35 Years of Founding Era History Chapter 3

In 1765, Rhode Island resisted the Stamp Act and forced the Stamp Master and Newport Junto members to leave. Effigies were hung and homes destroyed. However, the movement unraveled due to a man named John Weber advocating for violence. Merchants turned Weber into authorities, but his followers threatened the Sons of Liberty. Weber was released but continued to threaten violence. Augustus Johnson arrested Weber, and Samuel Crandall offered bribes to continue trade without British stamps. The situation escalated with warrants and bounties, but the sheriff refused to serve the warrant. ლელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელე� ლიელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელე� ლიელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელელე� in Virginia gets four provisions of his resolves against the Stamp Act through the House of Burgesses. Samuel Adams, Ebenezer McIntosh, and others take to the streets in Boston to force the Stamp Master to resign and scare the Governor and Lieutenant Governors so bad that they sought refuge at Castle William. But would this resistance die on the vine or continue to grow? Which would be the next colony, if any, to rise up against the Crown and their taxing proposal known as the Stamp Act? Well, folks, enter Rhode Island, or as they have been called throughout history, Rogue Island. Now we're about to learn a little bit more about them than I promise you you have ever been taught. First, it is important that we understand how tiny Rhode Island had set itself apart from the rest of the colonies as far as how its government was formed, the colonial government. Rogue Island had set its government in motion without that government being chosen or appointed by the Crown. They simply did not want a charter from the Crown because to receive a charter from the Crown was to acknowledge the Crown's dominance over them. So they said, no, we'll just start our own colony without a charter from King George. Now, in theory, that made a lot of sense, but the problem was throughout the colony of Rhode Island, there were still certain offices that were appointed by the King in Parliament. So anyway, the governor of Rhode Island was properly elected as opposed to being appointed by the Crown, and was therefore not a rubber stamp for all things that the King might want or that the Parliament might want. So, in fact, the government was on many issues directly opposed to the wishes of the King, but unfortunately there were some state offices, as I mentioned before, which were royal appointees. For example, the customs collectors and officers in the Navy were all appointed by the Crown. There was also a group of loyalists in the Newport area who had gone so far as to petition the Crown to end the properly elected government in Rhode Island, and to dissolve the state's home rule charter and make it a grant from the King. So we can see, even back then, there were people who wanted to be ruled. They felt they had to have a strong government, and the government of the people was not strong enough for them, so they wanted a government of the aristocracy. Simply said, that's exactly what it was. So on August the 24th, in the Newport Rhode Island Gazette, William Goddard published a most provocative special issue where it was featured on the masthead of the paper two mottos. Now, these folks are what we should have been taught about, but what was the first motto at the top of Mr. Goddard's newspaper? And I quote, where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, unquote. And the second one, Vox Populi, Vox Dei. So the voice of the people, the voice of God. So anyway, articles throughout that paper opposed British regulations, especially the stamp masters, and were most critical of one Jared Ingersoll, who was the stamp master of Connecticut, and also the paper was filled with praise for the actions of the Sons of Liberty in Boston. Also in this issue was referenced a recent Providence Town Hall meeting in which the Crown's right to tax the colonies had been openly challenged, and a demand made that no charges be filed against any Rhode Island official who refused to obey the dictates of the Stamp Act. So on August the 26th, the Newport Mercury published an issue covering the actions of the Sons of Liberty, and some similar actions in Connecticut that had occurred in New London and Norwich, which will be talked about as we move forward in our studies. Well, the people of Rhode Island were ready to take to the streets themselves. So on the 27th, the people, led by several merchants in Newport, including one Robert Crook, Samuel Vernon, and William Ellery, marched through the streets of the city, displaying three effigies with ropes around their necks, and later carried them to the gallows in front of the town courthouse and hanged them there. Several merchants surrounding the gallows, brandishing clubs as weapons to stop any of the Tories from interfering in their demonstration. Well, the identities of the three effigies were all members of what was called the Newport Junto. They were Augustus Johnson, who had been appointed the distributor of stamp papers for the entire colony of Rhode Island, fellow Junto members Martin Howard, Jr., and Dr. Thomas Moffat. Displayed with the three effigies on the gallows was the verse of a song. Now, I'm not going to sing this for you, and you can be thankful for that, but I will actually quote this verse from the song that the colonists found. I don't mean the colonists, I mean the loyalists. They were offended by this verse, and here it is for you, quote, he for he who for a post or a base sorted pelf his country betrays makes a rope for himself of this an example for you we bring in these infamous rogues who in effigy swing, unquote. A lot of folks got offended by that. Those who were represented by these effigies quickly took the hint, and as we say so many times in America, they promptly got the hell out of Dodge. Howard and Johnson took refuge on the British ship Cygnet, spelled C-Y-G-N-E-T, and Moffat fled to who knows where. There is no record of where he took off to. Well, on the 28th, news of the second round of protest and destruction of homes in Boston arrived in Rhode Island, and crowds motivated by these revelations attacked and destroyed the home of Martin Howard, who dared to confront and chastise them for their actions. From there, the group, which was led by Samuel Crandall, proceeded to the homes of other Tories and destroyed them. August Johnson thought briefly of defending his home from the crowds, but quickly changed his mind and fled to the Cygnet ship. Upon learning he would be given the ultimatum of resigning his position as stamp distributor for the state or being hanged on the spot, so he chose to get to the British ship Cygnet. Johnson's home was spared destruction when his neighbors and friends promised that Johnson would promptly resign the next day, which he did, and Howard and Moffat quickly sailed for England and safety. So, pardon me, what can be the greatest problem faced by any revolution? You know, as we look forward and backwards, what happened to revolutions in the past that caused problems? And we should learn from that should enough people in this country finally become motivated enough to revolt against the tyranny that we face on a daily level here in this country. So, what that old adage, divide and conquer, was just as much in play back then as it is today. But ultimately for Rhode Island, or I shouldn't say ultimately, I should say unfortunately for Rhode Island, it happened there in 1765. After achieving much success in forcing the stamp master to resign and forcing the leaders of Newport Hunto to completely and totally leave Rhode Island, somehow the movement began to unravel. And we need to know why. We need to be able to look. If we don't know history, we won't know how to deal with the issues that come up in our future. So, a personality relatively new to Rhode Island who had allegedly recently arrived from England was a man named John Weber. He had been the leader of a group and began to advocate for more violence, and when challenged on his designs, began to challenge the merchants who had been responsible for the actual origins of this movement. And so, fearing the possibility that violence for the sake of violence was wrong and would in essence harm their cause, these Rhode Island merchants turned Weber into the authorities aboard the Signet. Unfortunately, Weber's supporters saw this move as a betrayal of the cause and not a betrayal of Weber. Vernon and Ellery, both mentioned earlier, had formed the Newport Sons of Liberty, but Weber's followers immediately threatened to raid and destroy the homes not of the loyalists but of the leaders of the revolution if they did not move for Weber's immediate release from prison or jail. The Sons of Liberty, seeing no way out of this dilemma but capitulation to the demands of these people, went to the naval authorities aboard the Signet and falsely confessed that they had made a mistake, and therefore Weber was released. Weber, now more angry than ever, still threatened to destroy the homes of the Sons of Liberty and of all of their followers. With no success whatsoever in trying to reason with Weber, they offered him bribes, but he wouldn't take them. He was still adamant. The Sons of Liberty were forced to resort to threats of violence themselves towards Weber, but the results were inconsequential, actually. Weber again threatened to attack and burn the homes of the Sons of Liberty, and ironically it was none other than Augustus Johnson, the appointed distributor of the King's stamp papers, who stepped in and arrested Weber again and carted him off to jail. The next day Samuel Crandall sent an offer to John Robinson, who still remained aboard the Signet, fearing renewed attacks by the Sons of Liberty and their forces. The offer was basically bribes to allow the merchants to continue their trade without any required British stamps. Crandall also demanded the return of a sloop that was owned by these merchants and its cargo of molasses, which had been seized by the Crown and taken to Halifax. Robinson's response to this offer was to order the arrest of Samuel Crandall and a bounty on the heads of those who had been involved in the riots. To Robinson's dismay and anger, the sheriff returned the warrant for Crandall's arrest to him, telling him that to serve such a warrant would endanger both he and his family. Robinson then appealed to the popularly elected Governor Samuel Ward for protection for himself and the arrest of Crandall and his followers. Well, Governor Ward, who had fled town during the riots himself, assured Robinson everything was under control and not to worry. Now the Sons of Liberty and their followers faced a new and a most perplexing menace, and that was the fact that the Royal Navy would be stopping all ships to check for the required stamps permitting shipments, and without those papers the ships and their cargo would be seized by the Crown. Now the Sons of Liberty, while controlling the countryside and the cities themselves in Rhode Island, they had no forces whatsoever on the open waters. Facing this reality, the Revolution's leaders found themselves at a critical impasse. Governor Ward soon provided Robinson with the required guards and the Custom House assumed normal operations. Meanwhile, Weber's supporters continued to clamor for his release. The 1st of November Implementation Day for the Stamp Act arrived in Rhode Island. The Sons of Liberty decided on a peaceful demonstration against the hated Stamp Act. They held a mock funeral for lost freedom and carried freedom's coffin in their parade. Old Freedom himself would rise triumphant from the coffin at the end of their parade. Also, a weak attempt to rescue Weber by his followers was thwarted with several arrests made during that attempt, and Weber himself, upon hearing about the failure of the people to get him out, actually attempted suicide. The Providence, obviously inspired by the actions of the Sons of Liberty in Newport, held their own peaceful demonstration against the Stamp Act in late August, where they too burned effigies of Augustus Johnson, but to no avail. But at least they presented a united front with their brothers in revolution through the colonies. So there we have the story of Rhode Island, but now let's move on to another colony, pardon me, and that one would be none other than Pennsylvania. Now Pennsylvania is quite an interesting study during this 35-year period of time, with much or one might say almost the entirety of that study being focused on the city of Philadelphia. Philadelphia would not only host the Constitutional Convention of 1787, but Philadelphia alone would provide all eight delegates to that convention representing the entire state. Of course we now know that only seven of them were chosen by the assembly. Mr. Franklin, Benjamin Franklin, just showed up on his own. He was not commissioned to be there, and we also know that after the convention, the assembly of the state of Pennsylvania came out and publicly stated that the delegates to the convention from the state of Pennsylvania had violated their authority and had proceeded to write a new constitution when they were not authorized to do so, and that because of that, they had acted on their own and not for the people of the state of Pennsylvania. So one can only wonder how well was the rest of the state of Pennsylvania, including the vast western regions of that colony, represented at the convention? Well, they weren't. That's obvious. So the people, the majority of the people of Pennsylvania, other than Philadelphia, had no voice whatsoever. Kind of makes that phrase, we the people, exposes it for the fraud that it was, does it not? Well, John Hughes, a close associate and friend of Benjamin Franklin, had been chosen as the stamp master for Pennsylvania in the early spring of 1765, but his appointment, as documented in letters from Hughes to Franklin, had not arrived before the people of Pennsylvania, most of whom Hughes referred to as the Presbyterians, were demanding that he resign his post. In letters to Benjamin Franklin, who was still in England, John Hughes wrote, and I quote, the spirit or flame of rebellion is now at a high pitch, a sort of frenzy or madness, unquote. Now, old Ben Franklin, who was most comfortable in Pennsylvania and there in England, and far from any spirit of rebellion, sought in some way to bolster John Hughes' resolve by writing to him and attempting to motivate him to stand fast against the crowds, the sons of liberty. And here is what Mr. Franklin wrote to Mr. Hughes. Now, folks, if you want to know what Mr. Franklin was truly about, and not some BS about, oh, we created a republic if you can keep it, here is the true Ben Franklin in his own words, and I quote, whatever may be the madness of the populace or their blind leaders, the favor of the colonial people must always be sacrificed in any clash with the authority of Great Britain, unquote. You folks able to relate to that thought about people and government today? Well, Hughes' response to Benjamin Franklin was most interesting, and I quote, I am at present much perplexed what course to steer, for as I have given you reason to expect I would endeavor to put the Stamp Act into proper execution, and you no doubt have informed the commissioners that I would, I cannot in point of honor go back on my word until something or other is done by the people to render it impossible for me to proceed. But perhaps when a mob is on foot, my life and interest may fall a sacrifice to an infatuated multitude, and I know of no way to prevent it but by absolutely declaring off as all the rest have done to the eastward. But as yet, I cannot prevail upon myself, notwithstanding the threats of some and the persuasions of others, to do an act that appears to me neither loyal nor reputable, unquote. The people opposing the Stamp Act in Pennsylvania were in a conundrum of sorts in the fact the commission for Hughes nor the stamp papers had yet arrived. So on September the 10th, the Pennsylvania Assembly voted 15 to 14 to send delegates to George Bryan, who was the father of Samuel, who we all know wrote anti-federalist papers under the name Sentinel. So Joseph Fox, John Morton, and John Dickinson, who would later author the Articles of Confederation, to the Inter-Colonial Stamp Act Congress, which had been called by the Massachusetts Assembly. But on September the 16th, the rabid opposition to the Stamp Act, led by Samuel Smith and John Lamb of the Sons of Liberty from New York, moved to destroy the home of John Hughes. The leader of the Philadelphia Tories, who was another close friend of Benjamin Franklin, none other than Mr. Joseph Galloway, was able to gather a force of seven to eight hundred people to guard the Hughes home. Confronted with this formidable resistance, the opponents of the Stamp Act settled for burning John Hughes in effigy instead of actually burning his home. But on October the 5th, the fateful day arrived with the delivery of John Hughes' Stampmaster Commission and his official Stamp Act papers. Those opposed to the Stamp Act met at the coffeehouse of printer William Bradford, and they began to beat drums and ring the bells of the churches throughout the entirety of the town. A crowd of significant size then gathered near the State House. The leader of the group at this stage was William Allen, Jr., the son of the colony's chief justice. The governor and the mayor were conspicuous in their absence, though one alderman, Quaker Benjamin Shoemaker, sought to deter the crowd to the best of his ability. Seven members of the group were chosen to demand the formal resignation of the commission held by John Hughes. Those seven, for those of you who might be interested, were William Richards, John Tillman, William Bradford, Archibald McCall, John Cox, Charles Thompson, and merchant Robert Morris. Now please remember, Mr. Morris, this is going to get really in-depth about Mr. Robert Morris before it is done. So, as I should say, Robert Morris will play a significant role in the founding era as we continue in our expose here. Well, John Hughes stubbornly resisted the onslaught, even after learning crowds in both Virginia and Maryland had threatened to take his life should he attempt to escape to either colony. Finally, things began to settle down to a more peaceful tone when Hughes publicly agreed to not execute any powers of the Stamp Act until and unless it was executed in all of the neighboring colonies. This did not stop Hughes from verbally assaulting the governor for refusing to protect him and for not enforcing provisions of the Stamp Act himself. Hughes would also verbally assail those he called the Presbyterians as rebels who were as versed to kings as they were in the days of Cromwell, and he ridiculed them for their continuing phrase, no king but King Jesus. Now, I have in my possession the letters from John Hughes to Benjamin Franklin with dates listed reference the events that I have mentioned before. And just to give you a few examples, September the 12th, our clamors run very high and I am told my house shall be pulled down and the stamps burned, to which I give no other answer than that I will defend my house at the risk of my life. I must say that all the sensible Quakers behave prudently. Then on September 16th, in the evening common report threatens my house this night as there are bonfires and rejoicings for the change of ministry. The sober and sensible part of the people are doing everything towards being in readiness to suppress a mob if there should be any intention of rising. I, for my part, am well armed with firearms and determined to stand a siege. If I live till tomorrow morning I shall give you a farther account, but as it is now about eight o'clock I am on my guard and only write this between whiles as every noise or bustle of the people demands my attention. Then at nine o'clock several friends that patrol between my house and the coffee house come in just now and say the collection of rabble begins to decrease visibly in our streets and the appearance of danger seems a good deal less than it did prior. Then at twelve o'clock there are now several hundreds of our friends about in the streets ready to suppress any mob if it should attempt to rise and the rabble are dispersing. Then on September 17th in the morning when this was sent we are all yet in the land of the living and our properties safe. Thank God. So now folks we have discussed several of the northern colonies and what happened with them. So why don't we just, before we close out the session here, take a look at a couple of southern colonies and let's see how the Stamp Act madness of Patrick Henry pervaded the southern states. So being aware that the actual impetus for the Stamp Act revolt occurred there in Virginia and spread quickly to Boston, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania, natural curiosity should lead us to wonder how did the revolt progress in the colonies south of Virginia and actually within Virginia itself? In 1765 in America the south was considered to be Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. By November the 1st of 1765, the date of the Stamp Act was the date the Stamp Act was actually to take effect in the colonies. No stamp masters had been appointed in the Carolinas or in Georgia. Those who protested the Stamp Act in those colonies had to content themselves with hanging and burning nameless effigies. On November the 7th, George Angus, a native Englishman, was named as stamp master for the state of Georgia, but he had yet to set sail to Georgia to assume those duties. As such, the Stamp Act was not being enforced in Georgia either. In North Carolina, Henry McCulloch had been appointed to stamp master by the crown, but he had declined the appointment. The appointment then fell to Dr. William Houston, who set sail to North Carolina upon receipt of the appointment. But upon his arrival in Wilmington, North Carolina on November the 16th and being confronted with a large crowd headed by the mayor of Wilmington, Houston took the prudent course of action and simply resigned his position. The leader against the Stamp Act in the state of South Carolina was Charleston resident Christopher Gadsden, possibly more well-known for his flag of resistance than for many of the things that he actually did. Gadsden's sons of liberty in his home state consisted mostly of simple small business owners, merchants, and farmers. The crown's stamp master in South Carolina was Caleb Lloyd, who arrived in Charleston in October, just a few weeks prior to the Stamp Act enforcement date. Lloyd arrived with the stamp papers on the same ship Governor William Bull would complain to the newly arrived stamp master, which as I said was Mr. Lloyd, and his complaint was thus, and I quote, the minds of the men have been universally poisoned with the principles which are imbibed and propagated from Boston and Rhode Island, unquote. The following day Christopher Gadsden's forces erected gallows in the center of the town of Charleston, South Carolina, and there hanged the effigies of Lloyd with the effigy of the devil on one side and a boot on the other. A very prominent sign was placed on the gallows which stated, and I quote, whoever shall dare attempt to pull down these effigies had better be born with a stone about his neck and cast into the seas, unquote. Well that evening the Sons of Liberty, with a crowd of 2,000 supporters, took down the effigies and paraded them about the town of Charleston, depicting a funeral procession. They marched to the home of George Saxby, the newly minted stamp master for South Carolina and the Bahamas, who was en route to Charleston by ship at the time. Looking to destroy any stamped papers, the crowd searched Saxby's home, but they would discover that those dreaded papers had been stored at Fort Jackson. Later that night approximately 100 Sons of Liberty stormed Fort Jackson and destroyed every stamped paper there. The effigies were then burned and buried in a coffin bearing the moniker American Liberty. Afterwards many in the crowd continued to travel about the town searching for the homes of the people that they knew to be British sympathizers and also British officers, seeking to find and destroy any other stamped papers that might have been secreted in any of their homes. Caleb Lloyd and George Saxby sought refuge at Fort Jackson. Back in Charleston British officers were forced to endure the threats and the chants of the Sons of Liberty and their followers who chanted their beliefs in natural rights and utter disdain for anything pertaining to Britain. Having been threatened with imminent death on October 29th, both Saxby and Lloyd agreed to suspend any efforts toward enforcement of the Stamp Act until such time as the Crown decided whether or not to continue with efforts to enforce any provisions of that hated act. Well as for Maryland, the appointed stamp master for that colony, Zachariah Hood, safely he believed, harbored himself in a refuge in Flushing, New York, but he was paid a visit by some 300 Sons of Liberty from New York, all carrying signs declaring, Liberty, Property, No Stamps. Hood decided discretion was the better part of valor and immediately resigned. The Sons of Liberty of Baltimore were quick to pass along their thanks to their fellow sons in New York, claiming Hood had evaded the just resentment of his injured countrymen in Maryland. So, folks, by the date the provisions of the Stamp Act were to have taken effect, the Sons of Liberty and their supporters throughout the colonies had made astounding progress, for not one stamp master in the entirety of the colonies stood ready to enforce any of the provisions. All had either resigned or pledged not to attempt any support of that heinous act. Amazing, folks, what could be accomplished if the people stand united for liberty instead of being divided into the ridiculous lines of political party affiliation. But, indeed, that split is of government design and only benefits the government, never benefits the people. But yet the people continue to suffer under the despotism embraced by politicians and bureaucrats of all stripes, fully supported by statists and government sycophants. Well, folks, thus ends chapter three in thirty-five years of founding era history. I know one thing for sure, I was never taught most of what we have discussed to this point. So, folks, stay tuned, please, because very soon you will be hearing chapter four. God bless each and every one of you, and hope I will have you in attendance for chapter four.