Franklin wrote in March, 1775:-"I have assured Lord Chatham that having travelled more than once almost from one end of the continent to the other, and kept a great variety of company, eating, drinking, and conversing with them freely, I never had heard in any conversation with any person, drunk or sober, the least expression of a wish for a separation, or a hint that such a thing would be advantageous to America."

In November, 1775, five months after the battle of Bunker's Hill, Jefferson wrote:-" Believe me, dear Sir, there is not in the British empire a man who more cordially loves an union with Great Britain than I do. But, by the God that made me, I will cease to exist before I yield to a connexion on such terms as the British Parliament proposes, and in this I think I speak the sentiments of America. We want neither inducement nor power to declare or assert a separation. It is will alone which is wanting, and that is growing apace under the fostering hand of our King."*

These significant extracts prove that to the last it was necessary to entice the Colonies to make a Revolution, which might lead to unknown disasters. Guizot alludes to the hesitation which seized on many before taking the final plunge. "It was not for the purpose," he says, "of escaping from the fangs of some atrocious tyranny that the insurrection was begun by the Colonists. They had not, like the Pilgrim-Fathers when they fled the English shores, to recover the first blessings of civil liberty, security for their persons, or liberty for their creed." The Colonists were exasperated, it is true, by

*In February 1776, Tom Paine published in Philadelphia a pamphlet entitled "Common Sense," urging the Colonies in cogent, yet temperate language, to separate from England. He found it necessary to appeal to the reason, rather than the passion of the public.

the vexatious interference of Parliament with their trade, but in the main they were contented and loyal. They knew that all the great Statesmen of England, Chatham, Burke, Fox, were their champions in Parliament. They were aware that the sympathies of the English people were enlisted on their side.*

I think it may be inferred from the foregoing that the Revolution was not the work of the people of the Colonies generally, who had no hatred for the Royal Government, or any preference for a more Democratic organization of which they knew nothing. Of course, I except the New England States, whose Republicanism, and whose commercial interests, as previously remarked, inspired them with a profound craving after Independence. They were the real pioneers of the Revolution. In the other Colonies, Guizot observes that "the upper classes of society chiefly plotted for emancipation, expecting that great material advantages would accrue, and knowing that all political functions would fall into their hands." It may be doubted, therefore, if the Revolution would have occurred for long years if it had not been stimulated by the arrogant obstinacy of a single man, George III., who refusing to yield to the temperate demands of the Colonies for a change of policy, brought on a war which was destined not merely to deprive England of her richest Dependencies, but to create a New Nation, and a New System of Government whose effects on the world defy calculation.

This was proved when the British Government found themselves obliged to hire troops in Germany, especially in Hesse, since the English people generally refused to enlist in the war against the Colonies.

14

THE WAR.

SOME months before the Declaration of Independence the Royal Governors of the Colonies began to withdraw, and the Colonists proceeded to construct anew their Local Governments. Legislatures were elected consisting, as before, of two branches, and these in turn elected the Governor of the State. The Thirteen Colonies were now suddenly transformed into so many Sovereign States. They were not only independent of Great Britain, but independent of each other.

This condition of things soon filled the political leaders of the Revolution with the utmost alarm.

The young States were so proud of their Sovereignty that no one would be advised by the other. They began to think only of their individual interest, and to ignore the common good of all. To be sure, they were engaged in a war that threatened all alike. The general danger demanded harmonious action. Yet jealousies broke out and mistrust of each other began to spread.

What was to be the fate of these infant States? Were they destined to imitate the ancient States of Greece, and waste themselves in fratricidal conflicts till swallowed up by a modern Philip of Macedon? Europe contemplated the result with interest, if not anxiety.

Such was the general dislike of England, that every nation of Europe was pleased at the probable loss of

her Colonies. France and Spain more especially, enraged at their expulsion from the American Continent, 1763, were eager to aid the rebellious States and only waited for a favorable opportunity. Various maritime Powers, as Holland, Genoa, Naples, and Tuscany, from jealousy of the commercial ascendency of England, sympathized with the Revolutionists. Even Prussia and Russia, from envy of England, affected to condemn her deportment to her Colonies.

If the Statesmen of Europe could have possibly divined the astounding political results fated to spring from the Revolution they were patting so complacently on the back, it is hardly to be doubted that they would have been more eager than England herself to crush it in the bud. If the ghost of George III. takes any interest in passing events, it must be consoled at the havoc that the Democratic principles hatched in the American Revolution are making in the countries that plotted against him.

For more than a year after the Declaration of Independence, the Revolution was in constant danger of failure. Washington left Boston a victor, and brought his army to New York. In June, 1776, General Howe landed at Staten Island with a considerable force, which was soon augmented to 30,000 men. Washington's raw and ill-supplied levies were no match for such an army. In August, the campaign began with a battle on Long Island which the Americans lost. Washington then began a retreat which he was obliged to continue, until in December he found himself on the south side of the Delaware river at the head of less than 4,000 men, without tents, blankets, clothing, or food. So desperate had become the prospects of the Revolu

tion, that great numbers abandoned it and accepted the British General's offer of pardon and amnesty. Despondency seized the most confident, and the Rebellion seemed on the verge of utter discomfiture.

Worst of all, the Congress that was still sitting at Philadelphia could do nothing. It was composed of Delegates from the thirteen new States, but they had no authority to enforce their opinions. They could do no act without orders from their respective States: their only mission was to vote piteous appeals to the various Legislatures to furnish men and money to carry on the war.

The States were now all Sovereign, as said before, and independent of each other. There were rivalry of interests, and suspicion of motives. Many of them, too, were alarmed at raising a large army that might subjugate them again.

In this grave situation the difficulty was to induce them to act in concert. The political leaders saw it was imperatively necessary that the States should give their Delegates in Congress powers of some sort to sustain the war, and provide for the common welfare. The States hesitated to do this, lest Congress might obtain an ascendency over them. They were so jealous of their new Sovereignty, that they shrank from parting with the least portion of it. They feared lest Congress might become a sort of Central Authority, a kind of National Government, which might act contrary to their wishes and interests.

This was the gloomy condition of the rebellious States at the end of 1776. The helpless Members of Congress must have often fancied the halter round their necks. All they could do was to encourage Washington, and to implore their States to save the cause.