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, and Thomas
Jefferson - soon found themselves at the storm center of the explosive debate engulfing
their province and the rest of the American colonies. They were entering a war against
the most powerful nation in the world without having established their own nation. The
colonies had no government, no army, no allies, and no justification to the world for
seeking a place as an independent nation. Virginia and its delegation in Philadelphia
would play major roles in addressing the obstacles to independence.
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Benjamin Harrison Born on Berkeley plantation, Charles City County, in 1726,
Harrison came from one of the most prominent and wealthy families in Virginia. He
was educated at The College of William & Mary where he studied classics. Harrison
entered the House of Burgesses in 1749 at age twenty-three. He opposed the
Proclamation of 1763 and was placed on the committee that drew up Virginia’s formal
protest to it.
Harrison was a huge man, six foot three inches tall, and weighing somewhere between
250-300 pounds. He was brother-in-law to George Washington and cousin to Peyton
Randolph and Richard Henry Lee. He excelled in committee work, was quick verbally,
and stood firm after reaching a decision. Harrison preferred not to speak or write
publicly, but he could do so adequately when pressured. He was adept in debate, but
also knew how to use humor to diffuse a tense situation. Like fellow Virginian Richard
Henry Lee, Harrison believed that religion was essential to society.
Originally a moderate in his political views, Harrison had at one time feared the
consequences of democratic “mob rule.” In 1774 he had been confident that things
could still be worked out with Britain, but the following year his stance shifted when he
became more fully apprised of the deteriorating political situation. Understanding the
necessity of maintaining a unified front in the dispute with Britain, Harrison actively
supported the American Revolution before leaving Congress. He was chairman of the
Committee of the Whole at the Second Continental Congress, presiding over its most
secret debates, including the debate on independence. He also served on numerous
committees dealing with naval, military, and foreign affairs. Harrison was chairman of
the Board of War, chairman of the Committee of Foreign Affairs until a bureau with a
secretary was established, chairman of the committee on Marine Affairs (which
included regulation of the navy) and chairman of the Canada expedition committee. He
was also part of a committee that travelled to Cambridge, Massachusetts to discuss
supplies for the Continental Army; he was sent by Congress to meet with Maryland
authorities to discuss a plan for defending the Chesapeake Bay; he also travelled to
New York to help plan the defense of New York City and select sites for forts on the
East and Hudson Rivers.
Benjamin Harrison was especially active in the debate on the Articles of Confederation.
John Adams later noted that Harrison’s contributions and “many pleasantries” steadied
many rough sessions in Congress.
George Washington Born in 1732, Washington attended local schools in Westmoreland
County and as a very young man engaged in land surveying. Tall, red-haired, and
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blue-eyed, Washington was a superb rider and excellent dancer. Quiet, self-assured,
with restrained physique, he looked younger than he actually was. Washington never
sought popularity.
In 1752 he was appointed major in the Virginia militia. In November 1753 he was
dispatched by Governor Robert Dinwiddie to carry messages to the French in the Ohio
Valley. The following year Washington was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel
and served in the French and Indian War. In July 1755 he escaped unscathed from
General Edward Braddock’s disastrous defeat in western Pennsylvania. During the war
he commanded the 1st Virginia Regiment and managed the defense of the colony’s
frontier before retiring from active service in December 1758. That same year
Washington entered the House of Burgesses.
In 1769 Washington displayed a radical outlook for the first time, taking the lead in
calling for Virginia to close its ports. He visited his neighbor George Mason and
developed plans for a boycott. Washington understood the importance of presenting a
unified front to Parliament. A member of the First and Second Continental Congresses,
he would be named commander-in-chief of the American army June 15, 1775, a position
he would hold until the end of the Revolution.
George Wythe Privately instructed by his mother and educated at the College of
William & Mary, George Wythe began practicing law in Virginia in 1746. He entered
the House of Burgesses in 1758 at the age of thirty-two. Wythe possessed a strong sense
of history. He studied the classics until he was fifty, and in later years would be
remembered as “the walking library.” Courteous and witty with his friends, Wythe was
not an eloquent speaker. His most forceful weapons were his clear logical mind and his
comprehensive knowledge of law. Wythe was considered one of the best lawyers in the
colony. In the courtroom he was open and direct, but could be sarcastic when the
situation warranted it. In 1758, 1763, and 1773 he served as legal counsel for George
Washington in the latter’s real estate ventures.
Learning of Parliament’s plan to tax the colonies, Wythe showed revolutionary leanings
early on. He was one of the first men in Virginia to express the idea of separate
nationhood within the British empire. He was one of the first delegates in the Second
Continental Congress to call for the establishment of an American navy. He became
very good friends with John Adams and Sam Adams. From the beginning there was no
equivocating with Georg Wythe: he saw independence as the only desirable course of
action. His role in pushing for independence is vastly underestimated. Along with John
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Adams and Richard Henry Lee, Wythe was one of the most outspoken advocates of
independence at the Second Continental Congress.
Carter Braxton Born at Newington plantation on the Mattaponi River near King and
Queen County Courthouse in 1736, Braxton graduated from The College of William &
Mary and went on to attend Cambridge University, England, for three years. Entering
the House of Burgesses in 1761, Braxton became an important figure in King William
County politics. One of the richest men in Virginia, his political life was influenced and
overshadowed by business interests.
Named delegate to fill the vacancy in Philadelphia caused by the death of Peyton
Randolph in October 1775, Braxton would sit in the Second Continental Congress from
February to August 1776. While in Philadelphia his plantation home burned to the
ground, and Braxton was forced to move his family to West Point at the confluence of
the Pamunkey and Mattaponi Rivers. Braxton was the most conservative member of
Virginia’s delegation and the most reluctant signer of the Declaration of Independence.
He suffered severe financial losses during the war and ended his life in poverty, his
fortune affected by questionable business decisions.
Richard Henry Lee Born in 1732 at Stratford Hall plantation in Westmoreland County,
Richard Henry Lee received private education at Wakefield Academy, England for
seven years. Upon his return to Virginia he became a successful planter and politician.
In 1757 he was chosen justice of the peace for Westmoreland County and the following
year became a Virginia burgess. Lee was one of the colony’s first revolutionaries, openly
speaking of independence as early as the mid 1760s.
Over six feet in height and graceful in his movements, Lee was by nature
confrontational. He seemed bred for political life and was a lightning rod for
controversy. He possessed a musical voice, good cadence, and was very polished. He
tended to lean forward whenever he spoke and was always brief and to the point. Lee
was considered second only to Patrick Henry in his oratorical skills. In public Lee kept
his hand wrapped in black silk handkerchief to hide the loss of two fingers from a swan
hunting accident and used the handkerchief to gesture when he rose to speak. “His
mind,” remembered Philadelphia doctor Benjamin Rush, “was like a sword too large
for its scabbard.”
In May 1773 Richard Henry Lee proposed that intercolonial committees of
correspondence be established. Later as a member of the First and Second Continental
Congress, Lee prepared some of the most important papers of the Revolutionary era. In
1775 he authored an address to the people of Great Britain which carried America’s
15
final petition to George III. On June 7, 1776 after redrafting and condensing instructions
from the Fifth Virginia Convention, Lee presented the motion for independence to the
Second Continental Congress. He would later sign the Declaration. In October 1777 Lee
authored the first national Thanksgiving Day proclamation issued by an American
Congress.
Thomas Nelson, Jr. of Yorktown was the son of one of the richest merchants in
Virginia. Educated at a private school near London and later Trinity College,
Cambridge University in England, Nelson returned to Virginia in 1761 and entered the
family’s business. In 1764 Nelson become justice of the peace for York County and
entered the House of Burgesses.
In 1774 Nelson was chosen by the voters of York County represent them at the First
Virginia Convention. He was a member of the Virginia conventions in 1775 where he
undertook the establishment of the Virginia Militia. Nelson strongly Patrick Henry’s
resolution to arm, declaring that he would do everything he could to support the
measure. He worked closely with Henry and continued to be outspoken in his desire for
independence from Britain. The following year he helped create the Virginia militia and
was commissioned as its initial commander.
Nelson was later elected to represent Virginia at the Second Continental Congress.
There he worked on committees that oversaw the treasury and drew up the Articles of
Confederation. In 1777 Nelson began experiencing health problems and was forced to
retire from active public life. He later resumed his military career, serving as General of
the Lower Virginia Militia when British forces initiated an aggressive military campaign
against the southern colonies. He would go on to command the state’s military forces
until his resignation for ill health after the decisive Yorktown campaign in 1781.
Francis Lightfoot Lee was the least political member of a wealthy, often aggressive
family. Born in 1734 at Stratford Hall plantation in Westmoreland, “Frank” Lee was the
younger brother of Richard Henry Lee. He was educated at home by a family tutor. He
was a lifelong avid reader and thinker with particular interests in science and literature.
But he disliked politics, insisting that it was “damned dirty work.”
In 1765 Francis Lightfoot Lee joined his brother and Patrick Henry in public opposition
to the Stamp Act. As a member of the House of Burgesses and the Virginia
Conventions, he joined other liberals/radicals in writing letters urging colonial unity
against Great Britain. Lee was not flamboyant or boisterous but a “steady” gentleman.
“I thought he possessed a more accurate and correct mind than his brother, Richard,”
remembered a member of the Continental Congress. “I never knew him wrong
16
eventually upon question. He often opposed his brother’s vote, but never actively spoke
on the floor of Congress.”
A good listener he preferred backroom strategy rather than the larger, more public
forum of public debate. He never suffered anxiety about the course he would take in the
decision for independence. “Let us, my dear friend,” he wrote an acquaintance, “do the
best we can for the good of our country, and leave the rest to fate.” Lee served on
military and marine committees in the Continental Congress and signed both the
Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation.
Thomas Jefferson Tall, freckled, sandy-haired, with prominent cheekbones and chin,
Jefferson possessed an education that rivaled the finest in Europe. Born at Shadwell in
present-day Albemarle County, he attended a preparatory school and later graduated
from William & Mary where he studied law. He practiced law for eight years but
preferred politics and public life. In 1764 Jefferson inherited a 1900 acre estate, became a
vestryman and justice of the peace in Albemarle County. In 1769 he was elected to the
House of Burgesses at the age of twenty-six and named to Virginia’s first committee of
correspondence. In 1775 while a member of the Second Virginia Convention in
Richmond, Thomas Jefferson was selected an alternate to the Second Continental
Congress.
______________________________
George Washington commissioned to command the Continental Army (June 19, 1775)
Washington’s role in the French and Indian War made him the most well-known
military figure in the colonies in 1775. His five years of service in the French and Indian
War (1755-1763) along the Pennsylvania-Maryland-Virginia frontier garnered
Washington a military reputation. Between 1753 and 1758, Washington acquired
military skills as an aide to Major General Edward Braddock and later as colonel of
Virginia forces participating in British military operations. Washington further
developed an understanding of logistics, tactics, and strategy, when he was promoted
to overall commander of Virginia’s colonial forces by Lt. Governor Robert Dinwiddie
and assigned the impossible task of defending a 250-300 mile long frontier against
Indian depredations.
At first Washington held out hope for reconciliation with Britain but rapidly lost faith. It
was Washington who had presented the initial proposal in 1769 to institute a colonywide boycott of British goods. He became more outspoken after Virginia’s governor
Dunmore began shutting down the House of Burgesses. Washington called
Parliament’s plan to tax the colonies a “Tyrannical System…a regular Plan at the
17
expense of Law & Justice, to overthrow our Constitutional Rights & Liberties.” He was
a member of the twenty-five man group that met at Peyton Randolph’s house in
Williamsburg and formulated plans for a colony-wide boycott. In June 1774 he wrote to
his friend and neighbor William Fairfax: “Does it not appear as clear as the sun in its
meridian brightness, that there is a regular, systematic plan formed to fix the right and
practice of taxation upon us?”
As the clouds of war gathered, those few with knowledge of military affairs assumed a
greater role in Congress, and Washington found himself serving on four congressional
committees. His initial committee assignment was for the development of a plan for the
defense of the colony of New York. A second was charged with figuring out how much
it would cost to defend Massachusetts. A third was assigned the task of finding money
to purchase gunpowder. Washington chaired a fourth committee to come up with plans
for securing ammunition and military stores. In committee work Washington
demonstrated good judgment and a firm understanding of military affairs. “His great
experience,” wrote John Adams “is of much service to us.”
It was clear that Washington sought an important role in the upcoming confrontation
with Britain. Before leaving Philadelphia the previous year, he had placed an order for
Thomas Webb’s, A Military Treatise on the Appointments of the Army.
When he returned to Philadelphia in 1775 Washington brought with him his Virginia
militia colonel’s uniform. On May 29 he conspicuously wore it in Congress. On
Wednesday June 14, after a long drawn out discussion, John Adams nominated
Washington to command American military forces gathering near Boston. Initially there
was some opposition to Washington’s nomination. One member of the Virginia
delegation, Edmund Pendleton, pointed out that naming Washington commander of
the American army would commit Virginia to a radical course, and possibly a war for
independence.
On June 15 Washington was “unanimously” chosen commander-in-chief of American
forces. “You shall take every method in your power,” Congress instructed him on June
19, “consistent with your prudence, to destroy or make prisoners of all persons who are
now, or who hereafter appear in arms against the good people of the United States.”
Politics were behind the appointment and Washington was fully aware of this. New
England radicals knew full well that the southern colonies would follow Virginia’s lead.
Washington also understood the difficulty of the task ahead of him. In his acceptance
remarks the following day, he made it clear that he did not believe himself equal to the
task. On June 18 Washington wrote his wife Martha: “It was utterly out of my power to
18
refuse this appointment, without exposing my character to censures, and would have
reflected dishonor upon myself…” In accepting command of the Continental Army,
Washington became the first American to pledge himself to the revolutionary cause,
more than a year before Congress declared independence.
Other Virginians played significant roles in the Continental Congress in 1775. On
September 26 Richard Henry Lee offered a proposal that Congress adopt a nonimportation agreement against England. In mid-October Benjamin Harrison and two
other congressmen held secret discussions with General Washington in New York to
discuss strategy for defense and to develop plans for supplying the Continental Army.
Thomas Jefferson was assigned to committees dealing with currency, congressional
business, and the handling disputes and petitions. George Wythe, Benjamin Harrison,
and Thomas Nelson were engaged in the task fitting out American ships for war.
_______________________________________
Third Virginia Convention (July 17-August 26, 1775) In mid-June Governor Dunmore
fled Williamsburg for the security of a British warship on the York River. Dunmore
could not be induced to return, and it became clear that there could be no reconciliation
between him and the House of Burgesses. On July 17 the Third Virginia Convention
assembled in Richmond and again chose Peyton Randolph to preside over
deliberations. With Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, and Thomas Jefferson out of the
colony, Edmund Pendleton played the lead role at the Convention.
The convention denounced the actions that Governor Dunmore had taken against
Virginia, including disbanding the assembly and mobilizing troops. At this point the
convention became the governing force of Virginia: the delegates enacted legislation
and established a Committee of Safety to oversee military activities.
An ordinance was passed for the election of delegates to return to Philadelphia and for
the election of men to serve on committees. Armed resistance now appeared to be the
Virginia’s lone recourse, and the Convention moved quickly to assume the reins of the
colony’s government. It voted to place Virginia in a more thorough state of defense and
ordered that two regiments of regular troops be raised. It created a Committee of Safety
with broad executive powers, including authority to purchase arms and munitions of
war. It also divided Virginia into sixteen military districts. The Convention then
proceeded to select a replacement for George Washington, whose seat in the Second
Continental Congress had been vacated on June 19 when he accepted command of the
Continental Army.
19
On August 5 the Convention elected Richard Bland, Peyton Randolph, Thomas
Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, Benjamin Harrison, George Wythe, and Thomas Nelson,
Jr. to represent Virginia in the Continental Congress. Nelson, however, had recently
accepted command of the new 2nd Virginia Regiment and notified the Convention that
he could not in good conscience resign his military appointment so soon after receiving
it. This created an open seat in the delegation, and the question of who would fill it
sparked a political showdown between the liberals and conservatives.
The liberals turned their attention to George Mason. Mason, who had no interest in
traveling to Philadelphia for an extended period of time, spoke of his gout and his
wife’s illness in declining the nomination. He then threw his support to Francis
Lightfoot Lee, the younger brother of Richard Henry Lee. The conservatives countered
with Carter Braxton, a staunch supporter of the James River clique. Braxton, like many
in the conservative old guard, favored reconciliation with Britain. Each side realized
that victory in the Lee-Braxton contest would give it control of Virginia’s congressional
delegation to the Second Continental Congress, and neither could forecast the outcome.
It was a razor thin victory for the liberals whose man Francis Lightfoot Lee defeated
Carter Braxton by a single vote. This was a critical setback for the conservatives and
marked a major shift in political momentum in Virginia. When the Congress
reconvened in Philadelphia, the colony’s new seven-man delegation would take with it
four “independency” men – Wythe, Jefferson, and the two Lees.
At least seven plans for a new government were submitted to the Virginia Committee of
Safety during the summer of 1775. Included were proposals from George Mason,
Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Carter Braxton. Jefferson’s plan arrived too late
from Philadelphia to receive consideration.
Braxton’s blueprint Address to the Convention of the Colony and Ancient Dominion of
Virginia…By a Native of the Colony was by far the most conservative and controversial
plan. It proposed a lower house of representatives, an upper house or council that
would serve for life and a chief executive chosen by the house. Braxton’s plan called for
the creation of a powerful council or upper house to avoid “the tumult of a democracy.”
The governor would remain in office during as long as he adhered to the law, and he
would have appointment power for most of Virginia’s political offices. Braxton’s form
of government envisioned a Virginia constitution modeled after Great Britain’s. It
would maintain the power of the privileged class and would limit the effects of a
democratic republic, which Braxton saw as “mere creations of warm imaginations.”
20
The plan was unpopular and brought Braxton ridicule and condemnation from the
radical side. He endured a rash onslaught of personal attacks and public criticism. In a
letter to Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry lambasted Braxton’s plan, denouncing it as
“weak, shallow, evasive, and an affront and disgrace to the country.” One newspaper
anonymously labeled it simply “A Government Scheme.”
The most popular proposal was a collaborative effort by Richard Henry Lee and John
Adams. They had been discussing the possibility of independence since November
1775. For Lee the key question to be answered dealt with a form of government that
could most readily be adopted by a colony in an emergency. Adams pointed out to Lee
that Virginia had already answered this question by establishing Conventions and a
Committee of Safety that took over for royal government when it ceased to function in
the colony. Adams also told Lee that it would take minimal effort to convert these
emergency governments into permanent political institutions. Lee was impressed with
Adams’s line of reasoning and asked his friend to write out his suggestions. In April
1776 this plan, entitled Thoughts on Government, appeared in print. It was well received
in Virginia because it allowed for a declaration of independence and the preservation of
the form of government to which they were accustomed. It provided for a bicameral
legislature and an independent executive and judiciary.
____________________________________
Second Continental Congress (July 1775-January 1776) Between May and November
the conservatives maintained a sizable majority in Philadelphia. The radicals recognized
this and were extremely careful not to get ahead of public opinion. On July 3 George
Washington took command of the army at Cambridge, Massachusetts. Two days later
Congress approved the Olive Branch Petition, affirming American loyalty to Great
Britain and entreating George III to prevent further bloodshed. On July 6 Congress
adopted The Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms, explaining why the
thirteen colonies had taken up arms. In the fall Congress began focusing on commerce
and trade and on military affairs.
Richard Henry Lee assumed a more active role in Congress in the fall of 1775, openly
attacking British rule in America on the floor. Relying heavily on information from his
brothers Arthur and William in London, Lee established closer ties with English
radicals who agreed with him that ties between the colonies and the Crown were part of
a voluntary agreement, and that theoretically they could be dissolved. After George III
proclaimed the colonies in a state of rebellion and seeking independence, Lee began
talking more openly about this. In his opinion Britain had forced America into a
21
position “contrary to our earnest, early and repeated petitions for peace, liberty, and
safety.”
Declaring independence and establishing governments to protect constitutional rights
were closely linked in the minds of Americans. Richard Henry Lee recognized this early
on, and throughout the winter of 1775-1776, he focused his energies on how best to
accomplish independence. On December 23 Lee left the Second Continental Congress
and returned to Virginia, hoping to persuade the Convention to replace the colony’s
Committee of Safety with a new government.
By February 1776 Richard Henry Lee’s thinking focused on what he considered the
three steps Americans must take to preserve their rights and liberties. He was
convinced that new state governments had to be established, and a collective
declaration of independence issued to the world. Lee believed that independence was
necessary before America could solicit aid from foreign nations or establish military and
trade alliances. No nation would aid a people who still claimed attachment to a mother
country.
In Philadelphia Benjamin Harrison was named chairman of a new department for
foreign affairs. A week later he was assigned to the Committee of Secret
Correspondence to communicate with America’s supporters in Britain and Ireland. In
December Harrison proposed that Congress fit out one or two vessels to deal with exVirginia governor Dunmore’s raids on the Chesapeake Bay.
In late October George III announced to Parliament that the American colonies were in
a state of rebellion and seeking independence. Details of the king’s speech reached
Congress on January 7, 1776 amid confusing reports that the town of Norfolk, Virginia,
had been shelled and destroyed by British naval vessels. The severity of the situation
only worsened when news arrived that on December 22 George III had authorized his
navy to begin seizing and attacking American ships.
These reports were damaging blows to conservatives still trying to stem the rising tide
for independence. For conservatives, however, the king’s speech offered a ray of hope
for the conservatives because it proposed sending commissioners to America with
authority to iron out differences between the colonies and London. James Wilson, a
leading Pennsylvania conservative, pressed Congress to send a response to the king,
indicating that Congress was in favor of reconciliation.
On February 13 the conservatives presented a poorly written Address to the People of the
United States, calling on Congress to communicate directly with the people and “inform
22
them of our Transactions and of the present State of Affairs.” The Address pointed out
that in the event of war, the people would be called on to make great sacrifices. “Much
was said about Independency,” wrote one delegate, “and the Mode and Propriety of
stating our Dependence on the King.” The Address sparked a hot exchange of opinions
but failed to produce the desired effect, and Congress voted to table it. This was an
important victory for the radicals. Ten days earlier the Address might have been
accepted, but now the conservatives were on the defensive. From this point forward
independence was an open topic in Congress.
Talk of commissioners continued to be an obstacle to those considering independence
from Britain. “There is a certain Ld Drummond,” Francis Lightfoot Lee informed his
brother Richard Henry, “who persuades the fools who are gaping after a reconciliation,
that he is in the secrets of the inner Cabinet, that the sincere wish is to make up with
America, upon her own terms.” It was an absurd idea, Francis Lightfoot continued, but
“many friends & well meaning people are taken in & wish loudly for Congress to send
deputies home.” The radicals, he told his brother, needed him in Philadelphia. On
March 5 George Wythe had proposed that only Congress should be allowed to
negotiate a peace settlement, but his motion was voted down 8 to 3. Francis Lightfoot
Lee became concerned that the independence movement was losing steam, and that his
brother’s voice was sorely needed in Philadelphia. He encouraged him to return as soon
as possible. On March 11, Richard Henry Lee resumed his seat in the Congress.
The Virginia delegation to Congress was not inactive in Lee’s absence. It was openly
working in support of resistance to what it viewed as hostile depredations. Benjamin
Harrison was placed on a standing Committee of the Marine charged with creating an
American navy. On March 15 he was made chairman of the Committee of the Whole, an
important position that placed him in the center of the most important Congressional
affairs. George Wythe too had begun to see independence as the sole remaining
alternative available to the colonies, and he worked closely with John Adams to push
the radical agenda. Wythe seized several opportunities to argue the colonies’ right to
contract alliances with foreign governments.
Still, the pace of progress toward independence remained slow. Thomas Nelson
explained his frustrations in a letter to a friend: “Independence, confederation, foreign
alliance, are as formidable to some of the congress, I fear a majority, as an apparition to
a weak, enervated woman.”
Then, on March 19, 1776 Richard Henry Lee and George Wythe made the boldest move
to date: they offered a proposal making the king responsible for America’s miseries
23
rather than Parliament. This proposal stunned the delegation, and a debate lasted for
four hours before the measure was defeated. The Lee-Wythe proposal, however,
showed clearly that allegiance to the king was evaporating.
The Virginians pressed Congress on other fronts as well. Wythe and Benjamin Harrison
took the floor and argued that letters of marque should be issued to American vessels
so they could attack British shipping. Finally, in late March Congress authorized several
armed colonial to begin cruising the seas in search of British trade vessels. This marked
another significant step toward American independence: in Europe issuing letters of
marque preceded declarations of war.
The door to reconciliation was closing. When James Wilson of Pennsylvania and several
other conservatives prepared an address to Congress against independence, George
Wythe adamantly opposed it on the floor, and in the end it was not read before
Congress. Wythe served on other important committees, including a three man
committee charged with documenting hostilities committed against Americans since
March 1775.
Congress had other concerns besides independence. For more than a year, the delegates
had been encouraging individual colonies to assume the role of self-government, but
there had been little agreement on what form continental or state governments should
take. All that Congress had been able to achieve on this front was to enact plans for
foreign trade and alliance.
The militants now began pushing Congress more forcefully to recommend that each
colony establish a government and that a confederation of these new governments be
established. Richard Henry Lee and John Adams urged Congress to assume the lead in
the movement for permanent separation from Britain. Congress must become the focal
point of the independence movement, the radicals reasoned. The American people were
looking to Congress to steer and guide them, and Congress must provide that
leadership. The collapse of royal government in Virginia and in the other colonies
threatened to create civil anarchy. More British forces had begun arriving, and the
threat of war loomed high. Thomas Nelson sensed the urgency: “We have only two
months, if that, to guard against the whole power of Great Britain.”
The Virginians scratched off letters to delegates of the upcoming convention at
Richmond. If the Convention acted decisively, said Richard Henry Lee, and set an
example for the other twelve colonies by “taking up Government,” and sending
instructions to Philadelphia for their delegates to “pursue the most effectual measures
for the Security of America,” this might shift the balance in favor of declaration of
24
independence in Philadelphia. Lee was also aware of the critical role Patrick Henry
would play in the Convention, and on April 20 wrote him that “Ages yet unborn, and
millions existing at the present, must rue or bless that Assembly, on which their
happiness or misery will so eminently depend.”
The radicals now attempted to seize the initiative from the conservatives and plot
Congress’ direction. British reinforcements, they argued, had already arrived in Boston.
A British military campaign was set to be launched in the upcoming spring and
summer. Norfolk, Virginia had been burned. British mail service had been stopped and
post offices closed. Congress took initial steps in December to suppress loyalist
sympathizers and began laying a foundation for a permanent navy. On November 9 it
adopted an oath of secrecy.
___________________________________
Fourth Virginia Convention, December 1-11, 1775 (Richmond) and January 14-20,
1776 (Williamsburg) The line between radicals and conservatives was clearly drawn
when the Fourth Virginia Convention met in Richmond on December 1. The colony had
appealed to Congress for aid in suppressing ex-governor Dunmore. On December 4
Congress advised it to continue resisting Dunmore and authorized the establishment of
a government “during the continuance of the present dispute between Great Britain and
these colonies.” The conservatives now knew that hope of preserving Virginia’s political
connection with Britain had dissipated, and that the independence movement was
gaining irreversible momentum. The convention empowered the Committee of Safety
to be the source of governmental authority in Virginia.
None of the previous Conventions had openly discussed independence, but that
changed in the first week of November. On the seventh Dunmore issued a proclamation
that sent shock waves reverberating through the colony. He declared martial law and
offered freedom to slaves and indentured servants who joined his forces at Norfolk.
Shortly thereafter, he commenced a campaign of terror against the colony, ravaging the
coast along the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, burning homes and buildings,
destroying crops, and arresting inhabitants suspected of supporting the radicals. The
convention decided that citizens loyal to the king should no longer be permitted to
remain in Virginia as neutrals, and they began departing in large numbers. By year‘s
end most of those with irreconcilable differences had fled.
On December 15, 1775 the Fourth Virginia Convention selected Carter Braxton to fill
Peyton Randolph’s vacant seat in Congress. Politically inactive prior to the Revolution,
Braxton was a conservative member of the James-York River planter/merchant clique, a
25
very strong bloc in Virginia politics. Like his predecessor Randolph, Braxton supported
the established tidewater bloc against the liberal challenge. His election to Congress was
a reward for loyalty to the conservatives, not for notable political achievement. Like
most of them Braxton favored reconciliation with England, and he placed great stock in
the reports that commissioners were on their way from London. He expected a
negotiated settlement that would return his the colonies and Britain to peace. Braxton
believed that independence was far off: America was in too defenseless a condition to
break with Great Britain. “A delusive bait,” he called independence, “which men
inconsiderately catch at, without knowing the hook to which it is affixed.”
Braxton was wary of what awaited him in Congress. Rumors had been circulated by a
young Philadelphia doctor that he was being sent to turn the Virginia delegation
against independence. In truth, his political views were similar to the man he replaced
in Congress. He arrived in Philadelphia uncommitted to radical action. Braxton was not
willing to rush headlong into revolution while options other than war existed. He
believed that the possibility of reconciliation through commissioners needed to be more
widely publicized, and that the “independency” faction had deliberately avoided doing
so. Braxton also disliked the radical rhetoric of equality and human rights, viewing it
simply as a pretext for “mob rule” to undermine the monarchical features of the English
Constitution.
Braxton presented his credentials to Congress on February 23, 1776. He was to serve on
numerous committees, half of which involved the examination of routine military
correspondence. Braxton served on at least six committees dealing with finance,
counterfeiting, and prisoner exchange; he also chaired one which was assigned the task
of suppressing loyalist activities.
Richard Henry Lee kept George Washington apprised of the situation in Philadelphia
through his regular correspondence. Although Lee had returned to Virginia in late
December, he remained well informed through the letters he received on an almost
daily basis from his brother Francis Lightfoot Lee.
Military affairs also brought Lee into closer contact with Benjamin Harrison. Harrison
and George Wythe had worked closely with John Adams and the New Englanders to
press Congress to outfit American naval vessels. Since then Harrison had become more
involved in Continental military affairs. On January 17 he presented a committee report
for the regulation and recruitment of American forces; a week later he was assigned to
the new War Office. His standing among the independence men increased and he
began to assume a more important role. He traveled to New York to confer with
26
General Charles Lee about the defense of New York City. On February 14 Congress met
in Committee of the Whole (the whole membership of Congress sitting as a committee)
to consider terms and conditions under which American ports would be opened March
1.
Harrison and Wythe represented the radicals well in the debates. Wythe argued that the
American colonies had a right to enter into alliances with other nations and that
Congress should not continue professing to be the king’s subjects. “In what character
shall we treat?” pleaded Wythe, “as subjects of Great Britain – as rebels? Why should
we be so fond of calling ourselves dutiful subjects?” In a speech on March 3, Wythe
stated that “the colonies have a Right to Contract Alliances with Foreign Powers,” but
that first “We must declare ourselves a free people.”
Harrison, however, was not ready to open American ports. This was not a decision, he
argued, that Congress should make. It would be an open admission that America was
longer part of the British Empire and would invite full scale war. Harrison also
expressed concerns over the escalating military situation in New York and New
England. New England was dragging the other colonies into a cauldron, and he was not
yet prepared for that. On February 22 he called on Congress to give the New England
colonies $3,000,000 and allow them to “carry on war in their own way.”
By February the independence movement in Philadelphia almost ground to a halt as
rumors of peace commissioners swirled through the colonies. Even Patrick Henry,
Virginia’s most vocal militant, momentarily allowed himself to get caught up in talk of
commissioners coming “to treat for peace.” Many in Philadelphia began to turn to the
Virginia delegation for leadership, knowing that impetus for separation from Britain
had to come from a region outside New England. By November 1775, and perhaps
earlier, Richard Henry Lee and Thomas Jefferson had accepted the idea of American
independence. Francis Lightfoot Lee, George Wythe, and Thomas Nelson were in favor
of separation as early as January or February 1776, and Benjamin Harrison no later than
March.
Thomas Nelson was not taken in by the talk of commissioners. “If terms should be
proposed,” he wrote Patrick Henry, “they will savor so much of despotism, that
America cannot accept them.” Besides, war had already commenced and those that had
fomented it in the colonies would never escape retribution. Dunmore also continued his
depredations along the Virginia coast. “We are now carrying on a war and no war,”
argued Nelson. “The British seize our property wherever they find it, either by land or
sea; and we hesitate to retaliate… Away with such squeamishness, say I.” George
27
Washington confided to members of his inner circle that he was insulted by the idea of
peace commissioners, and that he had little patience with those who wanted to wait and
see if they would appear. He worried that talk of conciliation might stall the growing
momentum for independence and reduce the effect of recent efforts to increase the size
and strength of the Continental Army.
The independence movement continued to gain momentum in Virginia. “This
doctrine,” wrote a Hanover County doctor, “is become popular, and newspapers are
full of writings in favor of it and inflaming the resentments of the people against Great
Britain.” In April Cumberland, Charlotte, James City, and Buckingham and Fincastle
Counties instructed their delegates at the Virginia Convention to support
independence, and on May 12 a traveler passing through Petersburg wrote: “On my
way through Virginia, I found the inhabitants warm for independence.”
Two factors lay behind the seismic shift in public opinion in Virginia. First, there was
the destruction of Norfolk on January 1, 1776. This heavy-handed display of British
naval firepower shocked the populous and turned it against Virginia’s royal
government. Second was the appearance in the colony in February of a pamphlet
entitled Common Sense. Published in London on January 10, it circulated wildly,
becoming an instant best seller. Tens of thousands of copies of Thomas Paine’s
pamphlet were sold in Britain before it made its way across the Atlantic Ocean. More
than 120,000 copies of Common Sense were purchased in the colonies before it ended its
publication run, and no one knew how many more people read it. “By private letters
which I have lately received from Virginia,” wrote George Washington to his friend
Joseph Reed, “I find Common Sense is working a wonderful change there in the minds of
many men.”
Carter Braxton was confused by the shift in public opinion at home and remained
convinced that independence was far off. But the radicals were not. Richard Henry Lee
returned from Virginia to Congress in March and Thomas Jefferson arrived on May 14.
Both men had been in position to gauge the rapid shift in public opinion for
independence. Many conservative leaders in the colony were also adjusting their views
of the changing circumstances. By May the idea of “independency” had captured
Virginia, and those who failed to pick up the shifting winds saw their popularity
decline.
____________________________________
Fifth Virginia Convention (May 6-July 5, 1776)
28
The Fifth Virginia Convention met at the old capitol in Williamsburg on May 6, 1776.
Sixty-six counties were represented by 131 delegates. Most of the old delegates were
there, but many new members also appeared. Virginia was now determinedly toward
complete independence from Britain.
On May 15 a preamble and resolutions written by Edmund Randolph were presented.
Patrick Henry and Thomas Nelson had previously agreed that the latter would
introduce a motion for independence to the Convention and that Henry would second
it. Unlike Henry, Nelson was not a captivating speaker. But on this occasion Nelson
surprised the assemblage with a vocal and unequivocal call for independence: the
people of Virginia were oppressed by the king and Parliament. Their petitions and
protests had been ignored. There was absolutely no way, Nelson argued, that Virginia
could return as subjects under British domination now that war had begun. He then
called for the Convention to instruct its delegates in Philadelphia to declare for colonial
independence. “I am clearly of the opinion that we must,” he wrote a friend that
evening, “as we value the liberties of American, or even her existence, without a moment’s
delay, declare for independence.”
After much debate it was “Resolved unanimously, that the delegates appointed to
represent this colony in General Congress, be instructed to propose that respectable
body to declare the united colonies free and independent states.” A committee was then
appointed to prepare a Declaration of Rights and a plan of government “as will be most
likely to maintain peace and order in this colony and secure substantial and equal
liberty to the people.” The British flag on the capitol was taken down and replaced by a
continental flag.
On June 29 the Convention adopted George Mason’s plan for Virginia’s new state
Constitution. A portion of Thomas Jefferson’s draft for a constitutional government in
Virginia was adopted as the preamble, and Patrick Henry was elected the state’s first
governor. Virginia became an independent commonwealth three days before the United
States in Congress formally declared colonial independence from Great Britain.
____________________________________
Second Continental Congress (May 14–June 11, 1776) Thomas Jefferson appeared
more interested in affairs in Virginia than those in Philadelphia when he arrived there
on May 14. Jefferson had hoped that the Virginia Convention would recall some of its
congressional delegates to help write a new state constitution and wanted a hand in the
project. Jefferson was unaware that Thomas Nelson was preparing to leave
Williamsburg to deliver the convention’s resolution recommending American
29
independence. All of the southern colonies had already authorized their delegations to
vote for independence, but Virginia would make the formal motion for it. Thomas
Nelson, who had introduced and won approval for the Virginia Resolutions, was
selected to deliver them to the Virginia delegation in Congress.
Exactly when the notion of independence came before Congress is difficult to
determine. The Journals of Congress and personal correspondence of the delegates
present a picture of careful maneuvering between the conservatives and the more
militant independence group.
Benjamin Harrison and George Wythe had repeatedly spoken publicly of
independence. “I have hobbled along under the fatal attachment to Great Britain,”
observed Harrison. “I felt that attachment as much as any, but I feel a stronger one to
my country.” George Wythe had favored for some time the adoption of defensive
military measures but had long held the position that the colonies had “to declare
ourselves a free people.”
Thomas Jefferson had settled on a deliberate strategy that eventually would lead to a
declaration of independence: create a continental confederation, and then negotiate
with foreign countries – particularly France. On May 8 Thomas Nelson wrote Richard
Henry Lee that the “spirit of the people” cried out for a declaration of independence.
Even Carter Braxton, the most conservative member of the Virginia delegation, was no
longer opposed to the inevitable, but rather its timing. There remained ideological
differences between the American colonies. Border claims “and a variety of other
matters” remained unsettled. “Previous to Independence,” wrote Braxton, “all disputes
must be healed and Harmony prevail. A grand Continental league must be formed and
a superintending Power also. When these necessary Steps are taken and we see a
Coalition formed sufficient to withstand the Power of Britain, or any other, then I am
for an independent State and all its Consequences, and then I think they will produce
Happiness to America. It is a true saying of a Wit – We must hang together or
Separately.”
The Virginia delegation was heavily involved in the affairs of Congress in the spring
and summer of 1776. In January Benjamin Harrison presented a report for recruiting
American forces. On the twenty-fourth was appointed to a committee for the creation of
a War Office, and in mid-February in a speech to Congress Harrison stated that his love
for his country was greater than his love for Great Britain. On February 16 George
Wythe proposed that America had the right to enter into foreign alliances. “In what
character shall we treat” he asked Congress, “as subjects of Great Britain, -- as rebels?”
30
He continued to talk of alliances: in March Wythe repeatedly took the floor to argue
that the American colonies “must declare ourselves a free people” before opening trade
to foreign countries.
In the first week of June Thomas Jefferson was appointed to a committee to consider the
handling of individuals who provided intelligence or supplies to the British. Carter
Braxton was placed on a committee to consider ways and means of establishing a
network of express riders throughout the colonies. Braxton was added to yet another
committee the following day. George Wythe and Francis Lightfoot Lee were appointed
to a committee to draw up documents for the exchange of prisoners. Meanwhile
Richard Henry Lee, following delivery of Virginia’s resolutions by Thomas Nelson,
redrafted and condensed them into his soon to be famous resolution to congress.
On Friday morning June 7, Richard Henry Lee motioned to president John Hancock of
Massachusetts for recognition from the floor. Lee introduced a four sentence resolution
urging Congress to declare independence from Great Britain. The first sentence was the
most famous: “that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and
independent states; and that all political connection between them and the State of
Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.” The motion was seconded by John
Adams and a vote was taken. South Carolina and Pennsylvania opposed the
resolutions. New York abstained. The resolutions passed but because of pending
business they were referred to the Committee of the Whole and scheduled for the next
day.
Debate over the independence resolutions began in earnest Saturday June 8 and
consumed the entire day. It was quickly apparent that many delegates who actually
favored eventual independence were opposed to the issuance of a declaration at this
time. It was too drastic a step, they argued, and such a radical course of action should
be presented to the people first.
The conservatives presented nineteen reasons for opposing a declaration at this time.
They thought it was unwise to bring the temper of foreign countries to the test. What if
America was unable to secure a foreign alliance? Were the colonies really resolved to
demonstrate the sincerity of their purpose by dependence on themselves alone if
necessary? The liberals countered with twenty-seven reasons of their own for
independence. At seven o’clock that evening chairman Benjamin Harrison reported that
the Committee of the Whole had not reached a decision on the Lee resolutions and they
were tabled until Monday.
31
On Monday June 10 the Second Continental Congress again resolved itself into a
Committee of the Whole. The moderates expressed their reluctance to declare
independence. The conservatives argued that Congress should not declare
independence without submitting the proposal to the people first. After further debate
Benjamin Harrison reported to the committee that Congress had voted 7 to 5 to
postpone decision on the independence resolution for three weeks until July 1.
Although Richard Henry Lee and the radicals had not secured victory, they now knew
that the proposal for independence would eventually pass. A final vote on the issue had
been postponed in deference to the state delegations that were still divided and for
those needing additional time to communicate with their state governments.
Three committees were created on June 11: one to prepare articles of confederation, a
second to draw up a treaty with France, and a third to write a declaration of
independence.
The declaration was far less important to Congress than a treaty with France and a
continental alliance. Nevertheless, a five man committee was established to prepare a
declaration in the likely event that the independence resolution was adopted. On the
advice of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson was nominated. In the balloting that
followed, Jefferson received the most votes and under convention rules became
chairman of the committee charged with the task of drawing up a declaration of
independence.
Richard Henry Lee was not put on the committee because he was preparing to return to
Virginia to be with his sick wife, and Carter Braxton and Benjamin Harrison were
considered too conservative. This made Jefferson the only southerner, and more
importantly, the only Virginian on the committee. The other members - John Adams,
Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman - had other committee
assignments that they considered more important. John Adams convened the
committee of five and the drafting the declaration was passed on to Jefferson.
____________________________________
First draft of the Declaration of Independence (June 12-27) Thomas Jefferson wrote the
first draft in his second floor apartment of the new brick house in Philadelphia at the
southwest corner of Seventh and Market Streets. The committee assigned the task of
writing it met several times without Benjamin Franklin. Suffering from gout and
incapacitated, Franklin wrote George Washington on June 21: “I know little of what has
pass’d here, Except that a Declaration of Independence is preparing…” Earlier that day
Jefferson had sent Franklin a copy of a draft “that had been read with some alterations
32
by the committee.” “Will Doctr. Franklyn be so good as to peruse it,” wrote Jefferson,
“and suggest alterations as his more enlarged view of the subject will dictate?” The
draft had been returned by the committee to Jefferson “to change a sentiment or two”
and he did not want to return it to the committee until Franklin had an opportunity to
read over it. Jefferson consulted John Adams, the Committee of Five on at least two
occasions, and Benjamin Franklin before the Declaration was submitted to Congress on
June 28.
Thomas Jefferson was less the author of the Declaration of Independence than he was
the draftsman assigned by the committee. But Jefferson possessed a wealth of
experience in political writing. His Summary View of the Rights of British America
envisioned America’s relationship with Britain as an “imperial partnership” or
“commonwealth of nations” – an empire of self-governing states. The document
emphasized Parliament’s weaknesses. However, Summary View did not contain a
doctrine of natural rights. Jefferson had also read John Locke’s Second Treatise on
Government at least three times, and he also had a copy of Richard Henry Lee’s
independence proposals and George Mason’s Virginia Declaration of Rights, which had
appeared in the Pennsylvania Evening Post on June 6.
Jefferson would later be accused of plagiarism for his use of Mason’s Virginia
Declaration, but at the time borrowing heavily from the writings of others was viewed as
proper and acceptable. The declaration built the case that a contract existed between
government and the people it governed, and that the people had agreed to this
arrangement. Word of the declaration’s progress circulated through the convention.
“We are passing the Rubicon,” noted an observer, “& our Delegates in Congress on the
first of July will vote plump.” The committee continued its work on the declaration,
eventually making a total of forty-seven changes, including the addition of three new
paragraphs. On June 27 the five man committee drafting the declaration met for a final
time to review the document. “We were all in a hurry,” remembered John Adams.
“Congress was impatient, and the instrument was reported.” On June 28 a “fair” (clean)
copy of the committee’s draft of the Declaration of Independence was read in Congress.
On July 1 the Declaration was debated for nine hours “during which,” remembered
Benjamin Harrison, “all powers of the soul [were] distended with the magnitude of the
object.” But still no decision had been reached. The records are sparse for July 2, but the
independence bloc was confident that Lee’s motion would pass. Sometime in the
evening, Virginia’s independence resolution was approved by a vote of 12 to 0. (New
York had not received positive instructions and abstained). Congress had made thirtynine additional changes to Jefferson’s “original draft.” Most of the alterations were to
33
the list of grievances against King George III. The most significant changes were the
elimination of a paragraph that restricted the slave trade and statements critical of the
British populace for participating in a war against Americans. Thomas Jefferson did not
participate in the debate. He sat in silence and allowed John Adams to defend the
declaration. The radicals had won: the ideology for American independence had been
officially approved.
______________________________________
Virginia Signs the Declaration of Independence On August 2, 1776 fifty members of
Congress placed their signatures on the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson,
Benjamin Harrison, Carter Braxton, Thomas Nelson, and Francis Lightfoot Lee
represented Virginia at the ceremony. No eyewitness accounts of this event remain. As
the principal draftsman of the Declaration, Jefferson was accorded the honor of being
Virginia’s first signer. Jefferson wrote his name so as to leave room for additional
signatures above his. Harrison and Nelson, both elected to Congress in 1774, then
added their signatures beneath Jefferson’s. Francis Lightfoot Lee and Carter Braxton,
elected in August and December 1775, signed below the names of the more senior
members. Richard Henry Lee and George Wythe returned to Congress in late August
and signed the document. Lee, the most senior member of the Virginia delegation,
deferred to Wythe and invited him to place his name at the top of the list of signatures.
On August 27, 1776, fifty-year-old George Wythe, the revered senior member of
Virginia’s delegation, placed his signature on the Declaration of Independence.
In the last two weeks of July, cheers and toasts had been raised throughout the colonies
when the declaration was read, and several colonies – led by Virginia – had already
adopted new state constitutions. There was, however, little time for celebration. Less
than a hundred miles northeast of Philadelphia, a large, well equipped British force was
collecting on Long Island, New York, preparing to crush the American “rebellion” in a
single blow, before it could organize politically and contract foreign alliances. There,
forty-three-year-old George Washington and a poorly organized collection of state
militias and provincial soldiers that composed the “Continental Army” had initiated
contact with British pickets near a watermelon patch in what would be the biggest
battle of the American Revolution. For Virginia, this skirmish over watermelons was
the culmination of more than two decades of divisive internal political conflict and
some thirteen years of political dispute with the British home government over revenue
and taxation issues.
34
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