WEBVTT

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Prof: But now I will
actually talk about the

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Declaration of Independence.

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Obviously, at the core of
today's lecture we have a piece

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of paper.

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Of course, it's an iconic piece
of paper to us,

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but it's a piece of paper just
the same.

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And part of what we're going to
be looking at today in this

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lecture is that obviously this
Declaration was more than just a

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piece of paper produced by a
bunch of guys in one room--

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that actually,
declaring independence was an

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event,
and it was an event that

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reached far beyond the Second
Continental Congress,

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and actually was hashed out in
towns and cities throughout the

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colonies,
and I'll be talking some about

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that today.

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So as you'll see today,
and it'll be logically

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following through other things
that I've said in the course,

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what we're talking about here
is a wrenching progress,

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a major decision that was an
act of treason,

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an action that the colonists
knew would set them on a

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dangerous path.

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Now given lots of the stuff
I've said so far in this course,

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hopefully you're
expecting--you're understanding

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why this would be a wrenching
process,

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why it would seem radical or as
radical as it did.

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It represented a break from the
mother country that American

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colonists obviously had long
embraced as their own,

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as well as a dangerous act that
set a collection of colonies in

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warfare against the most
powerful nation on earth.

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So, big step.

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So it's an important act,
but we need to be careful in

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assuming that the piece of paper
that explained its rationale had

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some kind of magical,
iconic value at the time that

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it was created,
because it didn't.

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And as you'll see,
it was not seen as the main

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focus of the process of
declaring independence,

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and in a way it was almost seen
as a formality to the actual act

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of declaring independence.

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And it wasn't intended to say
something dramatically new.

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It's come to mean a lot of
things over the centuries,

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but at the time it was not
supposed to be something

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radically new.

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As Jefferson put it--And all of
these founder types,

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those who live who into old
age, are asked eternally through

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their old age to:
'tell us about.'

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Right?

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Jefferson got all these
tell-us-about-the-Declaration

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letters from people.

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Adams got the same kind of
letters.

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I'm going to be quoting later
on from one or two of their

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explanations of what happened
surrounding the Declaration of

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Independence.

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But in one of these letters
when someone asked Jefferson,

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'So how did you decide what was
going to be in the Declaration?

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Where did the ideas come
from?'--and Jefferson said that

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the Declaration was,
quote, "neither aiming at

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originality of principle or
sentiment,

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nor yet copied from any
particular and previous writing.

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It was intended to be an
expression of the American

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mind."

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Okay.

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That was what it was--not only
Jefferson intended it to be,

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but what he understood the
document was supposed to be

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doing.

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So as we'll see in today's
lecture, the Declaration isn't

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filled with original thoughts
beaming out of the brain of

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Thomas Jefferson.

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Rather, it reflected American
assumptions about government and

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the rights of the body politic.

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So in essence,
it transcribed a mass of ideas

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that had been brought into the
open and defined by what the

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colonists took to be British
transgressions against their

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rights as colonists and as
British subjects.

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Now as I suggested in last
Thursday's lecture,

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the Declaration of Independence
came roughly six months after

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the publication of Common
Sense in 1776,

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but it was by no means the only
or even the most important thing

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that the Congress had to do at
that time,

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sort of not what we would
expect given that it's this

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iconic document.

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And I'll be talking more about
the other things that Congress

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had to do in Thursday's lecture,
but for now I'll say that by

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the time the Second Continental
Congress met,

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and it first met in May of
1775, shots had already been

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fired at Lexington and Concord.

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So, as Thomas Paine put it,
and I quoted him last week,

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the colonies had been set on
fire, and the Congress now faced

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the monumental task of
organizing some kind of either

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defensive effort or war effort,
but whatever it was,

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they had to organize it.

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That was going to be a big
problem.

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It was going to be a huge
challenge.

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That's happening at the same
time that everything that I'm

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talking about today is
happening.

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So even as we're debating
independence,

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the Congress also has to deal
with a whole range of other

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issues that really are immediate
and pressing and are about

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basically organizing a war.

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So not surprisingly,
given that British soldiers had

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killed some colonists in
Massachusetts in April of 1775,

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when the Second Continental
Congress came into session in

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May there was already a strong
feeling of colonial unity and

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what at the time they called
rage militaire,

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right?--this sort of fervent
support of the colonial cause.

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And you can see the mood of the
colonists generally in the

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treatment that they gave the
congressional delegates as they

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traveled down to Philadelphia
for the meeting.

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So as Samuel Adams and John
Hancock traveled down from

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Massachusetts and they met up
with delegates from Connecticut

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and New York as they went south,
all along their way local

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militia units came out to
accompany them and seemingly to

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protect them from the British.

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It's not like actually the
British were going to jump out

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from Connecticut and shoot down
the delegates to the Continental

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Congress,
but still the impulse was there.

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These militia came out to guard
the delegates heading down to

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Congress.

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And all along the route people
came out to watch these

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delegates as they passed by and
greeted them with shouts of

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"huzzah."

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Okay, huzzah.

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Huzzah is the
eighteenth-century equivalent of

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hooray--huzzah,
which is very somehow

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eighteenth-century sounding.

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I don't know.

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Hooray with a Z in it just
doesn't sound very modern,

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and I have to--what pops into
my head is,

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a million years ago actually I
had a huzzah moment,

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I had a personal huzzah moment,
in which I was invited to some

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big black-tie celebration of a
founder who shall go nameless.

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And at the founder sort of
celebration,

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all--we're all in our long
dresses and tuxedos,

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a black-tie event--the
organizer actually got us all to

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stand and yelled three huzzahs
for the founder.

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So there's a group of all these
very formal people going

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"Huzzah."

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[laughs]
So even now it feels ridiculous

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to me,
but even at the time,

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I thought--yeah,
you just--you haven't lived as

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an eighteenth-century historian
until you've had the chance to

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scream "huzzah"
in honor of a Founding Father

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so I had my huzzah moment.

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There is my huzzah moment.

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There's an explanation of
huzzah.

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We have a lot of huzzahing
going for the delegations as

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they're heading down to
Philadelphia.

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So in all of that huzzahing you
can see that the colonial cause

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is not an isolated effort being
managed by a few dozen men in a

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room.

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To all of these people at the
time,

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just after Lexington and
Concord, the mere existence of

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the Congress,
which was a body formed by all

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of the colonies together,
was proof of colonial unity,

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so it had great significance
even just on that most basic

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level.

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And actually,
although people didn't know it

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at the time,
the Continental Congress would

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end up being the sole government
for the colonies until 1781 when

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the Articles of Confederation
end up being ratified,

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and obviously I'll talk more
about that in a lecture to come.

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Now in Thursday's lecture on
Common Sense I mentioned

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some of the efforts of the
Second Continental Congress to

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reach reconciliation with
Britain and,

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as I've already said,
the delegates did not arrive in

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Philadelphia assuming that they
were supposed to be working for

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independence.

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They were working at
reconciliation.

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Now of course,
as I've just explained,

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they were also worrying about
organizing armed forces for

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defensive purposes and they were
pursuing these two sort of

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conflicting motives at the same
time.

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So they are thinking about
reconciliation and worrying

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about defense as--well,
as--In case that doesn't work,

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we really better worry about
that.

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So we can't take independence
for granted.

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We also shouldn't take colonial
unity for granted because yes,

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there is this rage
militaire,

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people are united because of
Lexington and Concord,

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but if you look up close at the
Continental Congress you can see

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some of the ways in which it
really wasn't one united body,

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but it really did represent
independent bodies,

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independent colonies joining
together for the moment.

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So one example:
There was actually no single

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method set to determine how many
delegates should attend from

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each colony.

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So basically each colony
decided on its own how many

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people it felt like sending to
the Second Continental Congress.

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So Virginia sent seven men and
they seemed to have some kind of

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rotation system so that guys
always seemed to be coming and

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going.

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Well, we've got these guys
there.

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Let's take them home and bring
these new guys there.

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No one else really knew the
system of what was happening in

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Virginia, but they always had
people there.

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They just changed a lot.

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New York ultimately appointed
twelve men but they didn't come

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really reliably,
and so ultimately New York

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decided that you only needed to
have three of them present to

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vote.

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Okay.

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So first of all,
obviously attendance is a

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little quirky,
but beyond that every colony is

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deciding on its own how many
people it wants to send.

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So you can really see how the
Continental Congress is a body

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encapsulating delegations from
separate and distinct colonies.

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And before anything really
major could be done,

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delegations either needed to
confer on their own or,

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more often, I suppose,
confer with people back home in

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their colony to determine what
it was that their colony wanted

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them to do.

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And obviously the different
ideas and biases and interests

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in the various colonies were
different enough to make some

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decisions extremely difficult.

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So you've got a pretty
distinctive kind of legislative

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body.

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And, as I mentioned on
Thursday, one of the notable

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things that this congress
produced was the Olive Branch

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Petition,
which was this one final stab

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at reconciliation.

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The Olive Branch Petition was
approved on July 5,1775,

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in the hope of ending
bloodshed.

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The Petition walked a delicate
line,

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declaring loyalty to the
King--not talking about rights

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or making demands--
and asking for the King's

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assistance in reaching some kind
of reconciliation.

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So it's appealing to the
loyal--There's people saying

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they're loyal to the King,
they're not raging about rights

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and demands,
but they are asking for

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assistance in helping somehow to
smooth things over.

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Unfortunately,
the petition reached the King

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at the same time as news of
Bunker Hill, okay,

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one of those unfortunate
strikes of fate.

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So not surprisingly,
the Petition did not have a

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wonderfully convincing impact on
the Crown,

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and in August of 1775 the King
declared the colonies to be in

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rebellion.

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And basically he ignored--as I
mentioned also in the last

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lecture--
he ignored the Olive Branch

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Petition and by doing so,
basically played into the hands

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of more radical colonists by
making reconciliation seem

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pretty unlikely and really
almost demanding some more

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dramatic action from the
colonies.

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So August of 1775,
George III declares the

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colonies in rebellion.

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He also did two other things at
roughly that time,

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neither one of which helped the
situation or certainly helped to

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smooth it over at all.

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So number one,
two months later in October of

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1775,
he stated in Parliament that

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the American rebellion was,
quote, "carried on for the

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purpose of establishing an
independent empire,"

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and this is October 1775;
you're not in 1776 yet.

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The King explained that
"the authors and promoters

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of this desperate conspiracy...

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meant only to amuse,
by vague expressions of

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attachment to the parent state,
and the strongest protestations

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of loyalty to me,
whilst they are preparing for a

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general revolt."

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Okay.

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First of all,
it sounds like he actually saw

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that Petition.

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Right? Yeah, yeah.

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They're claiming we're so loyal
to you and then at the same time

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there is a "desperate
conspiracy"

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lurking.

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So the King is arguing that
actually,

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already they're planning
revolt, and he says you could

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see this because the colonists
are raising troops,

13:25.048 --> 13:26.248
because they'd seized the
public revenue,

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because they were trying to
seize governmental powers.

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Not all members of Parliament
agreed with this sort of

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conspiracy theory on the part of
the King.

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Those who supported the
American cause argued that the

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American colonies had not yet
declared themselves in revolt.

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They had not said that they
were rebelling;

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they had not said that they
wanted independence yet;

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and by speaking as he was,
the King could very well push

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the colonies into more radical
action than they had yet

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declared in 1775.

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But the majority of Members of
Parliament at the time supported

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the King's statement,
supported his actions.

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So first he declares the
colonies in rebellion,

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second he makes this bold
statement in Parliament,

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and then finally third,
in December of 1775 he proposed

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and Parliament passed a
Prohibitory Act.

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And the Prohibitory Act
prohibited commerce with the

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colonies, period,
and said that colonial ships

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were no longer under British
protection.

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So basically,
colonial American ships are

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fair game on the open seas.

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Okay.

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That's--Clearly,
there is another bold sort of

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slap on the part of the Crown.

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When news of these actions
arrived in the colonies in

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January and February of 1776,
many colonists were pushed

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towards really serious
consideration of independence

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for the first time.

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They're at least considering
it, aided of course,

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as I explained last week,
by Common Sense.

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The Prohibitory Act was
particularly upsetting to many

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because it made it lawful to
attack and raid American ships.

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As John Hancock put it in a
pretty obvious statement,

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"The making all our
Vessels lawful Prize don't look

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like a reconciliation."

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[laughs]
Thank you, John Hancock.

15:24.320 --> 15:26.410
[laughs] And you're right.

15:26.408 --> 15:29.608
John Adams went further,
stating that the Prohibitory

15:29.611 --> 15:32.161
Act should be called,
quote, "the act of

15:32.158 --> 15:34.198
independency,"
because it "makes us

15:34.202 --> 15:36.252
independent in spite of our
supplications and

15:36.246 --> 15:37.266
entreaties."

15:37.269 --> 15:42.289
Despite that kind of statement,
it is important to remember,

15:42.288 --> 15:45.378
regardless of how logical even
at this moment independence

15:45.384 --> 15:47.804
seems to us,
we still need to go through a

15:47.798 --> 15:48.568
process here.

15:48.570 --> 15:51.130
We're still--It's still not an
obvious choice,

15:51.128 --> 15:54.198
and there were lots of
questions hovering with the mere

15:54.197 --> 15:55.787
thought of independence.

15:55.788 --> 15:59.528
What kind of a future does
declaring independence hold?

15:59.529 --> 16:02.859
Many well realized that that
kind of a declaration would

16:02.855 --> 16:06.115
bring with it a devastating war
with Great Britain,

16:06.120 --> 16:08.750
death and destruction of
various kinds,

16:08.750 --> 16:11.290
and then quite possibly,
even probably,

16:11.289 --> 16:12.639
defeat.

16:12.639 --> 16:17.079
And on top of these pretty
logical fears,

16:17.080 --> 16:20.700
even as independence seemed--at
least it's part of debate if not

16:20.702 --> 16:22.832
absolutely looming on the
horizon--

16:22.830 --> 16:26.750
most colonists still assumed
they're fighting for British

16:26.750 --> 16:30.810
rights despite the fact that
clearly their understanding of

16:30.808 --> 16:34.938
the British constitution and
colonial rights is differing by

16:34.940 --> 16:38.160
this point from the
understanding of those same

16:38.158 --> 16:39.978
things in England.

16:39.980 --> 16:43.600
Most colonists still had so
deep a connection with the

16:43.596 --> 16:47.616
mother country that independence
almost felt like a physical

16:47.624 --> 16:48.584
condition.

16:48.580 --> 16:51.250
And John Dickinson,
who was a moderate at this

16:51.246 --> 16:53.576
period,
basically put that into words

16:53.577 --> 16:56.927
and said that by declaring
independence the colonies were

16:56.932 --> 17:00.692
being "torn from the body,
to which we are united by

17:00.688 --> 17:02.438
religion,
liberty, laws,

17:02.437 --> 17:06.027
affections, relation,
language and commerce,"

17:06.028 --> 17:08.768
so it's almost a physical
ripping away.

17:08.769 --> 17:11.519
So this is the atmosphere in
which Common Sense comes

17:11.522 --> 17:13.632
out,
and by swaying large portions

17:13.631 --> 17:16.581
of the people towards
independence obviously that

17:16.578 --> 17:18.728
pamphlet is extremely important.

17:18.730 --> 17:22.170
One of the most important
things about it is that because

17:22.174 --> 17:24.394
it swayed large groups of
people--

17:24.390 --> 17:27.270
it wasn't just a highfalutin'
political pamphlet written for

17:27.266 --> 17:28.576
the elite,
but it really,

17:28.582 --> 17:31.562
as I mentioned already,
was for the masses--that it

17:31.557 --> 17:35.457
enabled the Continental Congress
to consider independence and

17:35.464 --> 17:39.114
ultimately to move toward
independence as representatives

17:39.112 --> 17:40.742
of the popular will.

17:40.740 --> 17:41.140
Right?

17:41.135 --> 17:44.045
So Common Sense is
swaying the people,

17:44.046 --> 17:48.076
and so the Continental Congress
now is basically acting on the

17:48.078 --> 17:49.268
popular will.

17:49.269 --> 17:53.049
Some who favored independence
actually wanted to distribute

17:53.048 --> 17:56.238
Common Sense at the
Congress's expense,

17:56.240 --> 17:59.680
since it was so useful in
arousing public sentiment to

17:59.681 --> 18:01.501
move towards independence.

18:01.500 --> 18:05.370
Now I want to turn at this
point to something that often

18:05.371 --> 18:09.311
gets left behind or left out
when we talk about declaring

18:09.313 --> 18:11.843
independence,
but it's actually really

18:11.844 --> 18:15.014
crucial and in a way I think
it's really at the center of the

18:15.005 --> 18:15.475
story.

18:15.480 --> 18:19.540
And what I want to talk about
is what people generally in the

18:19.539 --> 18:22.179
colonies thought about
independence,

18:22.180 --> 18:26.470
because obviously it's not only
guys in the Continental Congress

18:26.468 --> 18:29.378
who are debating,
discussing and considering

18:29.375 --> 18:30.205
independence.

18:30.210 --> 18:33.310
And even there,
there was great recognition

18:33.314 --> 18:37.384
that they're acting on behalf of
the larger populace.

18:37.380 --> 18:42.170
Many colonial delegations felt
compelled to have direct orders

18:42.172 --> 18:46.882
from the people of their colony
before taking this kind of an

18:46.884 --> 18:48.304
enormous step.

18:48.298 --> 18:50.998
And there's a book by Pauline
Maier which is titled

18:51.000 --> 18:53.540
American Scripture:
Making the Declaration of

18:53.538 --> 18:56.668
Independence and it makes
this point really well,

18:56.670 --> 18:59.690
and this sort of larger point
that I'm going to make here is

18:59.692 --> 19:01.182
partly drawn from her book.

19:01.180 --> 19:05.200
And she emphasizes that the
Continental Congress wasn't the

19:05.196 --> 19:08.726
sole focal point for discussion
of independence,

19:08.730 --> 19:12.060
and she explains in her book
that while she was studying what

19:12.057 --> 19:15.327
was going on in the colonies
during the months of April,

19:15.328 --> 19:20.358
May, June, and July of 1776 she
actually discovered over ninety

19:20.357 --> 19:23.437
other declarations of
independence,

19:23.440 --> 19:27.100
all of them written by local
communities or towns or at

19:27.102 --> 19:30.292
conventions representing
individual colonies.

19:30.288 --> 19:34.388
And as she states in her book,
these local declarations of

19:34.393 --> 19:38.503
independence get us as close as
we can to the voice of the

19:38.496 --> 19:41.876
colonial public on the eve of
independence.

19:41.880 --> 19:46.220
And actually just looking at
the process of creating these

19:46.221 --> 19:50.791
local declarations reveals a
vast amount of information about

19:50.792 --> 19:54.072
how the people at large were
mobilized;

19:54.068 --> 19:58.848
how seriously many colonies
took the idea that the people at

19:58.851 --> 20:01.851
large had to request
independence,

20:01.848 --> 20:05.158
that the delegates in the
Continental Congress were

20:05.159 --> 20:09.199
representing them in just the
way I suppose that the colonists

20:09.195 --> 20:11.045
felt Parliament was not.

20:11.048 --> 20:14.468
So for example,
in Massachusetts the assembly

20:14.473 --> 20:18.443
asked individual towns
throughout the colony to have

20:18.443 --> 20:21.593
meetings to discuss--
and this is a quote from the

20:21.586 --> 20:23.976
document that the assembly sent
to all of these towns,

20:23.980 --> 20:26.720
"if the honorable
Continental Congress should

20:26.720 --> 20:28.820
decide that,
for the safety of the United

20:28.816 --> 20:30.686
Colonies,
it was necessary to declare

20:30.693 --> 20:32.543
them independent of Great
Britain,

20:32.538 --> 20:36.058
would they 'solemnly engage
with their Lives and Fortunes to

20:36.057 --> 20:38.677
Support the Congress in the
Measure?"

20:38.680 --> 20:38.990
Okay.

20:38.989 --> 20:42.079
So the assembly is sending this
and saying, 'Towns,

20:42.084 --> 20:44.564
you need to consider this
resolution.

20:44.558 --> 20:46.978
If the Continental Congress
decides that it makes sense to

20:46.983 --> 20:49.153
declare independence,
will you actually support that

20:49.153 --> 20:50.773
with your lives and your
fortunes?

20:50.769 --> 20:53.229
Is that something you're in
favor of?'

20:53.230 --> 20:56.460
Obviously, it's being treated
like, really in a sense,

20:56.463 --> 20:59.703
a personal decision,
a highly significant decision.

20:59.700 --> 21:04.310
Colonists are asked--are being
asked by this statement to join

21:04.310 --> 21:08.240
in groups and discuss
independence and decide what it

21:08.241 --> 21:11.041
is they think should happen
next.

21:11.038 --> 21:13.308
And clearly,
that kind of statement also

21:13.309 --> 21:16.569
reveals that they're aware of
the seriousness and they're

21:16.568 --> 21:18.208
aware--
I mean, ultimately,

21:18.211 --> 21:21.011
this is an act of treason
that's being debated here.

21:21.009 --> 21:24.449
Now the Massachusetts assembly
thought that--

21:24.450 --> 21:27.220
they're asking towns to
vote--that this might not be

21:27.218 --> 21:29.388
necessarily a really lengthy
process,

21:29.390 --> 21:32.020
since already there's a lot of
circulating talk about maybe

21:32.017 --> 21:35.007
what should come next,
but actually it wasn't until

21:35.007 --> 21:38.787
July that all of the towns
reported themselves in favor of

21:38.788 --> 21:39.848
independence.

21:39.848 --> 21:42.738
The process took that long,
it took months,

21:42.740 --> 21:46.870
because people actually were
seriously debating the issue.

21:46.868 --> 21:51.028
As a man from one town
observed, independence was,

21:51.029 --> 21:53.609
quote, "the greatest and
most important question that

21:53.606 --> 21:55.186
ever came before this
town."

21:55.190 --> 21:59.630
Now of course by the time that
every town had reported what it

21:59.625 --> 22:03.695
thought in Massachusetts to the
Continental Congress,

22:03.700 --> 22:06.000
the Congress had already
decided in favor of

22:06.002 --> 22:08.842
independence,
but the people were a part of

22:08.835 --> 22:10.875
this decision-making process.

22:10.880 --> 22:14.920
And if the first towns from
Massachusetts had not supported

22:14.923 --> 22:17.523
independence,
the Massachusetts delegates

22:17.519 --> 22:20.699
might have had a hard time
promoting it in Philadelphia,

22:20.700 --> 22:22.840
so it mattered.

22:22.838 --> 22:25.368
In Maryland as well,
there was widespread

22:25.366 --> 22:29.286
participation in this decision
about whether independence ought

22:29.286 --> 22:31.976
to be declared,
and individual popular

22:31.980 --> 22:35.560
declarations supporting
independence there were possibly

22:35.557 --> 22:38.547
even more important than in
Massachusetts,

22:38.548 --> 22:41.278
because the Maryland
congressional delegation was

22:41.282 --> 22:44.132
undecided in what it thought
about independence.

22:44.130 --> 22:47.040
And it wasn't until the
Maryland government received

22:47.035 --> 22:49.705
these declarations of
independence from towns in

22:49.712 --> 22:53.022
Maryland that they decided to
instruct the delegates in the

22:53.018 --> 22:55.238
Congress to support
independence.

22:55.240 --> 23:00.280
Some colonies like--At this
point I should just wait for the

23:00.279 --> 23:01.219
response.

23:01.220 --> 23:04.150
Which colony might have a
quirky response?

23:04.150 --> 23:05.500
Right? Rhode Island.

23:05.500 --> 23:08.570
Somewhere out there in the
filming land--

23:08.568 --> 23:11.478
They're filming this--There's
going to be a lot of Rhode

23:11.477 --> 23:14.227
Island people who are going to
be really mad [laughs]

23:14.226 --> 23:17.236
at me for saying negative
things about Rhode Island,

23:17.240 --> 23:19.510
and yet here we have Rhode
Island again.

23:19.509 --> 23:22.579
Rhode Island did not have such
widespread participation.

23:22.578 --> 23:24.928
There was a logic to what went
on in Rhode Island.

23:24.930 --> 23:28.750
Apparently, in Rhode Island the
legislature did consider asking

23:28.752 --> 23:31.592
towns what they thought about
independence,

23:31.588 --> 23:34.288
but they did a little
investigation first and they

23:34.288 --> 23:37.758
discovered that it was possible
that a few towns in Rhode Island

23:37.757 --> 23:39.737
might vote against independence.

23:39.740 --> 23:39.990
Okay.

23:39.991 --> 23:42.721
Rhode Island wisely thought:
if we ask people what they

23:42.718 --> 23:45.578
think and they say,
'We don't want independence,'

23:45.584 --> 23:49.364
this could be a bad thing,
and so they decided that wasn't

23:49.362 --> 23:53.432
necessarily the best plan;
it certainly wouldn't help the

23:53.434 --> 23:54.474
common cause.

23:54.470 --> 23:59.290
Now when I discuss colonial
legislatures at this point,

23:59.288 --> 24:03.758
it's important to realize that
most of the royal colonial

24:03.763 --> 24:08.083
governments had pretty much
collapsed by this point.

24:08.078 --> 24:13.408
The Continental Congress in May
of 1776 thus instructed the

24:13.411 --> 24:16.721
colonies to form new
governments,

24:16.720 --> 24:19.860
and so roughly throughout this
period--

24:19.858 --> 24:22.188
some of the colonies had
already started doing this

24:22.194 --> 24:24.144
before May,
some of them waited until

24:24.137 --> 24:27.647
May--but throughout this period,
in a lot of the colonies there

24:27.654 --> 24:31.194
was some kind of a convention
debating what basically the new

24:31.186 --> 24:33.476
government,
and really in a way,

24:33.481 --> 24:37.301
the new constitution of these
colonies should be in the

24:37.296 --> 24:39.976
absence of having a royal
presence.

24:39.980 --> 24:42.570
So they're like little mini
colonial constitutional

24:42.571 --> 24:45.231
conventions,
and it was these conventions

24:45.233 --> 24:48.733
often that were receiving these
local declarations of

24:48.732 --> 24:49.812
independence.

24:49.808 --> 24:53.728
And to some people in the
colonies it was actually this

24:53.731 --> 24:58.161
resolution asking the colonies
to create their own governments

24:58.163 --> 25:02.453
that constituted the real
declaration of independence,

25:02.450 --> 25:06.230
and you can even hear echoes of
the later official Declaration

25:06.229 --> 25:10.009
in the resolution itself asking
the colonies to make their own

25:10.008 --> 25:10.998
governments.

25:11.000 --> 25:13.720
It has a preamble,
a very radical preamble,

25:13.718 --> 25:17.598
that's certainly more radical
than anything that the Congress

25:17.601 --> 25:20.191
had said thus far:
"Whereas His Britannic

25:20.191 --> 25:22.111
Majesty,
in conjunction with the lords

25:22.106 --> 25:24.886
and commons of Great Britain,
has, by a late act of

25:24.893 --> 25:27.743
parliament, excluded the
inhabitants of these United

25:27.743 --> 25:30.263
Colonies from the protection of
his crown;

25:30.259 --> 25:33.699
And whereas no answer whatever,
to the humble petitions of the

25:33.700 --> 25:36.630
colonies for redress of
grievances and reconciliation

25:36.632 --> 25:39.782
with Great Brittain has been,
or is likely to be given,

25:39.779 --> 25:41.649
but the whole force of that
kingdom,

25:41.650 --> 25:44.240
aided by foreign mercenaries,
is to be exerted for the

25:44.240 --> 25:46.880
destruction of the good people
of these colonies ...

25:46.880 --> 25:49.670
it is necessary,
that the exercise of every kind

25:49.665 --> 25:52.625
of authority under the said
crown should be totally

25:52.631 --> 25:54.551
suppressed,
and all the powers of

25:54.545 --> 25:57.005
government exerted,
under the authority of the

25:57.009 --> 26:00.699
people of the colonies for the
preservation of internal peace,

26:00.700 --> 26:03.020
virtue and good order,
as well as for the defense of

26:03.018 --> 26:05.508
their lives,
liberties, and properties."

26:05.509 --> 26:08.189
So that's a radical statement.

26:08.190 --> 26:11.200
To Adams--To John Adams as well
as many others,

26:11.200 --> 26:15.080
this pretty much constituted a
declaration of independence even

26:15.076 --> 26:18.326
though it didn't declare
independence officially,

26:18.328 --> 26:21.888
and it's significant that in
that preface Congress isn't

26:21.892 --> 26:25.502
attacking the King's ministers;
they're not attacking

26:25.500 --> 26:26.340
Parliament.

26:26.338 --> 26:30.098
They're attacking the King
himself, which is almost as good

26:30.103 --> 26:32.443
as a formal declaration of
revolt.

26:32.440 --> 26:35.940
Meanwhile, in the colonies the
individual towns are debating

26:35.943 --> 26:38.443
what they want to do about
independence.

26:38.440 --> 26:41.890
They're expressing their
opinions in written statements

26:41.886 --> 26:45.586
that, as Pauline Maier points
out, were remarkably alike in

26:45.588 --> 26:46.928
tone and content.

26:46.930 --> 26:50.430
A lot of them listed the same
grievances and had the same kind

26:50.433 --> 26:53.713
of sense of betrayal at how the
King had betrayed them.

26:53.710 --> 26:57.290
Most of them mentioned the
contempt with which the King had

26:57.291 --> 27:00.011
received their attempts at
reconciliation.

27:00.009 --> 27:04.419
They mentioned recent violence
and destruction of American

27:04.423 --> 27:06.673
property by British troops.

27:06.670 --> 27:09.410
They of course mentioned the
Prohibitory Act,

27:09.410 --> 27:12.960
which declared the colonists
out of British protection.

27:12.960 --> 27:16.160
They mentioned German
mercenaries hired by George III

27:16.161 --> 27:17.701
to fight the colonists.

27:17.700 --> 27:22.270
And most of them had sort of a
personal tone that they adopted

27:22.270 --> 27:25.790
towards the King,
blaming him personally for the

27:25.788 --> 27:29.488
present state of affairs and
expressing great sadness at

27:29.488 --> 27:33.458
their realization that their
monarch basically had fallen to

27:33.457 --> 27:36.347
this level and allowed this to
happen.

27:36.348 --> 27:40.298
Some petitions went even
further, suggesting the type of

27:40.298 --> 27:44.168
government that they prefer to
be there in place of the

27:44.173 --> 27:46.723
monarchy,
and in one way or another some

27:46.721 --> 27:49.651
of these declarations specified
they wanted to establish a

27:49.652 --> 27:51.762
republican government in the
colonies;

27:51.759 --> 27:55.239
they wanted governments
grounded on popular will and

27:55.240 --> 27:56.880
actual representation.

27:56.880 --> 28:00.800
So what we're seeing here is
average people in towns

28:00.797 --> 28:06.017
throughout the colonies immersed
in the current state of affairs,

28:06.019 --> 28:09.029
committing themselves
personally to a course of

28:09.026 --> 28:11.176
action,
expressing their ideas about

28:11.180 --> 28:14.790
what government should be,
and personally taking part in

28:14.794 --> 28:18.444
the political process in a
radical kind of a way.

28:18.440 --> 28:22.240
So obviously we're not talking
about a couple of dozen men in a

28:22.240 --> 28:23.650
room in Philadelphia.

28:23.650 --> 28:28.540
Now, news of these declarations
written in May,

28:28.538 --> 28:32.088
June and even as late as July
helped push the Continental

28:32.087 --> 28:35.937
Congress towards independence,
so let's move back to Congress.

28:35.940 --> 28:39.720
On June 7,1776,
Virginia took a major step

28:39.715 --> 28:45.425
forward by making a resolution
that it sent to its delegates in

28:45.425 --> 28:49.105
Philadelphia via Richard Henry
Lee--

28:49.108 --> 28:51.438
he was one of the
delegates--and the resolution

28:51.440 --> 28:54.020
from Virginia said that the
delegates should promote

28:54.023 --> 28:56.003
independence because the
colonies,

28:56.000 --> 28:58.270
quote, "are, and of right,
ought to be,

28:58.265 --> 29:00.405
free and independent
States."

29:00.410 --> 29:02.970
Bang. So there you have it.

29:02.970 --> 29:04.790
But the response--Okay.

29:04.788 --> 29:06.468
There it is,
we should be independent,

29:06.471 --> 29:08.701
the resolution that's going to
push them to debate

29:08.696 --> 29:09.466
independence.

29:09.470 --> 29:12.800
The response to that resolution
is a reminder that there were a

29:12.801 --> 29:15.921
lot of other things that were
more pressing at the time.

29:15.920 --> 29:21.340
So Richard Henry Lee presents
this to Congress and Congress

29:21.342 --> 29:22.902
says,
'We got to put it off until

29:22.900 --> 29:24.670
tomorrow because we actually
have more important things that

29:24.670 --> 29:26.720
we need to debate today first,
so we'll talk about

29:26.722 --> 29:28.032
independence tomorrow.'

29:28.029 --> 29:29.379
Thank you, Richard Henry Lee.

29:29.380 --> 29:31.060
On to these other matters.

29:31.058 --> 29:35.138
So the next day,
June 8, debate on independence

29:35.141 --> 29:38.201
got under way,
and those who were less

29:38.199 --> 29:41.869
enthusiastic about independence,
men like John Dickinson,

29:41.866 --> 29:43.816
who is moderate in his
politics,

29:43.818 --> 29:46.408
or James Wilson,
also of Pennsylvania,

29:46.410 --> 29:50.260
Edward Rutledge of South
Carolina, they said that they

29:50.258 --> 29:54.758
were friends to the idea but
that the time wasn't yet right.

29:54.759 --> 29:58.589
Some colonial delegations
weren't yet ready to declare

29:58.586 --> 29:59.666
independence.

29:59.670 --> 30:02.360
They didn't have permission to
declare it from their home

30:02.358 --> 30:05.068
governments,
and forcing the issue might

30:05.066 --> 30:08.956
force these colonies to secede
from what was already a

30:08.963 --> 30:12.793
relatively weak colonial union
or so they argued.

30:12.788 --> 30:15.198
So--and disunion--if that were
to happen,

30:15.200 --> 30:18.290
if they were to push
independence and a colony should

30:18.287 --> 30:21.587
pull out,
disunion would be disastrous to

30:21.589 --> 30:25.099
their cause,
not only because it would hurt

30:25.102 --> 30:27.202
the cause,
but it would certainly not

30:27.198 --> 30:29.738
encourage foreign nations to
potentially help these little

30:29.739 --> 30:31.789
colonies in fighting against
Great Britain.

30:31.788 --> 30:34.318
So this is what
Rutledge--Edward Rutledge of

30:34.318 --> 30:36.318
South Carolina wrote on June 10.

30:36.318 --> 30:39.218
"The congress sat till 7
o'clock this evening in

30:39.220 --> 30:42.290
consequence of a motion of
Richard Henry Lee's rendering

30:42.287 --> 30:44.627
ourselves free and independent
States.

30:44.630 --> 30:47.930
The sensible part of the House
opposed the Motion....

30:47.930 --> 30:51.450
they saw no Wisdom in a
Declaration of independence,

30:51.450 --> 30:53.810
nor any other Purpose to be
enforced by it,

30:53.808 --> 30:57.328
but placing ourselves in the
Power of those with whom we mean

30:57.326 --> 30:59.816
to treat,
giving our Enemy Notice of our

30:59.824 --> 31:03.414
Intentions before we have taken
any steps to execute them and

31:03.412 --> 31:06.702
thereby enabling them to
counteract us in our Intentions

31:06.701 --> 31:09.571
and rendering ourselves
ridiculous in the Eyes of

31:09.571 --> 31:13.281
foreign powers by attempting to
bring them into a Union with us

31:13.279 --> 31:16.389
before we had united with each
other."

31:16.390 --> 31:16.610
Okay.

31:16.607 --> 31:18.527
There's a lot of strong
arguments Rutledge is

31:18.532 --> 31:20.792
presenting,
but of course on the other side

31:20.789 --> 31:22.989
of the spectrum,
those who supported

31:22.986 --> 31:26.646
independence argued that without
a formal declaration of

31:26.651 --> 31:30.851
independence no nation would be
willing to aid the colonies;

31:30.848 --> 31:33.638
the colonies were basically
independent already;

31:33.640 --> 31:36.990
the matter needs to be
discussed, needs to be pushed

31:36.991 --> 31:37.651
forward.

31:37.650 --> 31:41.870
Lack of agreement and the
importance of the decision led

31:41.872 --> 31:46.172
Congress to postpone the
decision until the first week of

31:46.172 --> 31:50.702
July so that individual colonies
could decide on a course of

31:50.701 --> 31:51.701
action.

31:51.700 --> 31:54.080
And in the meantime,
so no time would be lost,

31:54.078 --> 31:58.178
they appointed a committee to
compose a written statement

31:58.183 --> 32:01.413
formally declaring colonial
independence,

32:01.410 --> 32:03.290
and the committee included John
Adams,

32:03.288 --> 32:05.318
Thomas Jefferson,
Benjamin Franklin,

32:05.318 --> 32:08.458
the greatest hits--Roger
Sherman of Connecticut,

32:08.460 --> 32:11.600
and Robert R. Livingston,
one of the many Livingstons of

32:11.597 --> 32:12.337
New York.

32:12.338 --> 32:16.168
And ultimately the committee
appointed Jefferson to draft the

32:16.165 --> 32:19.865
document and he worked during
the last two weeks of June in

32:19.865 --> 32:20.435
1776.

32:20.440 --> 32:23.630
Now as I mentioned at the start
of the lecture,

32:23.630 --> 32:26.410
in later years,
when Adams and Jefferson were

32:26.412 --> 32:30.952
retired presidential types,
lots of people wrote to them

32:30.951 --> 32:32.841
asking,
'So tell us what really

32:32.840 --> 32:34.970
happened with the Declaration of
Independence.

32:34.970 --> 32:35.820
What was it like?

32:35.819 --> 32:37.179
Why did you do X?

32:37.180 --> 32:38.590
Did you really do X?

32:38.588 --> 32:41.348
What was he like?'--sort of all
the things that you would want

32:41.348 --> 32:44.198
to ask if you could ask these
people, 'What really happened?'

32:44.200 --> 32:47.510
And both men offered accounts
of the writing of the

32:47.507 --> 32:51.407
Declaration and their accounts
do not necessarily agree--

32:51.410 --> 32:55.770
and they're also pretty in
character for each one of these

32:55.773 --> 32:57.773
men,
particularly John Adams'

32:57.766 --> 33:01.466
account of what happened with
the decision about who was going

33:01.469 --> 33:04.139
to write the Declaration of
Independence.

33:04.140 --> 33:07.130
And actually in 1822,
Adams wrote a pretty lengthy

33:07.125 --> 33:11.205
explanation of how Jefferson was
chosen to write the Declaration.

33:11.210 --> 33:13.410
I just want to offer you a
little piece of it,

33:13.407 --> 33:16.337
because it's actually a pretty
amazing little re-creation.

33:16.338 --> 33:19.068
So Adams writes in his letter,
"You inquire why so young

33:19.067 --> 33:21.387
a man as Mr. Jefferson was
placed at the head of the

33:21.387 --> 33:23.157
Committee for preparing a
Declaration of

33:23.162 --> 33:24.392
Independence."

33:24.390 --> 33:24.590
Okay.

33:24.588 --> 33:25.988
So there is what the person
wrote.

33:25.990 --> 33:29.300
So Adams, why did you pick that
young new guy to write this

33:29.300 --> 33:29.930
document?

33:29.930 --> 33:32.370
Adams says, "I answer ...

33:32.368 --> 33:34.528
Mr. Jefferson came into
Congress,

33:34.529 --> 33:36.699
in June, 1775,
and brought with him a

33:36.701 --> 33:39.971
reputation for literature,
science, and a happy talent of

33:39.970 --> 33:40.630
composition.

33:40.630 --> 33:43.680
Writings of his were handed
about, remarkable for the

33:43.676 --> 33:45.666
peculiar felicity of expression.

33:45.670 --> 33:47.600
Though a silent member in
Congress,

33:47.598 --> 33:49.248
he was so prompt,
frank, explicit,

33:49.246 --> 33:51.836
and decisive upon committees
and in conversation,

33:51.838 --> 33:55.858
not even Samuel Adams was more
so, that he soon seized upon my

33:55.862 --> 33:57.652
heart;
and upon this occasion I gave

33:57.654 --> 34:00.234
him my vote, and did all in my
power to procure the votes of

34:00.230 --> 34:00.930
others."

34:00.930 --> 34:01.230
Okay.

34:01.230 --> 34:04.780
So in the end the committee's
voting who should write it,

34:04.778 --> 34:07.578
and Adams and Jefferson get the
most votes to write the

34:07.580 --> 34:09.090
declaration,
so they're made,

34:09.085 --> 34:11.765
according to Adams,
like a little subcommittee of

34:11.768 --> 34:14.338
Adams and Jefferson,
and now this subcommittee

34:14.340 --> 34:16.660
supposedly is going to draft the
Declaration.

34:16.659 --> 34:19.849
So Adams continues,
"The sub-committee met.

34:19.849 --> 34:24.009
Jefferson proposed to me to
make the draught.

34:24.010 --> 34:27.460
I said 'I will not.'"
And what I'm going to be

34:27.460 --> 34:29.550
reading from here now--
it's my favorite part of the

34:29.550 --> 34:31.500
story--
he wrote a little script with

34:31.501 --> 34:33.941
what Jefferson says and what he
responds.

34:33.940 --> 34:36.340
He's no longer even himself in
the letter.

34:36.340 --> 34:38.260
He's just recording:
he said and then I said,

34:38.255 --> 34:39.775
and that he said and then I
said.

34:39.780 --> 34:42.310
So Jefferson says,
'Adams, you should write it,'

34:42.306 --> 34:44.506
and Adams says,
"I will not."

34:44.510 --> 34:47.590
"You should do it,"
Jefferson insists.

34:47.590 --> 34:49.050
"Oh! no," says Adams.

34:49.050 --> 34:51.190
"Why will you not?,"
asks Jefferson.

34:51.190 --> 34:52.340
"You ought to do it."

34:52.340 --> 34:53.990
Its like he's writing a film.

34:53.989 --> 34:56.389
[laughs]
He's already imagining:

34:56.394 --> 34:58.184
the movie of my life.

34:58.179 --> 34:59.409
[laughs]
If movies existed,

34:59.413 --> 35:01.503
I would be imagining the movie
of my life.

35:01.500 --> 35:03.650
"You ought to do it,"
says Jefferson.

35:03.650 --> 35:05.050
"I will not."

35:05.050 --> 35:06.660
"Why?"

35:06.659 --> 35:08.689
"Reasons enough."

35:08.690 --> 35:10.620
"What can be your
reasons?"

35:10.619 --> 35:11.859
Okay. This is Adams' response.

35:11.860 --> 35:14.810
"Reason first--You are a
Virginian, and a Virginian ought

35:14.813 --> 35:16.803
to appear at the head of this
business.

35:16.800 --> 35:20.830
Reason second--I am obnoxious,
[laughs/laughter]

35:20.829 --> 35:23.659
suspected, and unpopular."

35:23.659 --> 35:26.609
Oh, [laughs] poor John Adams.

35:26.610 --> 35:28.540
I am obnoxious,
suspected and unpopular.

35:28.539 --> 35:30.269
Don't make me write the
document.

35:30.268 --> 35:31.958
"You are very much
otherwise."

35:31.960 --> 35:34.570
"Reason third--You can
write ten times better than I

35:34.570 --> 35:35.130
can."

35:35.130 --> 35:37.430
"Well,"
Adams has Jefferson respond,

35:37.432 --> 35:39.992
"if you are decided,
I will do it as well as I

35:39.992 --> 35:40.712
can."

35:40.710 --> 35:41.050
Okay.

35:41.054 --> 35:44.914
That's part of a really
lengthy, great letter by Adams.

35:44.909 --> 35:48.449
Jefferson's account is much
less humorous and actually

35:48.454 --> 35:51.324
briefer,
and he writes in 1823 to James

35:51.318 --> 35:54.128
Madison and he says,
"No such thing as a

35:54.126 --> 35:56.356
subcommittee was proposed"
[laughs]--

35:56.360 --> 35:58.580
it's like--oops,
a basic disagreement--

35:58.579 --> 36:02.119
"but they unanimously
pressed on myself alone to

36:02.117 --> 36:04.157
undertake the draught."

36:04.159 --> 36:07.519
Okay, a little disagreement
between the two guys which they

36:07.516 --> 36:09.076
never really agreed upon.

36:09.079 --> 36:11.719
And then he goes on to discuss
in this letter whether the ideas

36:11.722 --> 36:13.732
in the Declaration were new or
not, and he says,

36:13.728 --> 36:14.238
'No, no.

36:14.239 --> 36:16.479
American minds,' blah blah blah.

36:16.480 --> 36:16.770
Okay.

36:16.766 --> 36:19.966
Regardless of the precise
details as to whether there was

36:19.969 --> 36:22.719
or wasn't a subcommittee,
Jefferson did draft the

36:22.717 --> 36:23.687
Declaration.

36:23.690 --> 36:25.970
He submitted it to the others
for comment.

36:25.969 --> 36:28.979
They commented on it.

36:28.980 --> 36:31.430
They sort of discussed it
amongst themselves.

36:31.429 --> 36:34.339
You'll get some chance in
section to actually talk about

36:34.340 --> 36:36.560
some of the real specifics of
the document,

36:36.563 --> 36:38.473
the Declaration of
Independence.

36:38.469 --> 36:40.929
For the moment,
I'll just mention briefly what

36:40.927 --> 36:42.837
were some of Jefferson's
sources.

36:42.840 --> 36:43.020
Right?

36:43.023 --> 36:43.943
He's sitting in Philadelphia.

36:43.940 --> 36:46.140
He has basically two
weeks--talk about a paper

36:46.139 --> 36:48.729
deadline--to write the
Declaration of Independence.

36:48.730 --> 36:50.140
What is going to use?

36:50.139 --> 36:52.999
He's pretty pressed for time,
so logically he turned to

36:53.003 --> 36:56.543
whatever he could for fodder,
and two notable sources were

36:56.539 --> 36:59.299
both Virginia documents
logically enough.

36:59.300 --> 37:02.560
He drafted a constitution for
Virginia,

37:02.559 --> 37:04.989
since the colony is in the
middle of doing that and along

37:04.989 --> 37:07.569
with everything else,
and that ended up being a

37:07.574 --> 37:10.234
source for him of some of the
grievances,

37:10.230 --> 37:12.300
the long list of grievances in
the Declaration.

37:12.300 --> 37:14.230
He pulled some of them from
that.

37:14.230 --> 37:16.690
And then the Virginia
Declaration of Rights,

37:16.690 --> 37:20.390
which was also part of this
constitution-making process,

37:20.389 --> 37:24.459
helped contribute to the
preamble of the Declaration.

37:24.460 --> 37:27.340
Now of course,
Jefferson was careful not just

37:27.336 --> 37:30.106
to focus on Virginia words,
Virginia charges,

37:30.110 --> 37:32.310
Virginia things,
because obviously the document

37:32.307 --> 37:34.597
is supposed to represent all of
the colonies.

37:34.599 --> 37:37.749
So for example,
when you read the Declaration,

37:37.750 --> 37:39.860
you could see some of the
things he's citing happened in

37:39.864 --> 37:41.544
Massachusetts--
and some of them actually

37:41.543 --> 37:43.023
happened in other colonies as
well.

37:43.018 --> 37:47.208
It needs to be something that
is coming from some united

37:47.208 --> 37:49.798
expression of the colonial will.

37:49.800 --> 37:54.430
One of the passages that
ultimately did not end up

37:54.425 --> 38:00.465
displaying colonial unity not
surprisingly concerned slavery--

38:00.469 --> 38:03.969
so in Jefferson's draft he
actually has a passage that

38:03.969 --> 38:06.259
charges the King--
that the King,

38:06.264 --> 38:10.654
quote, had "waged cruel
war against human nature itself,

38:10.650 --> 38:13.200
violating it's most sacred
rights of life &

38:13.197 --> 38:16.017
liberty in the persons of a
distant people who never

38:16.021 --> 38:17.991
offended him,
captivating &

38:17.994 --> 38:20.924
carrying them into slavery in
another hemisphere,

38:20.920 --> 38:23.610
or to incur miserable death in
their transportation

38:23.608 --> 38:24.468
thither."

38:24.469 --> 38:24.869
Okay.

38:24.871 --> 38:29.461
So that's a notable attempt to
blame the King for slavery,

38:29.458 --> 38:34.278
but the passage ultimately gets
stricken out by the Congress,

38:34.284 --> 38:36.944
in part for obvious reasons.

38:36.940 --> 38:37.360
Right?

38:37.356 --> 38:40.136
The South is not going to
support this.

38:40.139 --> 38:43.369
But also, ultimately
Jefferson's declaration as far

38:43.367 --> 38:47.047
as slavery is concerned had some
tortured logic in it,

38:47.050 --> 38:50.080
because it first attacks the
King for creating slavery,

38:50.079 --> 38:51.879
for transporting slaves to
America,

38:51.880 --> 38:55.220
and then attacks him for
offering them freedom if they

38:55.217 --> 38:56.727
fight for the British.

38:56.730 --> 39:00.780
You inflicted slavery upon us
and you are threatening to free

39:00.782 --> 39:01.662
the slaves.

39:01.659 --> 39:02.029
Okay.

39:02.028 --> 39:04.538
Continental Congress said,
'Okay.

39:04.539 --> 39:07.479
Not only is the South not
really able to grasp this at

39:07.476 --> 39:10.466
this particular moment,
but this doesn't entirely match

39:10.467 --> 39:11.517
up, Jefferson.'

39:11.518 --> 39:15.708
So in a sense his ambiguity and
ambivalence reflected general

39:15.713 --> 39:17.673
ambiguity and ambivalence.

39:17.670 --> 39:20.860
But in the end,
the total effect of all of

39:20.864 --> 39:24.994
these charges was to suggest
that the King had sort of

39:24.994 --> 39:26.714
de-kinged himself.

39:26.710 --> 39:30.480
He had displaced himself--that
he and not the colonies,

39:30.483 --> 39:33.633
had brought events to where
they now stood.

39:33.630 --> 39:37.980
Now, I think generally we and
also often scholars tend to

39:37.983 --> 39:41.953
really focus on the preamble of
the Declaration,

39:41.949 --> 39:45.319
but in fact at the time,
it was the specific charges

39:45.315 --> 39:49.005
against the King that were
considered to be the real meat

39:49.010 --> 39:50.330
of the document.

39:50.329 --> 39:54.169
The preamble was actually just
supposed to be a preamble to the

39:54.172 --> 39:57.552
real charges against the King,
which were the radical part of

39:57.547 --> 39:58.697
the document at the time.

39:58.699 --> 40:02.299
And since this document was
intended possibly to be a

40:02.304 --> 40:05.914
declaration for foreign
audiences as well as domestic

40:05.909 --> 40:08.819
audiences,
it was important that that

40:08.820 --> 40:12.570
preamble be a statement,
a broad, sweeping statement of

40:12.574 --> 40:16.264
epic proportions,
to inspire people to support

40:16.260 --> 40:17.240
the cause.

40:17.239 --> 40:21.779
The committee's draft
ultimately was presented to

40:21.784 --> 40:26.434
Congress on June 28,
and then debating and editing

40:26.425 --> 40:28.315
began on July 1.

40:28.320 --> 40:31.990
Some of the changes had to do
with specific word choices--

40:31.989 --> 40:34.839
so for example was the King
really guilty of,

40:34.840 --> 40:37.450
quote, "unremitting
injuries"?

40:37.449 --> 40:41.549
Congress preferred
"repeated injuries."

40:41.550 --> 40:41.750
Okay.

40:41.750 --> 40:43.760
That was the level of editing
taking place with the

40:43.757 --> 40:44.357
Declaration.

40:44.360 --> 40:45.940
So they thought well,
"repeated"

40:45.936 --> 40:48.086
is a little less extreme than
"unremitting."

40:48.090 --> 40:50.840
That word gets changed.

40:50.840 --> 40:54.020
Not all of the changes were
intended to tame the document.

40:54.018 --> 40:57.348
Sometimes Congress made some of
Jefferson's charges more

40:57.353 --> 40:59.343
extreme,
as when they added to

40:59.335 --> 41:02.905
Jefferson's statement about
foreign mercenaries words that

41:02.905 --> 41:05.115
described it--
the act of sending them to the

41:05.117 --> 41:07.147
colonies--
as, quote, "scarcely

41:07.153 --> 41:10.063
paralleled in the most barbarous
ages."

41:10.059 --> 41:14.629
And then as I mentioned before,
they struck the entire passage

41:14.626 --> 41:15.596
on slavery.

41:15.599 --> 41:18.529
For the--For many southern
delegates pretty much it was a

41:18.530 --> 41:20.830
deal breaker,
and it happens so often in this

41:20.833 --> 41:21.413
period.

41:21.409 --> 41:24.299
We'll certainly come up with it
again at the--towards the end of

41:24.297 --> 41:24.937
this course.

41:24.940 --> 41:26.910
The issue of slavery comes up.

41:26.909 --> 41:28.549
It can't be dealt with.

41:28.550 --> 41:30.280
People don't know how to deal
with it,

41:30.280 --> 41:33.260
particularly the Southerners,
and it keeps getting shunted to

41:33.255 --> 41:35.385
the side,
and so in a sense that's what

41:35.387 --> 41:36.127
happens here.

41:36.130 --> 41:39.930
I'm going to stop at this
point, and I will start with a

41:39.934 --> 41:43.064
story that should be here,
but I can't tell it here and I

41:43.056 --> 41:45.696
want to do it justice,
about Jefferson's response to

41:45.699 --> 41:47.809
the editing of his precious
draft.

41:47.809 --> 41:49.879
He was not a happy camper at
the editing of the Declaration

41:49.878 --> 41:50.518
of Independence.

41:50.518 --> 41:54.478
And then I will move on to
really discussing organizing a

41:54.476 --> 41:54.896
war.

41:54.900 --> 42:00.000