Richard Howe, though commander of the British fleet sent to stop the rebellion, was not personally hostile toward America.
On the shore at Perth Amboy, New Jersey, a British officer stepped out of his boat to meet three American civilians. They were members of the Continental Congress, sent as a committee to talk with the British admiral — at his invitation — about the possibility of peace. The officer who met them was a sort of hostage: while the three crossed over to Staten Island to meet with Admiral Howe, he would stay behind as security for their safe-conduct. It was understandable for Admiral Howe to send the officer, but the three Americans considered a hostage unnecessary, and they insisted that the officer accompany them to meet the admiral on Staten Island.
Admiral Lord Richard Howe and his brother, General Sir William Howe, in addition to being the commanders of the British navy and army in America, were “peace commissioners”: that is, they had been given a mission to try to talk the Americans into ending the war, and had been authorized to grant pardons to those who had rebelled. But since the time when they were given that mission, the Americans had declared independence, which made the situation much more difficult: even before the declaration of independence, the British couldn’t negotiate with the Continental Congress, because that would be acknowledging the Congress as a legal body; and after the declaration, negotiating with them would be acknowledging the United States as independent — which the British could not do without giving up the war. As a result, the meeting was somewhat unofficial.
The Great Seal of the United States, which can be seen on the back of a dollar bill, includes an eagle and a pyramid. The original proposed design was very different; as shown in this note by Thomas Jefferson, it included the story of Moses parting — or rather, closing — the Red Sea, and a rather defiant motto.
One of the first things that the Continental Congress did after declaring independence was to appoint a committee to come up with a “great seal” for the United States — a design that would officially symbolize the new republic. What with everything else going on, it was August 20 before the committee reported back and presented their recommendation.
Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence
After the Continental Congress set a date to decide whether to declare independence, they appointed five men to draft a formal declaration that could be published to the world. They wanted to be ready ahead of time so that they could move quickly if the decision was made. One of those five was Thomas Jefferson.
The other members of the committee — John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston — chose Jefferson to be the writer. During the month of June, he worked on writing a declaration that would show to the world why they were deciding to become independent. At the same time, he was working on a constitution for Virginia, and of course he had other Congressional duties as well.
After he finished writing it, the document was reviewed by the other members of the committee. Adams and Franklin made some minor changes. The committee reported to Congress on Friday, June 28, and the declaration was “laid on the table”.
In the State House in Philadelphia, later known as Independence Hall, the Continental Congress voted on July 2, 1776, to become independent from England.
The final vote for independence was taken in the Continental Congress on July 2, 1776. Twelve of the thirteen colonies voted for it. One (New York) didn’t vote at all, because the delegates hadn’t yet been authorized by their constituents to do so (but soon thereafter, they received authorization and gave their vote for independence).
John Dickinson of Pennsylvania was one of the members of the Continental Congress who opposed declaring independence in the summer of 1776.
July 1st, 1776: The final debate began on whether to declare independence from Great Britain. Most delegates in the Continental Congress were in favor of it, but a few were still against it. They had postponed the debate for three weeks, but now the time was up, and the decision had to be made.
Why were some people still opposed to declaring independence? Here are some of the reasons they gave:
Richard Henry Lee was the one who made the motion in the Continental Congress for independence.
Independence had been talked about more and more for several months, but June 7, 1776, was the day that forced the issue to a debate, when Richard Henry Lee of Virginia made a motion in the Continental Congress:
That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.
I had only heard of Passamaquoddy in the old movie Pete’s Dragon (where, as you may remember, it is the name of the town, and the travelling quack doctor can never say it right), until I came across it the other day in the journals of the Continental Congress. I didn’t know it was a real place, so I looked it up, and sure enough, there’s a Passamaquoddy Bay on the border between the U.S. and Canada: specifically, between Maine and New Brunswick.
However, there’s not actually a town named Passamaquoddy, so I guess the screenwriters made that part up. On the other hand, the journals of the Continental Congress refer simply to “Passamaquaddy” (note the spelling difference), rather than “Passamaquaddy Bay,” so maybe there was a town called Passamaquaddy at the time, but I’m inclined to think that “Passamaquaddy” referred to the area around the bay, rather than a specific town.
“Passamaquaddy” Bay is in the upper left corner of this 1775 map of the New England and Canadian coastline.
At any rate, there were enough people in the area or town of Passamaquaddy (also spelled Passamaquady, or even Pesmocadie) to be politically active, and to send a petition to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Here’s the record from the journal of the Continental Congress on November 2, 1775:
The Inhabitants of Passamaquaddy in Nova Scotia, having chosen a com[mitt]ee of Safety, and having, by their petition, applied to the Congress to be admitted into the association of the North Americans, for the preservation of their rights and liberties,
On motion made, Resolved, That a com[mitt]ee of 5 be appointed to take this matter into consideration, and report what steps, in their opinion, it will be proper to take, in consequence of this application, for the preservation of the liberties of America.
The members chosen, Mr. [Silas] Deane, Mr. [John] Jay, Mr. [Stephen] Hopkins, Mr. [John] Langdon, and Mr. John Adams.
What steps did the congress decide to take regarding the inhabitants of Passamaquaddy? I haven’t found out yet, but if I do, I’ll let you know.
In case you’re wondering why the congress said that Passamaquaddy was in Nova Scotia, when I said that the bay was on the border of Maine and New Brunswick, it’s because the province of New Brunswick hadn’t been created yet, and that territory was considered part of Nova Scotia.
And in case you’re wondering why the Passamaquaddians (I just had to use that word) wanted to be allowed to join “the association of the North Americans,” it was surely at least partly a matter of business. The “association” was an agreement by the First Continental Congress in 1774, and it involved boycotting certain British goods and not shipping certain things to other British territories. Since the Passamaquaddians were out of Maine (which was actually part of Massachusetts at the time), they weren’t included in the association, which meant that they couldn’t do as much business with their New England neighbors as they used to. If the congress would allow them to join the association, then they would be able to go back to doing business as before.
Sources
A Plan of the coast from Cape Anne in north latitude 42⁰42ʹ & 70⁰33ʹ west longitude from Greenwich: … to Isle Scattery in long. 50⁰40ʹ & latitude 46⁰ 0ʹ north, … including the isle of Sable. [?, 1775] Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/74694110/.
Journals of the Continental Congress, vol. 3, p. 316.
The “birthday” of the American Marines is not very exciting to read about; just a paragraph in the Journals of the Continental Congress:
Resolved, That Two Battalions of marines be raised, consisting of one Colonel, two Lieutenant Colonels, two Majors, and other officers as usual in other regiments; and that they consist of an equal number of privates with other battalions; that particular care be taken, that no persons be appointed to office, or inlisted into said Battalions, but such as are good seamen, or so acquainted with maritime affairs as to be able to serve to advantage by sea when required: that they be inlisted and commissioned to serve for and during the present war between Great Britain and the colonies, unless dismissed by order of Congress: that they be distinguished by the names of the first and second battalions of American Marines, and that they be considered as part of the number which the continental Army before Boston is ordered to consist of.
But, just as with the Continental Army and Navy, those few sentences from the records of Congress were the start of something big; and those two battalions eventually turned into the United States Marine Corps, which celebrates November 10 as its birthday.
One thing that strikes me is that the Congress didn’t just want the Marines to enlist for a certain amount of time; they wanted them to enlist for the rest of the war.
Source
Journals of the Continental Congress, vol. 3, p. 348.
The American Navy (more properly, the Continental Navy) started humbly on Friday, October 13, 1775, when the Second Continental Congress voted to equip two ships to intercept supplies that the British were shipping to their troops in America. The decision was recorded in the journal of the congress:
Resolved, That a swift sailing vessel, to carry ten carriage guns, and a proportionable number of swivels, with eighty men, be fitted, with all possible despatch, for a cruize of three months, and that the commander be instructed to cruize eastward, for intercepting such transports as may be laden with warlike stores and other supplies for our enemies, and for such other purposes as the Congress shall direct.
That a Committee of three be appointed to prepare an estimate of the expence, and lay the same before the Congress, and to contract with proper persons to fit out the vessel.
Resolved, That another vessel be fitted out for the same purposes, and that the said committee report their opinion of a proper vessel, and also an estimate of the expence.
Up to this point, some individual colonies had sent out ships on military missions, but these were the first ships to act under the direction of the united colonies. Some people might think it unlucky that the Navy began on Friday the 13th, but the Navy made it through the war, so I guess it was OK.
