http://www.yourthomasjefferson.com/thomasjefferson.htm
Jefferson's Opinion on the Constitutionality of a National Bank : 1791
The bill for establishing a National Bank undertakes among other things:
1. To form the subscribers into a corporation.
2. To enable them in their corporate capacities to receive grants of land; and so far is
against the laws of Mortmain.(1)
3. To make alien subscribers capable of holding lands, and so far is against the laws of
Alienage.
4. To transmit these lands, on the death of a proprietor, to a certain line of successors; and
so far changes the course of Descents.
5. To put the lands out of the reach of forfeiture or escheat, and so far is against the laws
of Forfeiture and Escheat.
6. To transmit personal chattels to successors in a certain line and so far is against the
laws of Distribution.
7. To give them the sole and exclusive right of banking under the national authority; and
so far is against the laws of Monopoly.
8. To communicate to them a power to make laws paramount to the laws of the States; for
so they must be construed, to protect the institution from the control of the State
legislatures, and so, probably, they will be construed.
I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground: That " all powers not
delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are
reserved to the States or to the people." [XIIth amendment.] To take a single step beyond
the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take possession
of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible of any definition.
The incorporation of a bank, and the powers assumed by this bill, have not, in my
opinion, been delegated to the United States, by the Constitution.
I They are not among the powers specially enumerated: for these are: 1st A power to lay
taxes for the purpose of paying the debts of the United States; but no debt is paid by this
bill, nor any tax laid. Were it a bill to raise money, its origination in the Senate would
condemn it by the Constitution.
2. "To borrow money." But this bill neither borrows money nor ensures the borrowing it.
The proprietors of the bank will be just as free as any other money holders, to lend or not
to lend their money to the public. The operation proposed in the bill first, to lend them
two millions, and then to borrow them back again, cannot change the nature of the latter
act, which will still be a payment, and not a loan, call it by what name you please.
3. To "regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the States, and with the Indian
tribes." To erect a bank, and to regulate commerce, are very different acts. He who erects
a bank, creates a subject of commerce in its bills, so does he who makes a bushel of
wheat, or digs a dollar out of the mines; yet neither of these persons regulates commerce
thereby. To make a thing which may be bought and sold, is not to prescribe regulations
for buying and selling. Besides, if this was an exercise of the power of regulating
commerce, it would be void, as extending as much to the internal commerce of every
State, as to its external. For the power given to Congress by the Constitution does not
extend to the internal regulation of the commerce of a State, (that is to say of the
commerce between citizen and citizen,) which remain exclusively with its own
legislature; but to its external commerce only, that is to say, its commerce with another
State, or with foreign nations, or with the Indian tribes. Accordingly the bill does not
propose the measure as a regulation of trace, but as `' productive of considerable
advantages to trade." Still less are these powers covered by any other of the special
enumerations.
II. Nor are they within either of the general phrases, which are the two following:
1. To lay taxes to provide for the general welfare of the United States, that is to say, "to
lay taxes for the purpose of providing for the general welfare." For the laying of taxes is
the power, and the general welfare the purpose for which the power is to be exercised.
They are not to lay taxes ad libitum for any purpose they please; but only to pay the debts
or provide for the welfare of the Union. In like manner, they are not to do anything they
please to provide for the general welfare, but only to lay taxes for that purpose. To
consider the latter phrase, not as describing the purpose of the first, but as giving a
distinct and independent power to do any act they please, which might be for the good of
the Union, would render all the preceding and subsequent enumerations of power
completely useless.
It would reduce the whole instrument to a single phrase, that of instituting a Congress
with power to do whatever would be for the good of the United States; and, as they would
be the sole judges of the good or evil, it would be also a power to do whatever evil they
please.
It is an established rule of construction where a phrase will bear either of two meanings,
to give it that which will allow some meaning to the other parts of the instrument, and not
that which would render all the others useless. Certainly no such universal power was
meant to be given them. It was intended to lace them up straitly within the enumerated
powers, and those without which, as means, these powers could not be carried into effect.
It is known that the very power now proposed as a means was rejected as an end by the
Convention which formed the Constitution. A proposition was made to them to authorize
Congress to open canals, and an amendatory one to empower them to incorporate. But the
whole was rejected, and one of the reasons for rejection urged in debate was, that then
they would have a power to erect a bank, which would render the great cities, where there
were prejudices and jealousies on the subject, adverse to the reception of the
Constitution.
2. The second general phrase is, "to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into
execution the enumerated powers." But they can all be carried into execution without a
bank. A bank therefore is not necessary, and consequently not authorized by this phrase.
If has been urged that a bank will give great facility or convenience in the collection of
taxes, Suppose this were true: yet the Constitution allows only the means which are
"necessary," not those which are merely "convenient" for effecting the enumerated
powers. If such a latitude of construction be allowed to this phrase as to give any nonenumerated power, it will go to everyone, for there is not one which ingenuity may not
torture into a convenience in some instance or other, to some one of so long a list of
enumerated powers. It would swallow up all the delegated powers, and reduce the whole
to one power, as before observed. Therefore it was that the Constitution restrained them
to the necessary means, that is to say, to those means without which the grant of power
would be nugatory
But let us examine this convenience and see what it is. The report on this subject, page 3,
states the only general convenience to be, the preventing the transportation and retransportation of money between the States and the treasury, (for I pass over the increase
of circulating medium, ascribed to it as a want, and which, according to my ideas of
paper money, is clearly a demerit.) Every State will have to pay a sum of tax money into
the treasury; and the treasury will have to pay, in every State, a part of the interest on the
public debt, and salaries to the officers of government resident in that State. In most of
the States there will still be a surplus of tax money to come up to the seat of government
for the officers residing there. The payments of interest and salary in each State may he
made by treasury orders on the State collector. This will take up the greater part of the
money he has collected in his State, and consequently prevent the great mass of it from
being drawn out of the State. If there be a balance of commerce in favor of that State
against the one in which the government resides, the surplus of taxes will be remitted by
the bills of exchange drawn for that commercial balance. And so it must be if there was a
bank. But if there be no balance of commerce, either direct or circuitous, all the banks in
the world could not bring up the surplus of taxes, but in the form of money. Treasury
orders then, and bills of exchange may prevent the displacement of the main mass of the
money collected, without the aid of any bank; and where these fail, it cannot be prevented
even with that aid.
Perhaps, indeed, bank bills may be a more convenient vehicle than treasury orders. But a
little difference in the degree of convenience cannot constitute the necessity which the
Constitution makes the ground for assuming any non-enumerated power.
Besides, the existing banks will, without a doubt, enter into arrangements for lending
their agency, and the more favorable, as there will be a competition among them for it;
whereas the bill delivers us up bound to the national bank, who are free to refuse all
arrangement, but on their own terms, and the public not free, on such refusal, to employ
any other bank. That of Philadelphia I believe, now does this business, by their postnotes, which, by an arrangement with the treasury, are paid by any State collector to
whom they are presented. This expedient alone suffices to prevent the existence of that
necessity which may justify the assumption of a non-enumerated power as a means for
carrying into effect an enumerated one. The thing may be done, and has been done, and
well done, without this assumption, therefore it does not stand on that degree of necessity
which can honestly justify it.
It may be said that a bank whose bills would have a currency all over the States, would be
more convenient than one whose currency is limited to a single State. So it would be still
more convenient that there should be a bank, whose bills should have a currency all over
the world. But it does not follow from this superior conveniency, that there exists
anywhere a power to establish such a bank; or that the world may not go on very well
without it.
Can it be thought that the Constitution intended that for a shade or two of convenience,
more or less, Congress should be authorized to break down the most ancient and
fundamental laws of the several States; such as those against Mortmain, the laws of
Alienage, the rules of descent, the acts of distribution, the laws of escheat and forfeiture,
the laws of monopoly? Nothing but a necessity invincible by any other means, can justify
such a prostitution of laws, which constitute the pillars of our whole system of
jurisprudence. Will Congress be too strait-laced to carry the Constitution into honest
effect, unless they may pass over the foundation-laws of the State government for the
slightest convenience of theirs ?
The negative of the President is the shield provided by the Constitution to protect against
the invasions of the legislature: 1. The right of the Executive. 2. Of the Judiciary. 3. Of
the States and State legislatures. The present is the case of a right remaining exclusively
with the States, and consequently one of those intended by the Constitution to be placed
under its protection,
It must be added, however, that unless the President's mind on a view of everything
which is urged for and against this bill, is tolerably clear that it is unauthorized by the
Constitution; if the pro and the con hang so even as to balance his judgment, a just
respect for the wisdom of the legislature would naturally decide the balance in favor of
their opinion. It is chiefly for cases where they are clearly misled by error, ambition, or
interest, that the Constitution has placed a check in the negative of the President.
(1) Though the Constitution controls the laws of Mortmain so far as to permit Congress
itself to hold land for certain purposes, yet not so far as to permit them to communicate a
similar right to other corporate bodies.-T. J. Back
Source:
Ford, Paul Leicester
The Federalist : A commentary on the Constitution of the United States by Alexander
Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay edited with notes, illustrative documents and a
copious index by Paul Leicester Ford.
New York : Henry Holt and Company, 1898.
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/18th.asp
First Annual Message of George Washington
First Annual Address
United States, January 8, 1790
Fellow Citizens of the Senate, and House of Representatives,
I embrace with great satisfaction the opportunity, which now presents itself, of
congratulating you on the present favourable prospects of our public affairs. The recent
accession of the important state of North Carolina to the Constitution of the United States
(of which official information has been received)--- the ruling credit and respectability of
our country--- the general and increasing good will towards the government of the union,
and the concord, peace and plenty, with which we are blessed, are circumstances
auspicious, in an excellent degree, to our national prosperity.
In reforming your consultations for the general good, you cannot but derive
encouragement from the reflection, the measures of the last session have been as
satisfactory to your constituents as the novelty and difficulty of the work allowed you to
hope.-- Still further to realize their expectations, and to secure the blessings which a
gracious Providence has placed within our reach, will in the course of the present
important session, call for the cool and deliberate exertion of your patriotism, firmness
and wisdom.
Among the many interesting objects which will engage your attention, that of providing
for the common defence will merit particular regard. To be prepared for war is one of the
most effectual means of preserving peace.
A free people ought not only to be armed but disciplined; to which end a uniform and
well digested plan is requisite: And their safety and interest require that they should
promote such manufactories, as tend to render them independent on others, for essential,
particularly for military supplies.
The proper establishment of the troops which may be deemed indispensable, will be
entitled to mature consideration. In the arrangement which will be made respecting it, it
will be of importance to conciliate the comfortable support of the officers and soldiers
with a due regard to economy.
There was reason to hope, the pacifick measures adopted with regard to certain hostile
tribes of Indians, would have relieved the inhabitants of our southern and western
frontiers from their depredations. But you will perceive, from the information contained
in the papers, which I shall direct to be laid before you, (comprehending a
communication from the Commonwealth of Virginia) that we ought to be prepared to
afford protection to those parts of the Union; and, if necessary, to punish aggressors.
The interests of the United States require, that our intercourse with other nations should
be facilitated by such provisions as will enable me to fulfill my duty, in that respect, in
the manner which circumstances may render most conducive to the publick good: And to
this end, that the compensations to be made to the persons who may be employed, should,
according to the nature of their appointments, be defined by law; and a competent fund
designated for defraying the expenses incident to the conduct of our foreign affairs.
Various considerations also render it expedient, that the terms on which foreigners may
be admitted to the rights of Citizens, should be speedily ascertained by a uniform rule of
naturalization.
Uniformity in the currency, weights and measures of the United States, is an object of
great importance, and will, I am persuaded, be duly attended to.
The advancement of agriculture, commerce and manufactures, by all proper means, will
not, I trust, need recommendation. But I cannot forbear intimating to you the expediency
of giving effectual encouragement as well to the introduction of new and useful
inventions from abroad, as to the exertions of skill and genius in producing them at home;
and of facilitating the intercourse between the distant parts of our country by a due
attention to the Post Office and Post Roads.
Nor am I less persuaded, that you will agree with me in opinion, that there is nothing
which can better deserve your patronage, than the promotion of Science and Literature.
Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of publick happiness. In one, in which the
measures of government receive their impression so immediately from the sense of the
community, as in our's, it is proportionately essential. To the security of a free
Constitution it contributes in various ways: By convincing those who are entrusted with
the publick administration, that every valuable end of government is best answered by the
enlightened confidence of the people: And by teaching the people themselves to know,
and to value their own rights; to discern and provide against invasions of them; to
distinguish between oppression and the necessary exercise of lawful authority; between
burthens proceeding from a disregard to their convenience, and those resulting from the
inevitable exigencies of society; to discriminate the spirit of liberty from that of
licentiousness, cherishing the first, avoiding the last, and uniting a speedy, but temperate
vigilance against encroachments, with an inviolable respect to the laws.
Whether this desirable object will be best promoted by affording aids to seminaries of
learning already established, by the institution of a national university, or by any other
expedients, will be well worthy of a place in the deliberations of the Legislature.
Gentlemen of the House of Representatives,
I saw with peculiar pleasure, at the close of the last session, the resolution entered into by
you, expressive of your opinion, that an adequate provision for the support of the publick
credit, is a matter of high importance to the national honour and prosperity.-- In this
sentiment, I entirely concur.-- And to a perfect confidence in your best endeavors to
devise such a provision as will be truly consistent with the end, I add an equal reliance on
the cheerful cooperation of the other branch of the Legislature.-- It would be superfluous
to specify inducements to a measure in which the character and permanent interests of the
United States so obviously and so deeply concerned; and which has received so explicit a
sanction from your declaration.
Gentlemen of the Senate, and House of Representatives,
I have directed the proper officers to lay before you respectively such papers and
estimates as regards the affairs particularly recommended to your consideration, and
necessary to convey to you that information of the state of the union, which it is my duty
to afford.
The welfare of our country is the great object to which our cares and efforts ought to be
directed.-- And I shall derive great satisfaction from a cooperation with you, in the
pleasing though arduous task of ensuring to our fellow citizens the blessings which they
have a right to expect, from a free and equal government.
George Washington
Source:
A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents
Prepared under the direction of the Joint Committee on printing, of the House and Senate
Pursuant to an Act of the Fifty-Second Congress of the United States.
New York : Bureau of National Literature, Inc., 1897
http://www.marcaronson.com/word/The_Real_Revolution.doc
Why Tea? The Global Story of the American
Revolution
by Marc Aronson
Maplewood, New Jersey
The Colonies in Their International Context
American history and world history are inextricably bound together. Take
the matter of tea. Once you look backward over the 20 years leading up
to the Boston Tea Party of 1773 with a kind of bifocal gaze -- paying
attention simultaneously to events in North America and to the course of
the East India Company in India -- each of those stories alone now seems
flat, two-dimensional, while taken together you begin to sense the real,
three-dimensional, global history in which the American Revolution, the
formation of the British Empire, and even the Wilkes riots in London are
all part of one interrelated set of events.
A slight personal caveat: In writing for AP teachers, I am intensely
conscious that I am not a teacher, either of high school or college
students. I have neither your classroom experience (and the pressure of
tests and scores) nor the imprimatur of an institution of higher learning.
Worse yet, the books I write are aimed at teenagers, while the whole
point of AP is to direct those readers toward college-level work. And yet
my position as an independent scholar (I have a doctorate in American
history) does offer some advantages. I am free to follow my own historical
curiosities and to craft books that reflect my sense of how best to engage
young readers with history. In the process, I believe I have come upon a
new way to frame the American Revolution, placing it in its true
international context.
A New Approach to History
There is no more canonical moment on the pathway to the American
Revolution than the Boston Tea Party. But most standard accounts of the
dramatic events begin with the arrival of ships carrying tea into Boston
Harbor. Why did the British send the tea in the first place?
Benjamin Woods Labaree's The Boston Tea Party is still the best source
on this event, and he recounts some of the maneuvering on the part of
the East India Company that convinced Parliament to let the company
ship the tea to America without having to pay the usual fee on reexported
goods. Labaree's account offers what you might call the efficient cause -it explains the facts -- but it poses as many questions as it answers (1).
Yet when you look at the Tea Party in world context, you can experience
an almost physical paradigm shift. Suddenly new actors such as Robert
Clive, who can quite meaningfully be paired with his exact contemporary,
George Washington, and the Johnstone clan, whose fingerprints stained
the entire empire, become extremely important. A strong case can be
made that Scotland is crucial to the story of the eighteenth century, and
the Scottish banker Alexander Fordyce emerges as the person most
directly responsible for precipitating the Revolution. Existing studies, in
particular T. H. Breen's analyses Tobacco Culture and The Marketplace
of Revolution, become crucial puzzle pieces, linking histories unfolding in
Asia, Europe, and North America. It is all very exciting (2).
I hasten to add here that while I discovered this for myself, you can see
hints of it in Niall Ferguson's Empire, in the new book by P. J. Marshall,
The Making and Unmaking of Empires; Britain, India, and America c.
1750-1783, in the second volume of Simon Schama's trilogy on the
history of Britain, in Fred Anderson and Andrew Cayton's new book The
Dominion of War, and in the book on the East India Company and the
American Revolution that Emma Rothschild of Cambridge University is
writing. The thrilling part for me is that I am writing for teenagers, so that
they can get a taste of this new approach to history even as it is being
crafted in the academy (3).
Following the Trail of Tea
When I began following the trail of tea, I had already written three books
on the colonial period, two of which are deliberately transatlantic in their
approach. The first, Sir Walter Ralegh and the Quest for El Dorado,
traced the first phase of English engagement with North America and
found its keynote in a marvelous passage Ralegh wrote in his account of
the search for El Dorado. Ralegh simultaneously lusted after the riches of
the new land and felt that the virginal Eden must be protected. That
impossible mixture of feelings provides a unique insight into this early
period when, to Europeans, America was as much fable as fact (4).
My second book, John Winthrop, Oliver Cromwell, and the Land of
Promise, explored the period in which the fabled lands became a site of
religious hope and prophecy, even as the same millennial dramas
unfolded in parallel ways in the English Civil War. The focus of that book
was on the transition from the religious, prophetic image of America as
the Land of Promise to a more pragmatic, political discussion of how both
England and New England should be governed (5).
As a teenager, I always wondered how the authors of books I read knew
what they knew. Where did the information come from? Perhaps because
of that, in all of my books I not only list the sources I used but also
discuss what I thought of them. I try to lift up the curtain and show readers
the mechanics behind the scenes, so that they get a sense of how history
is constructed and feel encouraged to do their own building.
The third book, Witch-Hunt: Mysteries of the Salem Witch Trials, was
entirely built around this exercise in historiography. I wanted to give my
readers the interpretations I thought most compelling -- Paul Boyer and
Stephen Nissenbaum's account of local conflict, David D. Hall's insight
into the blend of folk and scholarly religious beliefs, Bernard Rosenthal's
withering skepticism, and Mary Beth Norton's exciting new insights into
the impact of the nearby Indian wars -- but then challenge readers to
assimilate these views and develop their own (6).
The advantage of having written these earlier books is that when I
followed the leads in Labaree to the history of the East India Company, I
saw that story in three dimensions. I set down the results of that research
in The Real Revolution: The Global Story of American Independence. All
of the books on Clive and the East India Company are by Irish and British
authors. For these authors, making sense of Clive and the company also
means reckoning with the British Raj, the Empire, the entire colonial
exercise. The luxury of coming at this history from an American point of
view is that, not burdened by the subsequent history of British rule, one
can simply be curious to see how events on the other side of the world
cast new light on familiar actions here (7).
European Powers' Global Reach
For example, the rivalry between England and France so familiar to
American historians from Washington's early battles and what is
myopically called the French and Indian War was also unfolding at the
same time in parallel conflicts in India. In fact, it is precisely because
these clashes were interconnected that the Seven Years' War is now
recognized as the first true world war (8).
In India, English ambitions were expressed through the East India
Company, just as George Washington set off in 1753 as an agent of the
Ohio Company, as well as Virginia, and the crown. This cross of business
and empire is especially revealing, as the vaunted greed of East India
Company employees resembles nothing so much as the land hunger of
Americans. The crisscrossing of these worlds is not just a matter of
classroom comparison. Once you begin to trace out the lives of key
actors in the East India Company, you see more direct links to North
America.
Take the Johnstone clan, the sons of a Scottish baronet. George, a
younger son, joined the navy in 1743 or 1744, fought in the West Indies,
and, though his temper slowed his advance, demonstrated pluck and
determination. When Lord Bute's former pupil became George III, the
good Scotsman did all he could for his countrymen. George Johnstone,
for one, was appointed governor of West Florida. But before he left to
take up his post, he had some business to attend to. One brother, Patrick,
had died in the Black Hole of Calcutta. Another, John, fought beside Clive
at the great triumph at Plassey. John went on to use every unscrupulous
means to amass a fortune. Clive's hands were far from clean, but he
sincerely did want to bring order to the company, and he tried to reign in
Johnstone and remove his treasure. At a crucial meeting of the East India
Company stockholders, George used his considerable will and John's
wealth to turn the company against Clive (9).
That fight within the East India Company between Clive and his allies and
the Johnstones, allied with the Irishman Laurence Sulivan, who was the
company's director at the time, went on for a decade and would have an
important role in American history. The Johnstone's involvement in
America played out in other ways, too. Another brother, William, married
Frances Pulteney, a woman so wealthy he took her name. He came to
own a great swath of western New York called the Genesee Tract.
George's tenure in Florida was cut short by the same personality traits he
showed in the navy. The same was true of his cousin, James Murray,
whom Bute named as governor-general of Canada. George ultimately
returned to North America in 1778 as one of the commissioners sent to
see about negotiating an end to the war. His temper rendered that difficult
mission impossible (10).
The Johnstones are but one example of what you see when you begin to
take a global view. A career path involving service in the Caribbean, in
North America, in India, and in Parliament -- with alliances and
entanglements with important figures on each stop -- was not uncommon.
Service around the globe was particularly appealing to outsiders, such as
Scots, whose ability to rise was otherwise limited. If we simply look at
these actors when they appear in North America, we are like flatlanders
who perceive spheres as circles.
Events in London and Events in Boston
There is yet another crucial twist to this tale. Bute's constant goad was
the rabble-rousing rake John Wilkes (a schoolmate of James, yet another
of the Johnstone boys). Wilkes loved mocking Bute through his paper, the
North Briton (the title itself was a dig at Scots). In issue 17, Wilkes
attacked the artist William Hogarth for supporting Bute and the treaty that
ended the Seven Years' War. Hogarth retaliated with a caricature of a
devilish Wilkes, but his supporters liked the image anyway. Then in issue
45 he accused the king of lying to Parliament, which cost him his seat in
the Commons, and he fled the country. But his faithful supporters -London's working poor and the impoverished, gin-soaked, destitute -chanted his name. From then on, in Boston quite as much as London, the
number 45 stood for "Wilkes and Liberty." Rioters in Boston attacked
boots -- the symbol for Bute -- and the Sons of Liberty proudly displayed
the number 45. As Parliament and the king were intensely aware, to
concede anything to Boston was also to bow to Wilkes and the London
mob, and vice versa. Once again, following the story of the Stamp Act,
Declaratory Act, and Townshend Act outside of the context of Wilkes and
the London riots is to miss a key part of the story (11).
There is yet another actor to add to this increasingly global story: the
London and Amsterdam stock markets. In 1765 Clive came to an
agreement with the Mughal emperor that made the company the effectual
ruler of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa, the richest parts of India. At once, he
notified his agent to begin buying company stock. And as soon as word
spread, East India Company stock soared (12).
The rise in East India Company stock brought life to the global stock
market, which had collapsed after the end of the Seven Years' War (the
second collapse in the century, after the South Sea Bubble in 1720). As
the stock began to rise, it became the center of all trading. Scottish
merchants holding the debts of Virginia tobacco farmers used every
pound they had, and many more that they borrowed, to buy company
stock. Clive and Sulivan marshaled great syndicates to buy company
stock to take control of the company, driving the stock higher.
Government ministers, such as Charles Townshend, bought stock, tying
government policy to company needs. Within a year, the price for what
had been 100 pounds' worth of East India stock rose to 273 pounds (13).
In 1769 came the first sign of trouble: a strong Indian leader threatened
Madras, and the stock began to fall. The next year came the real blow:
famine. When the regular monsoon rains did not come, people in Bengal
began to die. Taxation was carried out in Bengal by Indians, who showed
neither compassion nor concern for the dying. But the company was no
better. Instead, it hoarded rice and even increased the tax on land by 10
percent as thousands, hundreds of thousands, perhaps 10 million people
died. Company rule was a disaster -- as the radical writer Thomas Paine
fervently insisted (14).
Parliament, though, was reluctant to act. To govern the affairs of a
corporation was an infringement on liberty. For once, the Boston radicals,
ever protective of their own sense of "liberty," agreed. But then matters
were taken out of Parliament's hands. Alexander Fordyce was one of
those Scottish bankers who had plunged heavily in company stocks,
using borrowed funds. In the summer of 1772, he thought he saw the
trend and shorted his stock. Just then, in June, it rose slightly. Seeing his
ruin, he fled to France with all of the Ayr Bank's assets. This set off the
third credit crisis of the century, ruining banks across Scotland, forcing
them to call in the debts of Virginia planters, sending shock waves of
bankruptcy across the colony, threatening even the Bank of England and
the Amsterdam exchange (15).
Though Fordyce and the Ayr Bank are forgotten today, one crucial
observer was playing close attention at the time. The Johnstone brothers,
especially William, were part of the circle of Scottish thinkers that included
David Hume and Adam Smith. Smith could see, directly in front of his
eyes, how world finance was developing. As he weighed out the question
of paper currency in Wealth of Nations, he began by reviewing the story
of the Ayr Bank (16).
The East India Company had been second only to the Bank of England
as a financial power in England. But the company was entirely dependent
on trade. The wealth it gathered in India was useless unless the Indian
goods it could then buy were either highly valued in Europe or could be
traded for Asian products that had their own eager buyers. As banks
collapsed in England, the market for Asian luxuries diminished, and this
stellar company was in real trouble. Company directors, who realized
what was happening and had their own fortunes tied up in company
stock, scrambled to hide the state of affairs, to dump their stock, and,
finally, to get a government bailout. The company needed about 1.4
million pounds to avoid bankruptcy (17).
The government was willing to loan the company money, but with strings
attached. It wanted control over Bengal. Forced to agree, the company
gave the crown the cornerstone of the British Empire. It also had one
asset that did not depend on the market for Indian luxuries: Chinese tea.
In fact, by one calculation, if the company could dump 11,500,000 pounds
by weight of that tea in North America by underselling the smugglers, it
would earn 1.45 million pounds -- just enough to cover the loan (18).
A Global Context for a Local Story
We are back at Labaree -- with Parliament debating the loan and the tea.
But how different the story looks now: the same financial crisis that sent
tea to Boston had radicalized Virginia planters, influenced the ideas of the
inventor of modern economics, and established the British Empire. And
there is yet one more twist. Parliament, where three of the Johnstone
brothers now held seats, actually wanted more than control and money, it
wanted blood. The anti-Clive cohort in the company now acted through
Parliament, making him the scapegoat for all of the company's problems.
Two committees went after him, one in public and one, chaired by the
ambitious John Burgoyne, in private.
According to a frequently recounted story, Clive was being groomed to
come to America, to oppose Washington in the approaching conflict. But
Clive did not cross the Atlantic. Though he was ultimately cleared, and
even honored, by Parliament, the ordeal was too much. On November 22,
1774, he killed himself (19).
What a perfect place to compare and contrast: Washington who would
establish the United States, Clive who laid the foundation for the British
Empire. In Edward Penny's 1773 painting of Clive collecting funds from
Mir Jafar, an Indian ruler, to give to English widows and orphans (which
can be found on the British Library site below), his resemblance to
Washington is striking. The point is not to praise one and condemn the
other but to see in the two men two sides of the same story unfolding in
related but different ways. The need to do so becomes all the more clear
when you look at the end of the war that might have been contested by
the two generals. After Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, he was
still in high favor with the king. That is why George tapped him to take
control of the crown's new territories in India.
Teachers, I realize that you are bound by the straightjacket of tests, and
though I think it would make an ideal essay question, I doubt your
students will soon be asked to defend or contest the proposition that
Alexander Fordyce was responsible for the Revolution. Nonetheless, I
hope that this brief account of my explorations will suggest some of the
riches that await you and your students when you begin to link American
and world history. Since I've been talking about tea, take the matter of
sugar...
Sources
Another interesting and more recent book that deals with the Boston Tea
Party is Alfred F. Young, The Shoemaker and the Tea Party: Memory and
the American Revolution (Boston: Beacon Press, 1999). While it centers
on an account of the events by a participant and is especially useful for
stripping away the mythology of the Party, the book is really more about
historical memory than the event itself.
I found Bence-Jones to be the best modern biographer of Clive, though
his book is out of print and may be hard to find. He is skeptical of many
stories that are otherwise loyally passed along from one biographer to
another. The source of many of those tales of Clive's life is the brief
nineteenth-century study that still casts a shadow over all English writing
about Clive, Thomas Babington Macaulay's completely dated but still
vivid essay "Lord Clive" from The Edinburgh Review, 1840, and reprinted
in, among other books, Macaulay's Essay on Lord Clive (Whitefish,
Montana: Kessinger Publishing, 2004). It is worth reading for its literary
style and its place in English historiography. And your students may enjoy
it for its Indiana Jones-style flair and thrilling but distorted tales of
heroism. On page 240, Bence-Jones uses the once-acceptable phrase
"nigger in the woodpile"; in context it clearly reflects no racial attitude on
his part, but I could imagine that a student might not be familiar with the
term, misread it, and take offense. Spear's book is also out of print, also
good, has more and better illustrations, and will more than satisfy any
reader's hunger for details of military life in India. Lawson's survey is
particularly valuable as it not only outlines all of the key moments in the
history of the company but also carefully describes the historiography. For
a coffee table history of the East India Company that features wonderful
illustrations and whose tone is not at all defensive, see Antony Wild, The
East India Company: Trade and Conquest from 1600 (New York: Lyons
Press, 2000).
Fabel's book on George Johnstone is the only full-length study of any of
the brothers. John's traces can be found in any book on the East India
Company in this era, though his life remains entirely unexamined. A
useful primary source is the Autobiography of the Rev. Dr. Alexander
Carlyle, Minister of Inveresk (Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1860). A
contemporary of the Johnstone brothers, Carlyle relates several telling
anecdotes linking them to such figures as Charles Townshend, John
Wilkes, and Adam Smith. Sutherland's fine book is not only thorough but
also marvelously well written, a treat for anyone researching this subject.
Bowen is also useful and recent, though more academic in tone.
Notes
(1) Benjamin Woods Labaree, The Boston Tea Party (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1964; reprint Boston: Northeastern University Press,
1979; page citations are to the Northeastern reprint edition), 58-79.
(2) T. H. Breen, Tobacco Culture: The Mentality of the Great Tidewater
Planters on the Eve of Revolution (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton
University Press, 1985; 9th ed., with new preface, 2001); Breen, The
Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American
Independence (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004).
(3) Niall Ferguson, Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World
Order and the Lessons for Global Power (New York: Basic Books, 2004);
Simon Schama, A History of Britain, Volume II: The Wars of the British,
1603-1776 (New York: Talk Miramax Books, 2001); P. J. Marshall, The
Making and Unmaking of Empires; Britain, India, and America c. 17501783 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005); Fred Anderson and
Andrew Cayton, The Dominion of War: Empire and Liberty in North
America, 1500-2000 (New York: Viking, 2005).
(4) Marc Aronson, Sir Walter Ralegh and the Quest for El Dorado (New
York: Clarion, 2000).
(5) Marc Aronson, John Winthrop, Oliver Cromwell, and the Land of
Promise (New York: Clarion, 2004).
(6) Marc Aronson, Witch-Hunt: Mysteries of the Salem Witch Trials (New
York: Atheneum, 2003); Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, Salem
Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft (Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Harvard University Press, 1974); David D. Hall, Worlds of Wonder, Days
of Judgment: Popular Religious Belief in Early New England (New York:
Knopf, 1989); Bernard Rosenthal, Salem Story: Reading the Witch Trials
of 1692 (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1993); Mary
Beth Norton, In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692
(New York: Knopf, 2002). Dr. Rosenthal is preparing a new edition of the
surviving pretrial transcripts, which will certainly be a necessary tool for all
future research.
(7) Marc Aronson, The Real Revolution: The Global Story of American
Independence (New York: Clarion, 2005); Mark Bence-Jones, Clive of
India (London: Constable and Company, 1974); Percival Spear, Master of
Bengal: Clive and His India (London: Thames and Hudson, 1975); Philip
Lawson, The East India Company: A History (London: Longman, 1993).
(8) Fred Anderson, Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate
of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766 (New York: Vintage, 2001).
For a vivid depiction of the global scope of the war, see map 1, xxviiixxviv.
(9) Robin F. A. Fabel, Bombast and Broadsides: The Lives of George
Johnstone (Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 1987) for
his naval life, governorship, and early involvement with the East India
Company, 1-24. For the battles within the East India Company and their
connections to contemporary politics, see H. V. Bowen, Revenue and
Reform: The Indian Problem in British Politics 1757-1773 (Cambridge,
England: Cambridge University Press, 1991). Dame Lucy Sutherland,
The East India Company in Eighteenth-Century Politics (Oxford, England:
Clarendon Press, 1952).
(10) For a brief biography of William Pulteney and information on his role
in western New York, see http://clanjohnston.org/pulteny.html. For
Johnstone's and Murray's temperaments and the consequences to their
North American careers, see Anderson, 730-31. For Johnstone's role in
the 1778 mission, see Fabel, Bombast, 100-119.
(11) For the Hogarth, Wilkes, North Briton contretemps, see Sheila
O'Connell, London 1753 (London: British Museum Press, 2003), 200-02;
George Rudé, Wilkes and Liberty: A Social Study of 1763 to 1774
(Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1962). For the link between Wilkes
and the Americans, see Pauline Maier, From Resistance to Revolution:
Colonial Radicals and the Development of American Opposition to Britain,
1765-1776 (New York: Knopf, 1972; Norton paperback, 1991), 161-83.
For the pun of boot and Bute and the American rioters, see Edmund S.
Morgan and Helen M. Morgan, The Stamp Act Crisis: Prologue to
Revolution (Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina
Press, 1953; rev. ed. with new preface, 1995), 129.
(12) For a detailed account of Clive's negotiations with the emperor, see
Spear, Master, 145-48. There is a handy, annotated chart of the share
price of East India Company stock in Ferguson, Empire, 52.
(13) For the boom in East India Company stock in the context of previous
credit bubbles, see David Glasner, ed., Business Cycles and
Depressions: An Encyclopedia (New York: Garland, 1997), 112-23. For
the responses of the Virginia planters, see Breen, Tobacco, 160-203.
(14) W. W. Hunter's contemporary account of the famine can be found at
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/f/fiske/john/f54u/chapter9.html.
Thomas Paine, "Reflections on the Life and Death of Lord Clive,"
Pennsylvania Magazine, March 1775, available at
http://oll.libertyfund.org/Texts/Paine0030/Writings/HTMLs/054801_Pt01_Part1.html#LF-BK0548-01pt01ch006.
(15) John Phillip Reid, The Concept of Liberty in the Age of the American
Revolution (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988). The Bostonians'
agreement with the East India Company stockholders is mentioned on 86.
Sir John Clapham, The Bank of England: A History (New York:
Macmillan, 1945), 245-49; Charles Wilson, Anglo-Dutch Commerce &
Finance in the Eighteenth Century (Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University Press, 1941; reprinted New York: Arno Press, 1977), 170-71;
Richard B. Sheridan, "The British Credit Crisis of 1772 and the American
Colonies," Journal of Economic History, volume XX (June 1960): 161-86.
(16) Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of
Nations, 472-76, available at
http://oll.libertyfund.org/Texts/LFBooks/Smith0232/GlasgowEdition/Wealt
hOfNations/HTMLs/014102_Pt03_Book2.html#c_lf0141.2.footnote.nt1076.
(17) For the East India Company's troubles, see Bowen, Revenue, 11939.
(18) For the amount of tea the company needed to sell, see Labaree,
Boston, 67.
(19) For the rumor that Clive was slated to fight Washington, see BenceJones, Clive, 296.
Marc Aronson earned his doctorate at NYU. He is an editor and author of
books for teenagers. His biography of Sir Walter Ralegh was awarded the
first-ever Robert F. Sibert prize for setting a new standard of excellence in
nonfiction for younger readers, as well as the Boston Globe-Horn Book
Award for nonfiction.
The Library of Congress
Primary Sources on the Declaration of Independence
The Library of Congress
Primary Sources on the Constitution
Constitution Day
A web site of The Constitution Center
American Revolution
http://www.americanrevolution.org/home.html
American Revolution Round Table
http://samson.kean.edu/~leew/arrt/
Sons of the Revolution
http://sonsoftherevolution.org/
Revolutionary War Archives
http://www.revolutionarywararchives.org/
British/American Relations
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/british/brit-2.html
Graphics depicting the important documents and events in the Revolution
Newspapers from the Revolutionary Period
http://www.loc.gov/rr/news/18th/0coverpage.html
Comprehensive Links to All Things American Revolution
http://www.avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/18th.asp
PBS American Revolution Site
http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/
(http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/road.html The Road to Revolution Game – Online Knowledge
Challenge!)
Marc Aronson Site
http://www.marcaronson.com/
The Loyalist Pages
The Plain Truth about the so-called Boston "Massacre" and "Tea Party"
March 5, 1770 is a day when the rebellious citizens of the Boston Colony demonstrated their
commitment to mob violence, and their willingness to be led down the path to destruction by a
few evil men.
These citizens were inspired by a small group of rebels who are committed to anarchy against the
Crown. After extensive testimony given by eyewitnesses we have determined that the events of
this night are being misrepresented.
The soldiers fired in self-defense into an angry mob led by a few men trying to inspire a rebellion
in the colonies. We have found that there were several events that occurred prior to the actual
firing. On this day there were several isolated attacks on innocent British soldiers, provocation's
to fight and various insults attacking the character of British Officers. Captain Goldfinch was
viciously accused on not paying his debts and Private White defended his Captain's honor.
Soldiers, at their duty posts, minding their own business and acting non-confrontational, were
verbally assaulted by Bostonian men with epitaphs of "bloody back", "lousy rascal", "dammed
rascally scoundrel", and "lobster son of a b---- ". Physical violence was done to the soldiers,
unprovoked, by the mob pelting the soldiers with snowballs, icicles, and pieces of wood. These
actions were continuously perpetrated on the soldiers throughout the day. John Gillespie has
testified that he saw 50 men in roving patrols armed with clubs and sticks with the express
purpose of attacking the soldiers. Sergeant Major Davies observed men with clubs shouting,
"Now for the bloody-back rascals", "Murder", and "Kill the dogs". This was so startling to him
that he changed out of his red uniform for civilian clothes. To add to the clamor of events,
someone started ringing the fire bells. When these bells are rung the citizens are trained to come
out of their houses to fight a fire. There was no fire but the citizens were lured out in the streets
and were then incited to participate in the mob activities. All of these actions led to the tragedy
of the day.
As many soldiers as possible were recalled to their barracks by Captain Thomas Preston to help
defuse the mob excitement and prevent and potential violence. He then heard that a lone sentry
was being assaulted outside the Custom House. Captain Preston marched a detachment of
soldiers to the Custom House and ordered the soldiers to load their muskets and fix bayonets.
According to Captain Preston, under an officer's code of honesty, there was never an intention to
actually fire. A soldier was assaulted and knocked to the ground. It was clear that the soldiers
need to protect themselves from the aggressive mob and the shots were fired in self-defense with
no actual order to fire. It is clear upon knowing the facts that innocent lives of citizens were lost
due to the unscrupulous actions of the mob inciters. These deaths will likely be enshrined in
patriot mythology when they were, in reality unsuspecting victims of the mob inciters.
It is clear to us that this whole series of events could have been prevented if the small band of
inciters did not lure the unsuspecting civilians to perform the aggressive acts perpetrated. We
must remember the appropriate phrase spoken by a respected clergyman of our colonies, "The
call me a brainless Tory. But tell me, which is better: to be ruled by one tyrant three thousand
miles away, or by three thousand tyrants not one mile away?"
We appeal to all loyal citizens of the colonies to not be miss-lead by a small band of rebellious
brutes. Please hear the Plain Truth
GOD SAVE THE KING,
CANDIDUS
*************************************************
Here are some facts that most people do not know as they do not read enough
The Results of the Trial of Captain Preston following the Boston Massacre
This report is sent to all citizens of the colonies who desire to know the TRUTH about the
alleged Boston Massacre. In case you have not heard there has been a fair trial, by a jury of their
peers, on behalf of the accused perpetrators involved in the Boston Massacre. Our esteemed John
Adams has offered a dramatic defense for Captain Preston and his soldiers. Here are the results:
· After a mere three hours of deliberation the jury found Captain Preston NOT GUILTY
· Of the eight soldiers (the sentry plus the seven men Preston brought to the Custom House), six
were ACQUI1TED, and two were convicted of manslaughter and punished by being branded on
the thumb.
What about the aggressors who facilitated this tragedy? No one has dared to offer prosecution
against the leaders of the MOB who viciously attacked the soldiers of the Crown. We all know
who they are. Where is their justice for all? I believe that the aggressors should be placed on trial
for their personal crimes against the soldiers. Is there not at least one or more of you readers who
would support this prosecution? How can we profess to have equal justice under the law without
equal prosecution? Without the prosecution of the perpetrators we will align ourselves with the
devil.
How can we continue to use this tragedy as a rallying point to rebel against the Crown? For those
of you that cherish the PLAIN TRUTH you will obviously see the absurdity of promoting this
event as a reason to rebel against the Crown.
GOD SAVE THE KING,
CANDIDUS
******************************************
I am disturbed about the activities of certain groups that are advocating a rebellion against the
Crown and our great King George. We should remember that our Crown has defended us against
the aggressions of the French and we won the Seven Years War! We now have our own colonies
protected by the Crown. Our commerce and trade routes are protected by our great British Navy
and we are able to sell our products throughout the world under the protection of the Royal
Navy. What more could we want?
I have just heard the news of a small group of ruffians who have dumped a large amount of tea
into the Boston Harbor. The initial report was that this group was a roving band of Indians. I
refuse to be influenced by the underground rebellious press that continues to feed us with false
reports and slanted view points that support a rebellion against the Crown. I and many loyal
Colonists have found the truth to this report. The ruffians were actually a group of men , most of
them are associated with the secret societv of Masons. The event demonstrates a useless
destruction of property against the East India Company. I am writing to inform you that the tea
which was destroyed was sent to the Colonies to be sold at a very competitive price as the East
India Tea Company has a surplus of tea. King George has authorized the sale of this tea to
benefit the Colonies. This tea would have also helped the financial state of the East India Tea
Company of which we certainly hope would stay solvent. We have also found information
alluding to the tea smuggling operations of John Hancock and other of the rebellion supporters.
Could it be that the tea in Boston Harbor was destroyed to prevent competitive pricing of tea?
(are we merely changing tax collectors?) Why do we continue to anger King George by useless
acts of
property damage?
I urge you all to consider the price we would pay for rebellion against the Crown. Some of our
Colonists call this revolution but you must realize that this is a huge mistake, any actions against
the Crown represent a mere rebellion.
I trust that the Editor of this newsletter will be true to political objectivity and allow myself and
other loyal colonist to publish the plain truth of these rebellion matters. We have others matters
to discuss in future issues that will provide you with the TRUTH. Please submit your questions
and jaded criticism to the Editor (those of you who can read and write)
GOD SAVE THE KING,
CANDIDUS
************************************
A Plan For Peaceful Colonial Independence
December 1775, the rumors of rebellion still resound throughout the Colonies. The press
continues to report one sided viewpoints of the Crown's alleged repressions and supports the
potentially catastrophic rebellion in the Colonies whereby brother will be set against brother,
family against family, and politicians in strife with one another. Rebel leaders cry for a
unification of all the Colonies against the Crown. Is this a new idea? I dare say naught to this.
Our supposed leaders, Ben Franklin, former Governors, Robert Dinwiddie, William Shirley,
James DeLancy and many others know of a plan of unification supported by Parliament for the
purpose of uniting the Colonies.
This plan called the Albany Congress plan of 1754, chiefly the work of Franklin, calls for an
executive and a legislature; the former, the President-general to be appointed and supported by
the Crown; and the latter, the Grand Council, to be elected by the various assemblies in the
eleven colonies. This legislature was to consist of forty-eight members, the colonies being
represented roughly according to population and wealth.
To this Grand Council was given jurisdiction over Indian affairs, both political and commercial.
It was to raise and pay soldiers, to build forts for the defense of the colonies, and to "Equip
vessels for force to guard the coast and protect the trade of the Ocean and Lakes or Great
Rivers."
In order to raise the requisite funds for these purposes, the grand council was given power to
make laws and to impose general duties and taxes. All acts of the Grand Council, however,
required the consent of the president-general and, in addition, all laws were to be submitted to
the King in council for approbation. This proposal for a political union of the colonies under one
government in America was ultimately to be brought into an effect by an act of the Parliament of
Great Britain. How much closer could we be brought to independence without senseless
violence? The only thing that was left to do was to secure colonial approval.
Have you heard of this plan? Has this solution to Colonial Independence been promoted
throughout the Colonies in writing and verbally to those that do not have the ability to read? I
fear that there is a conspiracy to NOT promote this logical solution for Colonial Independence.
The following quote by Ben Franklin will convey the hidden contemptuous attitude portrayed by
our perceived advocate:
December 29, 1754 in a letter by Franklin to Collison: "All the assemblies in the Colonies have, I
suppose, had the Union Plan laid before them, but it is not likely, in my opinion, that any of them
will act upon it so as to agree to it, or to propose any Amendments to it. Every body cries, 'a
union is absolutely necessary,' but when they come to the Manner and form of the Union, THEIR
WEAK NOODLES ARE PERFECTLY DISTRACTED"
Once again we would like to affirm our quest of the PLAIN TRUTH. We openly challenge, to a
duel of the pen, B. Franklin, T. Jefferson, J. Otis, J. Hancock, both Adams' and other rebellious
spirits who continue to spread false reasons and to take up arms against the crown.
Your Humble Servant,
CANDIDUS
http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpregion/asia/india/indiaofficerecords/indiaofficerecordsfurtherre
adingontheeastindiacompanyandindiaoffice/iorreading.html The British India Office Records
Guides, Catalogues and Lists
M.I. Moir, A General Guide to the India Office Records (London, 1988).
S.C. Hill, Catalogue of the Home Miscellaneous Series of the India Office Records (London,
1927).
A.J. Farrington, The Records of the East India College, Haileybury, and other institutions
(London, 1976).
A.J. Farrington, Guide to the Records of the India Office Military Department (London, 1982).
P.J. Tuson, The Records of the British Residency and Agencies in the Persian Gulf (London,
1979).
I.A. Baxter, India Office Library and Records: A Brief Guide to Biographical Sources (London,
1979; second edition 1990).
A. Griffin, A Brief Guide to Sources for the Study of Burma in the India Office Records
(London, 1979).
L.A. Hall, A Brief Guide to Sources for the Study of Afghanistan in the India Office Records
(London, 1981).
A.K. Jasbir Singh, Gandhi and Civil Disobedience: Documents in the India Office Records 19221946 (London, 1980).
A.K. Jasbir Singh, A Guide to Source Materials in the India Office Library and Records for the
history of Tibet, Sikkim and Bhutan, 1765-1950 (London, 1988).
M.I. Moir, A Study of the History and Organisation of the Political and Secret Departments of
the East India Company, the Board of Control and the India Office, 1784-1919, with a Summary
List of Records, Diploma in Archive Administration, University of London, 1966.
R.E. Seton, The Indian 'Mutiny' 1857-58: A Guide to Source Material in the India Office Library
and Records (London, 1986).
J.M. Sims, A List and Index of Parliamentary Papers relating to India 1908-1947 (London,
1981).
T.N. Thomas, Indians Overseas: A Guide to Source Materials in the India Office Records for the
Study of Indian Emigration, 1830-1950 (London, 1985).
P.J. Tuson, Sources for Middle East Studies in the India Office Records (London, 1982; second
edition 1984).
I.A. Baxter, 'Dutch Records from Malacca in the India Office Records', Journal of the Malaysian
Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 56 (1983), pp. 105-133.
R.J. Bingle, 'The Resources for the Study of the Indian Ocean Region in the India Office Library
and Records', India Office Library and Records Report for 1981 (London, 1982), pp. 6-23.
M.I. Moir, 'Archival Materials for the History of Sind prior to British Annexation available in the
India Office Records and the European Manuscripts Section of the India Office Library',
typescript, 1975.
M.I. Moir, 'Archival Materials in the London Records of the East India Company and of the
India Office relating to Southeast Asia', Southeast Asian Archives, vol. 2 (1969), pp. 68-81.
P.J. Tuson, 'Archive Sources for Arabian and Gulf Studies in the India Office Records',
typescript, 1977 (Arabic version in Journal of the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies, vol. 4
(1978), pp. 95-110.
M Makepeace, Sources for London history at the India Office Library and Records, London
Topographical Record vol xxvi (1990)
The arrangement of the records is summarised in two general guides:
J.D. Pearson, A Guide to Manuscripts and Documents in the British Isles relating to South and
South-East Asia, 2 vols. (London, 1989), vol. i, pp. 1-53: 'India Office Library and Records:
Official Records'.
R.C. Alston, Handlist of Unpublished Finding Aids to the London Collections of the British
Library (London, 1991), pp. 71-130 ('India Office Records').
The following older guides also contain useful information:
J.C. Lancaster, A Guide to Lists and Catalogues of the India Office Records (London, 1966).
J.C. Lancaster, 'The India Office Records', Archivum, vol. 15 (1965), pp. 293-302 (reprinted in
Archives: The Journal of the British Records Association, vol. 43 (1970), pp. 130-141.
W. Foster, A Guide to the India Office Records 1600-1858 (London, 1919).
F.C. Danvers, Report to the Secretary of State for India in Council on the Records of the India
Office: Records relating to Agencies, Factories, and Settlements not now under the
Administration of the Government of India (London, 1888).
F.C. Danvers, Report on the India Office Records relating to Persia and the Persian Gulf
[London, 1889].
G.C.M. Birdwood, Report on the Old Records of the India Office, with Supplementary Note and
Appendices (London, 1890).
The following are Education Service guides:
S.R. Ashton and P.J. Tuson, India Office Library and Records: A Brief Guide for Teachers
(London, 1985; second edition, 1987).
A.K. Vaid, The Student's Guide to the India Office Collections [London, 1995].
A.K. Vaid and J. Fowler, Sources for Students in the India Office Collections [London, 1995].
Other guides, catalogues and lists, relevant to particular classes of records, are noted in the
Summary Lists for those classes (see Arrangement of the Records and List of Classes).
Calendars and Transcripts
H. Stevens, The Dawn of British Trade to the East Indies as recorded in the Court Minutes of the
East India Company 1599-1603 (London, 1886).
W.N. Sainsbury, Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series: vol. i, East Indies, China and Japan,
1513-1616 (London, 1862);
vol. ii, East Indies, China and Japan, 1617-1621 (London, 1870);
vol. iii, East Indies, China and Japan, 1622-1624 (London, 1878);
vol. iv, East Indies, China and Persia, 1625-1629 (London, 1884);
vol. v, East Indies and Persia, 1630-1634 (London, 1892).
E.B. Sainsbury, A Calendar of the Court Minutes etc. of the East India Company 1635-1639 [to]
1677-1679, 11 vols. (Oxford, 1907-1938).
G.C.M. Birdwood and W. Foster, The Register of Letters etc. of the Governour and Company of
Merchants of London trading into the East Indies, 1600-1619 (London, 1893).
F.C. Danvers and W. Foster, Letters Received by the East India Company from its Servants in
the East ... 1602-1613 [to] 1617, 6 vols. (London, 1896-1902).
W. Foster, The English Factories in India 1618-1621 [to] 1668-1669, 13 vols. (Oxford, 19061927).
C.G.H. Fawcett, The English Factories in India 1670-1677 [to] 1678-1684, new series, 4 vols.
(Oxford, 1936-1955).
A.J. Farrington, The English Factory in Japan, 1613-1623, 2 vols. (London, 1991).
M Makepeace Trade on the Guinea Coast 1657-1666: the correspondence of the English East
India Company (University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1991)
V Baladouni & M Makepeace, (eds.), Armenian Merchants of the seventeenth and early
eighteenth centuries: English East India Company sources (Philadelphia, 1998)
W. Foster, A Supplementary Calendar of Documents in the India Office relating to India or to
the home affairs of the East India Company, 1600-1640 (London, 1928).
P.N.S. Mansergh, The Transfer of Power, 1942-7: Constitutional Relations between Britain and
India, 12 vols. (London, 1970-1983).
H.R. Tinker, Burma: The Struggle for Independence, 1944-1948: Constitutional Relations
between Britain and Burma, 2 vols. (London, 1983-1984).
J. Ashtiany, The Arabic Documents in the Archives of the British Political Agency in Kuwait,
1904-1949 (London, 1982).
Historical Studies
P. Auber, An Analysis of the Constitution of the the East India Company (London, 1826).
Supplement (London, 1828).
W. Foster, John Company (London, 1926).
J. Keay, The Honourable Company: A History of the English East India Company (London,
1991).
P. Lawson, The East India Company: A History (London, 1993).
W. Foster, England's Quest of Eastern Trade (London, 1933).
K.N. Chaudhuri, The English East India Company: The Study of an Early Joint Stock Company,
1600-1640 (London, 1965).
K.N. Chaudhuri, The Trading World of Asia and the English East India Company, 1600-1760
(Cambridge, 1978).
M Makepeace, English Traders on the Guinea Coast, 1657-1668: An analysis of the East India
Company Archive, History in Africa 16 (1989)
J. Sutton, Lords of the East: The East India Company and its Ships (London, 1981).
W. Foster, The East India House: Its History and Associations (London, 1924).
R.G.C. Desmond, The India Museum, 1801-1879 (London, 1982).
L.S. Sutherland, The East India Company in Eighteenth-Century Politics (Oxford, 1952).
P.J. Marshall, Problems of Empire: Britain and India 1757-1813 (London, 1968).
B.B. Misra, The Central Administration of the East India Company, 1773-1834 (Manchester,
1959).
C.H. Philips, The East India Company, 1784-1834 (Manchester, 1940; second edition, Oxford,
1961).
M.I. Moir, 'The Examiner's Office: The Emergence of an Administrative Elite in East India
House (1804-1858)', India Office Library and Records Report for 1977 (London, 1979), pp. 2542.
M.I. Moir, 'The Examiner's Office and the Drafting of East India Company Despatches', in K.
Ballhatchet and J. Harrison, East India Company Studies: Papers Presented to Professor Sir Cyril
Philips (Hong Kong, 1986), pp. 123-152.
M.C.C. Seton, The India Office (London, 1926).
D. Williams, The India Office, 1858-1869 (Hoshiarpur, 1983).
A.P. Kaminsky, The India Office, 1880-1910 (London, 1986).
S.N. Singh, The Secretary of State for India and his Council (Delhi, 1962).
B.B. Misra, The Administrative History of India, 1834-1947: General Administration (Bombay,
1970).
B.B. Misra, The Bureaucracy in India: An Historical Analysis of Development up to 1947
(Delhi, 1977).
General Guides
J.D. Pearson, South Asian Bibliography: A Handbook and Guide (Hassocks, 1979).
D.A. Low, J.C. Iltis and M.D. Wainwright, Government Archives in South Asia: A Guide to
National and State Archives in Ceylon, India and Pakistan (Cambridge, 1969).
History and Scope of the Records
Arrangement of the Records, with a List of Classes
Sources for Family History Research in the India Office Records
Further Information
Researchers may consult these works in the Oriental and India Office Collections by using the
services and facilities of the Reading Room.
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/homepage/22538.html
Loyalists and the American Revolution
Introduction
Loyalists, those colonists who affirmed Britain's authority over the colonies, were described
during the Revolutionary War as "persons inimical to the liberties of America." In the republican
ideology of the new nation, Tories were vilified as offenders against the public good who acted
out of ignorance, cupidity, or moral obtuseness. But if the political complexion between 1775
and 1783 is accurately described as equally divided among patriots, loyalists, and those diffident
or disaffected, understanding loyalism is essential to unlocking the puzzle of revolutionary
America.
Between 60,000 and 80,000 Americans chose to go into exile after 1783. Among these were
many of the ablest and wealthiest men in colonial life, but the group also included ordinary men
and women, as well as a thousand black loyalists who eventually settled in Sierra Leone. In a triracial society, Native Americans were also forced to choose sides. Indeed, loyalists were not an
identifiable segment of the wartime population. Outside the British-controlled garrison towns,
loyalism was often fluid, especially in the backcountry. Where the patriot army was weak,
citizens could afford to be loyalist or neutral, but changes in military power also made loyalism
precarious. Anglicans were more likely to be loyalists, but pietistic sects such as the Mennonites,
Dunkers, and Brethren also faced difficult political and religious dilemmas, as did the Quakers.
As recent arrivals in America, John Wesley's Methodists were more likely to hold loyalist
sympathies. These factors made the war at times partisan, civil, or revolutionary in character.
Loyalists were more than simply the losers in the war: their ideology, a mirror image to that of
their Patriot adversaries, is essential to understanding the true meaning of the Revolution.
A sample DBQ document set on loyalism may be found on historyteacher.net.
Sample DBQ Document Set
Many primary sources relating to loyalists may be found in a collection in PDA format (type
loyalist into the search engine). This collection has a remarkable range, and many of these
documents are otherwise unavailable electronically. Though their format remains small in scale,
they may be read with a desktop browser set to mimic a PDA.
Search Engine: Primary Source Documents
Objectives
Activities
Comparing Arguments
Comparing Accounts
Comparing Cultures
Race, Religion, and Partisanship
Conduct and Aftermath
Objectives
To understand how ideologies were constructed before and during the Revolutionary War. How
and why were some "reluctant revolutionaries" turned into Whig patriots willing to fight against
the British empire, while others asserted a loyalist allegiance to Britain?
To explore the experience of African-American slaves and free blacks as loyalists.
To understand some of the patterns of participation during the war. Who fought on the patriot
side? Who remained loyal to Great Britain? Who was resignedly, or defiantly, neutral? After the
war, who was reintegrated? Who chose exile?
Activities
A Web-based game, "Loyalty or Liberty," allows students to explore the conflicting motivations
that pitted neighbor against neighbor, coast against backcountry, and sometimes father against
son.
Loyalty or Liberty: Web-based Game
Comparing Arguments
Loyalist counter-arguments to separation are useful in tracing the construction of Whig ideology
before and during the Revolution Ask students to read the text of the Articles of Association
(1774)and analyze the reasons that its provisions were problematic for some colonists. For which
groups did the Association prove most troublesome? Ask students to account for the ties that
bound the different loyalist groups to Great Britain, from government officials to merchants to
residents of the backcountry.
The Articles of Association, 1774
Ask the students to explain why the Continental Congress repudiated Joseph Galloway's 1774
"Plan of a Proposed Union." Ask them to explain why the proposal failed to pass by a single
vote, yet was later expunged from the official records of the Continental Congress.
Plan of a Proposed Union: Joseph Galloway
"A View of the Controversy between Great Britain and her Colonies," 1775, by Rev. Samuel
Seabury, the "Westchester Farmer," should be examined alongside Alexander Hamilton's
responses ("A Full Vindication of the Measures of the Congress from the Calumnies of their
Enemies," 1774, and "A Farmer Refuted," 1775) to Seabury's attempt to reconcile local selfgovernment with Parliamentary authority.
A View of the Controversy between Great Britain and her Colonies
Students might be asked to compare and contrast James Chalmers's Plain Truth with Thomas
Paine's Common Sense. They might also analyze the writings of "Candidus" (probably James
Chalmers) that appeared in a 1779 edition of the New York Gazette: What is the source of each
Whig charge that Candidus refutes in this piece?
Plain Truth: John Chalmers
Common Sense: Thomas Paine
Candidus
Chalmers's mature reflections on Paine and the war may be found in his Strictures on a Pamphlet
Written by Thomas Paine. Excerpts from the series of letters exchanged by Daniel Leonard
("Massachusettensis") and John Adams ("Novanglus") over the constitutionality of Whig attacks
on Parliament's authority might also be contrasted.
Strictures on a Pamphlet: Thomas Paine
Letters: Daniel Leonard
Novanglus: John Adams
Comparing Accounts
Contemporary accounts of events also provide insight into the conflicts between Whigs and
loyalists. Three differing accounts of the Battle of Lexington and Concord by Ann Hulton,
General Gage, and the Massachusetts Provincial Congress might be used to evaluate the points
of view of the British army, loyalist sympathizers, and Whigs.
A Web of English History
Capt. Thomas Preston's account of the Boston Massacre can be compared with an anonymous
account of the same. Students might also be asked to explain the attitudes represented in Paul
Revere's engraving of Henry Pelham's broadside image of the Massacre.
Captain Thomas Preston's Account
The Boston Massacre: Anonymous
Henry Pelham's broadside image of the Massacre
Comparing Cultures
A collection of loyalist and Whig songs and ballads can be used to show how conflicting
ideologies manifested themselves in popular culture. Rosalie Murphy Baum has constructed
classroom issues and strategies that deal with ballads and songs.
Loyalist, British Songs & Poetry
Classroom Strategies: Songs & Ballads
Furthermore, the works of poet Rev. Jonathan Odell may profitably be compared with those of
Whig poet Philip Freneau; ask students to look at the audience addressed by each and the
political imagery presented. A Web site by David S. Shields discusses classroom issues and
strategies for studying Freneau. Another site provides a brief biographical treatment of Odell,
"the Tory satirist."
Poems by Philip Freneau: Strategies
Jonathan Odell: The Tory Satirist
Race, Religion, and Partisanship
A Web site devoted to Black Loyalists presents an overview of the group and contains a variety
of primary sources about this group. Several personal accounts and a collection of letters relating
to the lives of black loyalists are available; these were written by both whites and blacks. David
George's autobiography, for example, might be contrasted with later slave narratives in which the
North was the guarantor of freedom. The site also contains a range of official documents,
including proclamations, treaties, muster lists, the Black Loyalist Directory, bills, survey records,
and land records.
Black Loyalists
David George's Diaries
In short writing assignments, students might be asked to compare and contrast the text of Lord
Dunmore's Proclamation with Virginia's response.
Lord Dunmore's Proclamation
Virginia Declaration: Dec. 14, 1775
Ask students to contrast the history of Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment with the Black Pioneers,
which comprised African-American slaves attached to the British army, as discussed in the OnLine Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies. The regiment's formation orders and the oath taken
upon enlisting are included. This site also contains petitions, memorials, and other documents
that allow the students to follow the various ways in which the British army utilized and
rewarded slaves. Land sales, muster lists, wills, indentures, and petitions are also available.
The Ethiopian Regiment
Black Pioneers
The On-Line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies
Students might also be asked to analyze the data about occupation and colonial origins from the
The Book of Negroes. All the surnames in the Black Loyalist Directory are indexed. These
documents also tie into later lessons on Anglo-American colonization and anti-slavery: among
them is a 1791 advertisement for the Sierra Leone Company, and documents like Boston King's
memoirs allow the student to follow black loyalists who eventually relocated in Sierra Leone.
Finally, the student might be asked to contrast the petitions and other records that document the
experience of black loyalists with the denied petition of Jehu Grant for a pension based on his
service to the Continental Army.
The Book of Negroes
Black Loyalist Surname Index
Boston King's Memoirs
Petition of Jehu Grant
Whig attitudes toward the tribes of the frontier are addressed in a letter from Gen. Washington
directing Gen. Sullivan to destroy the fields and crops of Iroquois allied with the British.
Sullivan's expedition is graphically described in the chapter seven of Mary Jemison's captivity
narrative; if the students have read Mary Rowlandson's captivity narrative, they might explore
the ways that the trope of cultivation and improvement versus savagery flip-flopped over time.
Washington's Letter to Sullivan
A Web site devoted to an exhibition at the Library of Congress on "Religion and the Founding of
the American Republic" contains many images that are useful in exploring the religious aspects
of loyalism. For example, ask the students to explain the allegorical treatment of the Whig as
Absalom, rebelling against and suffering from the arbitrary rule of his father King David
(George III), who is shown playing his harp, oblivious to the anguish of his children in the
American colonies. The figure executing Absalom is dressed as a British Redcoat.
Religion and the Founding of America
A study of the role of ministers in the Revolution is also fruitful. Anglican minister Charles
Inglis proposed a way to reconcile British and local interests in "The True Interest of American
Impartially Stated," 1776. The Whiggish political cartoon, "An Attempt to Land a Bishop in
America," can also be a focal point for discussion. A political-religious argument can be
examined also in one of the 1770 "Dougliad" essays. The pro-British cartoon, "The Yankie
Doodles Intrenchment Near Boston 1776," similarly portrays "Cromwellian" antecedents.
Proposal by Charles Inglis
Religion and the Founding of America
An American Time Capsule
Yankie Doodles Intrenchment
Conduct and Aftermath
Assign students the provisions for restitution of confiscated property in article five of the Treaty
of Paris. Postwar loyalist claims and memorials have been organized by colony. Ask students to
use these memorials to interpret the limits on volitional allegiance to the new nation and the
wartime experience that prevented easy reintegration.
The Paris Peace Treaty (1783)
Loyalist Claims and Memorials
The Loyal American Regiment 1771-1783
Students might be asked to analyze the occupations and colonial origins of loyalists who
relocated in New Brunswick. The chasm separating loyalist from Whig might also be explored
using contemporary images. Other images students might discuss include one of tarring and
feathering or Benjamin Franklin's "Join or Die" image.
Tarring and Feathering
James Rivington's August 25, 1774, New York Gazetteer published a poem that commented on
Franklin's image. Ask students to explain why the image evoked such different images from
loyalists and patriots.
Ye sons of Sedition, how comes it to pass
That America's ty'd by a Snake in the grass?
Don't you think 'tis a scandalous, saucy reflection,
That merits the soundest, severest correction?
New-England's the Head, too;--New-England's abus'd;
For the Head of the Serpent we know should be bruis'd!
Students are likely to be familiar with the savagery and brutality of the campaigns in the
backcountry through The Patriot. While the film might be used as a springboard (in conjunction
with the documents on the Black Loyalists and Advanced Loyalist Web sites) for discussion of
what motivated slaves to ally themselves with the British, it also dramatizes the conflicting
pressures on whites. Ask the students to consider the impact of the practices of the film's Col.
William Tavington, who was based on Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton; the differences between the
fictional Tavington and the real Tarleton were considerable, not least in Tarleton's surviving the
war. The "Hudibrastic Epistle to Colonel Tarleton" glorifies Tarleton's tactics.
Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton
Hudibrastic Epistle to Col. Tarleton
http://www.historyteacher.net/USProjects/DBQs1999/MyDBQ-1999RevolutionAsCivilWar.htm
QUESTION
The War of Independence has been called a civil war within a civil war. Were the
Patriots justified in abusing the Loyalists and expelling them?
DOCUMENT A
....It is, however, a little hard that, having so lately fought and conquered for
their safety, we should govern them no longer. By letting them loose before
the [Seven Years'] war, how many millions might have been saved? One
wild proposal is best answered by another. Let us restore to the French what
we have taken from them. We shall see our colonists at our feet, when they
have an enemy so near them [Canada]. Let us give the Indians arms, and
teach them discipline, and encourage them, now and then, to plunder a
plantation. Security and leisure are the parents of sedition....
SOURCE: Samuel Johnson,
Conservative English writer, noted for his English dictionary, 1775.
DOCUMENT B
....Alas! My friends, you have nothing to oppose to this force but a militia
unused to service, impatient of command, and destitute of resources. Can
your officers depend upon the privates, or the privates upon the officers?
Your war can be but little more than mere tumultuary rage. And besides,
there is an awful disparity between troops that fight the battles of their
sovereign and those that follow the standard of rebellion....
...Those that unsheathe the sword of rebellion may throw away the scabbard;
they cannot be treated with while in arms; and if they lay them down, they are
in no other predicament than conquered revels. The conquered in other wars
do not forfeit the rights of men, nor all the rights of citizens. Even their
bravery is rewarded by a generous victor. Far different is the case of a
routed rebel host.
My dear countrymen, you have before you, at your election, peace or war,
happiness or misery. May the God of our forefathers direct you in the way
that leads to peace and happiness, before your feet stumble on the dark
mountains, before the evil days come, wherein you shall say, we have no
pleasure in them.
SOURCE: Daniel Leonard,
Tory pamphleteer, Massachusetts, 1775.
DOCUMENT C
....There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations and who will
raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong
alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.
Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it
is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in
submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be
heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come! I
repeat, sir, let it come!
It is vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. The gentleman may cry, Peace,
peace! but there is not peace. The war has actually begun! The next gale
that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding
arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What
is it that the gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear or
peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?
Forbid it, almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for
me, give me liberty or give me death!
SOURCE: Patrick Henry,
speech in the Virginia Assembly, 1775.
DOCUMENT D
This afternoon, at New York, as William Cunningham and John Hill were
coming from the North River, they stopped near the liberty pole to see a
boxing match, but had not stood long when Cunningham was struck at by
Smith Richards, James Vandyke, and several others; called Tory; and used
in a most cruel manner by a much abused most barbarously, though neither
of them gave the least offense, except being on the King's side of the
question at the meeting this morning.
The leaders of this mob brought Cunningham under the liberty pole, and
told him to go down on his knees and damn his Popish King George, and
they would then set him free. But, on the contrary, he exclaimed, "God bless
King George." They then dragged him through the green, tore the clothes off
his back, and robbed him of his watch. They also insisted on Hill's damning
the King, but he, refusing, was used in the same manner, and were it not for
some of the peace officers, viz., Captain Welsh, John Taylor, William Dey,
and Joseph Wilson, together with _______ Goldstream, who rescued them
from the violence of this banditti and brought them to the jail for the security
of their persons from further injuries, they would inevitably have been
murdered.
SOURCE: James Rivington, newspaper editor
New York Gazetteer, 1775.
DOCUMENT E
....2. What a horrid situation would thousands be reduced to who have
taken the oath of allegiance to the King; yet contrary to their oath, as well as
inclination, must be compelled to renounce that allegiance, or abandon all
their property in America! How many thousands more would be reduced to a
similar situation; who, although they took not that oath, yet would think it
inconsistent with their duty and a good conscience to renounce their
Sovereign; I dare say these will appear trifling difficulties to our author; but
whatever he may think, there are thousands and thousands who would
sooner lose all they had in the world, nay life itself, than thus wound their
conscience. A Declaration of Independency would infallibly disunite and
divide the colonists.
3. By a Declaration for Independency, every avenue to an
accommodation with Great-Britain would be closed; the sword only could
then decide the quarrel; and the sword would not be sheathed till one had
conquered the other.
SOURCE: Charles Inglis,
The True Interest of America Impartially Stated, 1776.
DOCUMENT F
Among the many errors America has been guilty of during her contest with
Great Britain, few have been greater, or attended with more fatal
consequences to these States, than her lenity to the Tories....We are all
crying out against the depreciation of our money, and entering into measures
to restore it to its value; while the Tories, who are one principal cause of the
depreciation, are taken no notice of, but suffered to live quietly among us.
We can no longer be silent on this subject, and see the independence of
the country, after standing every shock from without, endangered by internal
enemies....
Who were the occasion of this war? The Tories! Who persuaded the
tyrant of Britain to prosecute it in a manner before unknown to civilized
nations, and shocking even to barbarians? The Tories! Who prevailed on
the savages of the wilderness to join the standard of the enemy? The
Tories! Who have assisted the Indians in taking the scalp from the aged
matron, the blooming fair one, the helpless infant, and the dying hero? The
Tories! Who advised and who assisted in burning your towns, ravaging your
country, and violating the chastity of your women? The Tories! Who are the
occasion that thousands of you now mourn the loss of your dearest
connections? The Tories! Who have always counteracted the endeavors of
Congress to secure the liberties of this country? The Tories!
Who refused their money when as good as specie, though stamped with
the image of his most sacred Majesty? The Tories! Who continue to refuse
it? The Tories! Who do all in their power to depreciate it? The Tories!....Who
take the oaths of allegiance to the State one day, and break them the next?
The Tories! Who prevent your battalions from being filled? The Tories! Who
dissuade men from entering the army? The Tories! Who persuade those
who have enlisted to desert? The Tories! Who harbor those who do desert?
The Tories! In short, who wish to see us conquered, to see us slaves, to see
us hewers of wood and drawers of water? The Tories!....
SOURCE: An anonymous Whig Patriot,
writing in the Pennsylvania Packet (August 5, 1779).
DOCUMENT G
Boston, November 10, 1779.---His Excellency Count Tyran has this day
published, by authority from His [French] Majesty, a proclamation for the
suppression of heresy and establishment of the Inquisition in this town, which
has already begun its functions in many other places of the continent under
His Majesty's dominion.
The use of the Bible in the vulgar tongue [English vernacular] is strictly
prohibited, on pain of being punished by discretion of the Inquisition.
November 11.---The Catholic religion is not only outwardly professed, but
has made the utmost progress among all ranks of people here, owing in a
great measure to the unwearied labors of the Dominican and Franciscan
friars, who omit no opportunity of scattering the seeds of religion, and
converting the wives and daughters of heretics. We hear that the building
formerly called the Old South Meeting is fitted up for a cathedral, and that
several other old meeting-houses are soon to be repaired for convents....
Philadelphia, November 16---On Tuesday last arrived here the St. Esprit,
from Bordeaux, with a most valuable cargo of rosaries, mass books, and
indulgences, which have been long expected....
SOURCE: James Rivington,
New York Royal Gazette, 1779.
DOCUMENT H
Kingston, New Brunswick
November 17, 1787
Dear Billy....
O gracious God, that I should live to see such times under the protection of a
British Government for whose sake we have done and suffered every thing but that
of dying--May you never experience such heart piercing troubles as I have and still labor
under--you may depend on it that the sufferings of the poor Loyalists are beyond all
possible description....The British rulers value loyal subjects less than the refuse of
the Gaols of England and America in former days--inhumane Treatment I suffered
under the power of American mobs and rebels for that loyalty, which is now thought
handsomely compensated for, by neglect and starvation--I dare not let my friends at
Stamford know of my calamitous situation lest it should bring down the grey hairs of
my mother to the grave; and besides they could not relieve me without distressing
themselves should I apply--as they have been ruined by the rebels during the war-therefore I have no other ground to hope, but, on your goodness and bounty--....
Dear Billy
your affectionate sister,
Polly Dibblee
SOURCE: A loyalist widow in Canada, 1787.
DOCUMENT I
Occupations of Loyalists Submitting Claims to
the British Government
OCCUPATION
No. of Claimant
% of Claimants
Farmers
1,368
49.1
Commerce:
(a) Artisans
274
9.8
(b) Merchants and
shopkeepers
517
18.6
(c) Miscellaneous innkeepers, seamen, etc.
92
3.3
Combined Commerce -->
883
31.7
Professions:
(a) Lawyers
55
(b) Teachers and professors
21
(c) Doctors
81
(d) Anglican clerics
63
(e) Other clerics
7
(f) Miscellaneous
26
Combined professions -->
253
9.1
Officeholders -->
282
10.1
SOURCE: A Socioeconomic Profile of
Loyalist Claimants, 1780s.
DBQ Question created by:
Ms. Susan M. Pojer
Maria Regina H. S.
Hartsdale, NY 10530
http://www.history.org/history/teaching/revolution/loyalty.html
A Web-based game, "Loyalty or Liberty," allows students to explore the conflicting motivations
that pitted neighbor against neighbor, coast against backcountry, and sometimes father against
son.
Comparing Arguments
Loyalist counter-arguments to separation are useful in tracing the construction of Whig
ideology before and during the Revolution Ask students to read the text of the Articles of
Association (1774)and analyze the reasons that its provisions were problematic for
some colonists. For which groups did the Association prove most troublesome? Ask
students to account for the ties that bound the different loyalist groups to Great Britain,
from government officials to merchants to residents of the backcountry.
The Articles of Association, 1774
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org – For artifacts and documents
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/USHistory_PrimarySources.pdf
Rules and Regs for using primary sources (very long – use as website for info)
Resources online/order/multimedia
Liberty! The American Revolution, Vol. 2: "The Times That Try Men's Souls" and "Oh ...
Description: The second volume of Liberty: The American Revolution examines the critical
years 1776 and 1777 in the struggle for American independence. Despite the rather narrow
focus of this two-episode volume, it is very suitable for AP U.S. History purposes,...
Course/Subject Area: U.S. History
Type: Video Tape/DVD
Author: Ellen Hovde, dir.; Muffie Meyer, dir.
Reviewer: Thomas Rowland
URL:
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com:80/Pageflows/TeachersResource/viewResourceDetail.do?resourceId=
4092
The American Revolution, part 1
Description: This first part of the six-part Arts and Entertainment (A&E) series on the American
Revolution uses a combination of reenactors, narration, input from modern historians, and
contemporary accounts and pictures to trace the events that led to the first...
Course/Subject Area: U.S. History
Type: Video Tape/DVD
Author:
Reviewer: Scott Kaufman
URL:
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com:80/Pageflows/TeachersResource/viewResourceDetail.do?resourceId=
9659
American Revolution Web Site
Description: This site is geared especially toward Revolutionary War buffs and battle
reenactors, and provides a plethora of information on Americas War for Independence. The
site's creators maintain that it is the place to go for anyone from a fifth grader to an...
Course/Subject Area: U.S. History
Type: Web Site
Author:
Reviewer: Jason George
URL:
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com:80/Pageflows/TeachersResource/viewResourceDetail.do?resourceId=
6475
Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1775-2000
Description: ...American women.
The heart of the site consists of 30 different projects, ranging from the role of women in the
American Revolution to the 1994 Violence Against Women Act. Each project contains a
substantive introduction and a collection of related...
Course/Subject Area: U.S. History
Type: Web Site
Author:
Reviewer: Jason George
URL:
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com:80/Pageflows/TeachersResource/viewResourceDetail.do?resourceId=
4593
Liberty! The American Revolution, Vol. 1: "The Reluctant Revolutionaries" and "Blows ..
Description: The first volume of Liberty: The American Revolution comprises two episodes "The Reluctant Revolutionaries" and "Blows Must Decide" - spanning the years 1763-1776.
Culling such research treasures as letters, diaries and various documents, the...
Course/Subject Area: U.S. History
Type: Video Tape/DVD
Author: Ellen Hovde, dir.; Muffie Meyer, dir.
Reviewer: Thomas Rowland
URL:
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com:80/Pageflows/TeachersResource/viewResourceDetail.do?resourceId=
3961
The American Pageant, 13th ed.
Description: ...1, "Founding the New Nation," covers the period from the origins of the North
American continent to the end of the American Revolution in about 160 pages. The layout is
attractive. Chapter 8, which deals with the American Revolution, contains 10 portraits,...
Course/Subject Area: U.S. History
Type: Textbook
Author: Thomas A. Bailey; Lizabeth Cohen; David Kennedy
Reviewer: Jason George
URL:
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com:80/Pageflows/TeachersResource/viewResourceDetail.do?resourceId=
11051
John Bull and Uncle Sam: Four Centuries of British-American Relations
Description: ...the vast majority of early immigrants to the 13 colonies and the relative power of
the two nations in the early post-American Revolution period, British language, styles, customs,
and tastes tended to dominate life in what became the United States. However,...
Course/Subject Area: U.S. History
Type: Web Site
Author:
Reviewer: Jason George
URL:
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com:80/Pageflows/TeachersResource/viewResourceDetail.do?resourceId=
4918
Causes of the American Revolution: Focus on Boston
Description: This first-rate curriculum unit on the origins of the American Revolution in Boston
not only allows students to understand this important event, it also provides an excellent
opportunity to study conflicting historical interpretations. Students who may...
Course/Subject Area: U.S. History
Type: Other
Author: David L. Ghere; Jan F. Spreeman
Reviewer: Jason George
URL:
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com:80/Pageflows/TeachersResource/viewResourceDetail.do?resourceId=
4293
Founding Brothers
Description: ...The players that Ellis focuses on, after a brief introduction that discusses the
major issues and debates about the American Revolution and its legacy, are Alexander
Hamilton, Aaron Burr, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Washington, John Adams,...
Course/Subject Area: U.S. History
Type: Book
Author: Joseph Ellis, Mount Holyoke College
Reviewer: Jason George
URL:
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com:80/Pageflows/TeachersResource/viewResourceDetail.do?resourceId=
4394
Liberty! The American Revolution, Vol. 3: "The World Turned Upside Down" and "Are We To ...
Description: ...episode has somewhat limited value for an AP survey course, although it does
provide useful insight into how both sides in the Revolution sought to exploit African American
slaves during the conflict in the South. It also highlights the partisan nature...
Course/Subject Area: U.S. History
Type: Video Tape/DVD
Author: Muffie Meyer, dir.; Ellen Hovde, dir.
Reviewer: Thomas Rowland
URL:
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com:80/Pageflows/TeachersResource/viewResourceDetail.do?resourceId=
4102
Maps of the American Revolution (USMA)
Description: This series of maps provides in-depth illustration of the major engagements of the
Revolutionary War. Using a stripped-down style of military notation and brief analysis, the maps
are useful in explaining the military progress of the war between 1775...
Course/Subject Area: U.S. History
Type: Web Site
Author: Edward J. Krasnoborski, United States Military Academy, Dept. of History
Reviewer: Lawrence Charap
URL:
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com:80/Pageflows/TeachersResource/viewResourceDetail.do?resourceId=
3781
Lesson Plans for American Revolutionary War Studies
http://www.hudsonrivervalley.net/oehmelesson/
Topic/Skill: The Boston Tea Party – Poem Analysis “Lady’s Adieu to Her Tea-Table”
This is an anti-tea poem that was published in several American newspapers shortly
before the American Revolution
A Lady's Adieu to Her Tea-Table
FAREWELL the Tea-board with your gaudy attire,
Ye cups and ye saucers that I did admire;
To my cream pot and tongs I now bid adieu;
That pleasure's all fled that I once found in you.
Farewell pretty chest that so lately did shine,
With hyson and congo and best double fine;
Many a sweet moment by you I have sat,
Hearing girls and old maids to tattle and chat;
And the spruce coxcomb laugh at nothing at all,
Only some silly work that might happen to fall.
No more shall my teapot so generous be
In filling the cups with this pernicious tea,
For I'll fill it with water and drink out the same,
Before I'll lose LIBERTY that dearest name,
Because I am taught (and believe it is fact)
That our ruin is aimed at in the late act,
Of imposing a duty on all foreign Teas,
Which detestable stuff we can quit when we please.
LIBERTY'S The Goddess that I do adore,
And I'll maintain her right until my last hour,
Before she shall part I will die in the cause,
For I'll never be govern'd by tyranny's laws
Standards:
-Language Arts Standard 1- Students will read, write, listen, and speak for
information and understanding.
-Language Arts Standard 2- Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary
response and expression.
-Language Arts Standard 3- Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical
analysis and evaluation.
Objectives:
1. Students will be able to analyze a poem in terms of one’s feelings about
England.
2. Students will be able to correctly answer questions about the Boston Tea
Party.
3. Students will be able to determine causes and effects of the Boston Tea Party.
4. Students will be able to write a paragraph based on what they learned about
the Tea Party.
Materials:
-textbook
-poem (“Lady’s Adieu to Her Tea-Table”)
-paper and cause/effect sheet
-sketches/stamps
Advanced Preparation:
-Research the causes and effects of the Boston Tea Party.
-Find sketches/stamps of the Boston Tea Party to show the students.
-Find “Lady’s Adieu to Her Tea-Table”.
-Create comprehension questions to enhance students’ understanding of the poem.
-Create a cause and effect handout.
-Prepare modifications.
Activating Prior Knowledge:
-Review the colonists’ feelings about England and the avenues they were taking to
prove their points.
- Share the sketches/stamps of the Boston Tea Party with the students.
-Ask the students what they think is happening in the sketches and tell them that
they will be reading to see if their predictions were right.
Procedure:
1. Read, as a class, parts of “Lady’s Adieu to Her Tea-Table” in the start/stop
manner, while asking and discussing various questions:
-What do you think “adieu” means?
-What might “gaudy” mean?
-What would the woman do before losing liberty? -Why do you think liberty is
important to this woman?
-What
-What
-What
-What
will this woman never be governed by?
does it mean to be governed?
is tyranny?
can we tell about how this woman feels about England? Why?
Topic/skill: The Boston Tea Party – Philosophy, Historical Events, and Themes
Standards:
-Social Studies Standard 1-History of the United States and New York: Students will
use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas,
eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States
and New York.
-Fine Arts Standard 1-Creating, Performing, and Participating in the Arts -Students
will actively engage in the processes that constitute creation and performance in the
arts (dance, music, theatre, and visual arts) and participate in various roles in the
arts
-Fine Arts Standard 2-Knowing and Using Arts Materials and Resources- Students will
be knowledgeable about and make use of the materials and resources available for
the participation in the arts and various roles.
-Language Arts Standard 1- Students will read, write, listen, and speak for
information.
-Language Arts Standard 2- Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary
response and expression.
Objectives:
1. Students will be able to construct masks similar to those worn at the Boston Tea
Party.
Materials:
-mask
-pattern
-wrapping paper
-scissors
-buckram
-pencil
-sponge
-black crayons
-paper towels
-red, black, white, yellow, and blue tempera paints
-mixing pan
-paintbrushes
-tape
-rubber bands and string
-aluminum foil and colored felt-marking pens
Advanced Preparation:
-Gather the materials listed above.
-Find out how to create masks, using a pattern and buckram material.
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/2236/
-Research the masks used during the Boston Tea Party.
-Prepare modifications.
Activating Prior Knowledge: -Refer to yesterday’s lesson, reviewing the causes of the
event and what it entailed.