No More Learning

,
voL ii, pp. 193-194; Brush's speech in N. Y. Gasetteer, Mch. 2, 1775.
"Worthy old Silver Locks," when he learned of the vote of the As-
sembly, "cried out--(Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in
peace. " A moderate's letter in Mass. Gas. & Post-Boy, Feb. 6, I77S-
It is to be noted that Colden was in charge of the New York govern-
ment at the three most trying times during the revolutionary move-
ment: the Stamp Act, the tea episode, and the period of the First
Continental Congress.
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? RATIFICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION
453
four weeks, as tardy members made their appearance, three
more attempts were made to commit the Assembly in the
matter, but all to no purpose. 1 These^efeats convinced the
radicals that they could hope for nothing from the Assem-
bly, and they proceeded to do all in their power to undo the
damage which the course of the Assembly had wrought the
causeQ
One spirited article, circulated in the newspapers, anal-
yzed the personnel of the New York government, and pur-
ported to show that most of the members of the Council
and Assembly either themselves had access to the public
crib through lucrative contracts or well-paid positions, or
else were related to those who did. 2 A report, originating
in London, was given publicity, to the effect that several
members of the majority in the Assembly had received
bribes of f 1000 for their votes, and that large land grants,
pensions and high offices were to be rewards for the leaders
of the majority. * It is possible that the radicals would
now have followed the example of Massachusetts. New
Hampshire and other provinces and sought an endorsement
of the Association at the hands of a provincial convention. 4
But much valuable time had been lost in the futile efforts
with the Assembly; and, furthermore, means had been
found of rendering the Association effectual without such
1 On Feb. 17, a motion to thank the New York delegates for their
services was lost, 15 to 9. On Feb. 21, a motion to thank the mer-
chants and inhabitants of the province for their adherence to the
Association was defeated, 15 to 10. On Feb. 23, a motion to appoint
delegates to the next Continental Congress was rejected, 17 to 9.
4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 1289-1297.
'Pa. Journ. , Feb. 22, 1775; also Conn. Cour. , Apr. 10.
1 The identity of the members was but thinly disguised in most in-
stances. Pa. Journ. , May 17, 1775.
4 A letter from the South Carolina General Committee, dated Men. 1,
1775, urged this course on New York. N. Y. Jount. , Apr. 6, 1775; also
4 Am. Arch. , vol. ii, pp. 1-3.
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? 454
THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
sanction. 1 When, therefore, the radicals reached the de-
cision of calling a provincial convention, it was only with a
view to the election of delegates to the impending Second
Continental Congress.
Fortunately for the administration of the Association,
the negative attitude of the Assembly and the absence of
committees of inspection in most of the rural parts were
iBatteri of nr> . pssential itnportanrf jSfpw VTM-1 rfry TMog
the entrppot of commerce for the entire province, as well as
for portions of Connecticut and New Jersey; and as long
as this portal was well guarded, no serious violations of the
Association could occur. The Committee of Sixty, sta-
tioned there, was clearly of radical complexion; and its
successor, the Committee of One Hundred, elected upon the
receipt of the news of Lexington and Concord, was even
more largely so. On its roll were many members of the
old Sixty; and among the new members were such unmiti-
gated radicals as John Morin Scott, John Lamb, and Daniel
Dunscomb, long chairman of the Committee of Mechanics. "
1 Colden wrote to Dartmouth on May 3, 1775 that, from the time the
Assembly deviated from the general association of the colonies, "a
Design was evidently form'd in the other Colonies to drive the People
Here from acquiescing in the Measures of the Assembly, & to force
them into the General Plan of Association & Resistance. This Design
was heartily seconded by many among ourselves. Every species of
public and private Resentment was threatened to terrify the Inhabi-
tants of this Province if they continued Disunited from the others.
The certainty of looseing all the Debts due from the other Colonies,
which are very considerable, and every other Argument of private
Interest that could Influence the Merchants, or any one, was indus-
triously circulated. " Letter Books, vol. ii, p. 401.
1 After making a careful analysis of the new committee and its most
active members, Professor Becker concludes: "it is clear that the com-
mittee of One Hundred . . . was largely dominated by those who had
directed d1e Sixty, assisted by newly elected radicals; whatever it rep-
resented ostensibly, it was in fact the organ of that conservative-
radical combination which was destined to inaugurate the revolution
and achieve independence. " Op. cit. , pp. 197-199.
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? RATIFICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION
455
Unless some nearby harbors in -Npw Jprspy should furnish
opportunity for evasion, the province was pretty effectually
sealed. The people of Jersey, however, as we shall see,
were jffinjfply rnTpfnittpH tr> tfa^-Contingntal Association.
The movement for ratifying the Association in New
Jersey got under way early in December, 1774, when the
three precincts of Essex County observed the directions of
Article xi and appointed committees of observation. 1 The
movement spread rapidly, and the example of Essex County
in establishing committees of inspection in the local sub-
divisions was widely copied. By February 1, 1775. com-
mittees of observation and inspection had been appointed in
eight of the thirteen counties;2 and at least two other coun-
ties acted shortly after. 8 Every populous county, with the
possible exception of Salem, was now organized for the
enforcement of the Association. No public opposition of
any importance appeared against the establishment of com-
mittees. 4 With such a broad basis of popular support, it
was not surprising that the Assembly of the province voted
approval of the proceedings of Congress on January 24.
1775-5
1 Elizabeth, Newark and Acquackanonck. 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i. 1009-
1010, 1012-1013, 1028; N. Y. Gas. , Dec. 26, 1774.
* Other than Essex, these counties were in chronological order: Mon-
mouth, Gloucester, Somerset, Cumberland, Middlesex, Hunterdon, and
Morris. The italicization indicates the counties in which township
committees of inspection were organized. 4 Am. Arch. , vol. ii, p. 35;
Pa. Gas. , Dec. 21, 1774; N. Y. Gas. , Dec. 26; Pa. Packet, Jan. 19, I77S;
4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 1083-1084, 1163-1164, 1106.
* Burlington and Bergen; ibid. , vol. i, pp. 1235-1236; vol. ii, p. 579.
4 For two instances, however, vide ibid. , vol. i. p. 1165: vol. ii, pp.
130-131-
* An appearance of unanimity was given to this vote through the
skilful manipulation of "the Junto at Elizabeth Town," i. e. , William
Livingston, John DeHart and Ettas Boudinot. / N. J. Arch. , vol. x,
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? 456 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1778
The fact that Philadelphia had been the scene of the
transactions of the Continental Congress gave decided im-
petus to the movement for ratification of the Association
throughout Pennsylvania. In the city the chief source of
opposition was the group of \ygftlthy Quaker merchants,
who controlled the policy of the sect to which they be-
longed. Galloway, outwitted in his first attempt to play
politics on a continental scale, was seeking balm for his
wounded sensibilities in the company of congenial spirits
in the city and in New York; and he did not appear in
public denunciation of Congress until after the radicals had
firmly established their organization in Pennsylvania.
The existing Committee of Forty-Three at Philadelphia,
representing city and county, had never been entirely satis-
factory to the ultra-radicals; it had been accepted by them
simply as the best committee that could be obtained under
the circumstances then prevailing. Even before the Conti-
nental Congress had begun its sessions, appeals had ap-
peared in the press, emanating avowedly from the laboring
class, demanding the appointment of a new committee. 1
As the Continental Association pointed to the selection of
a new committee, the radicals at once made known their
opinion that separate committees should be chosen for the
city and for the county. Their purpose evidently was to
preclude the possibility of the city moderates dominating
the action of the county, as they had done to a certain de-
pp. 537, 575-577- The Quaker members of the Assembly made an
exception to "such parts [of the proceedings of Congress] as seem
to wear an appearance, or may have a tendency to force (if any such
there be) as inconsistent with their religious principles. " 4 Am. Arch. ,
vok i, p. 1124. It would appear, however, that this saving clause was
removed on Jan. 25. Vide ibid. , vol. i, p. 1287; 1 N. J. Arch. , vol.
x, p. 546.
1 "An Artisan" in Pa. Gos. . Aug. 31, 1774; "A Mechanic" in Pa.
Packet, Sept. 5.
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? RATIFICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION
457
gree in the election of the Forty-Three; but they tactfully
based their objections on the ground of convenience and
greater effectiveness of action. 1 They also demanded, in
curious contrast to their New York brethren, that the elec-
tion be held by ballot, for the reason, it would appear, that
the voters could thus be best protected from the "undue
influence" and "electioneering attempts" of the citizens
of wealth and position. 2
The Forty-Three had already sent out a call for a public
meeting on Saturday, November 12, 1774, to elect a joint
committee for city and county.
8 On Monday of that week,
a mass meeting, summoned without authority of the Forty-
Three, came together at the state house, and resolved by
unanimous vote that the election should be held in the sev-
eral wards by ballot of those who could vote for represen-
tatives in the Assembly, and that the city and its suburbs
should elect a committee of sixty separate from the county. 4
The plan adopted by this meeting, unauthorized though it
was, prevailed. Separate tickets of names for membership
in the city committee were made out by the two parties,
and these were printed and distributed for electioneering
purposes. On election day the list of sixty names submitted
by the radicals won by a great majority. 6 At the particular
request of the freeholders of two suburban districts, addi-
1 Pa. Gas. , Nov. 2, 1774; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 956-957.
1" Cassandra," a radical, in Pa. Gas. , Mcl1. 20, 1776.
* Ibid. , Nov. 2, 1774; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 956.
4 Ibid. , vol. i, pp. 965-967; also Pa. Gas. , Nov. 9, 1774.
* It is evident that only a small minority of all the citizens partici-
pated in the voting. 517 votes in all were cast in the city and the
Northern Liberties; and of these, 499 were for the radical ticket, with
very few exceptions to any one name. "Tiberius" in Pa. Ledger,
Mch. 16, 1776. Not one-sixth of the people voted, according to a
Philadelphia writer in the N. Y. Gasetteer, Feb. 23,
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? 458 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763. 1776
tional members were included in the committee, making the
total number sixty-six. 1
The radical character of the Sixty-Six is indicated by
the fact that, in the election of the two committees that in
turn succeeded to the functions of this committee, few alter-
ations were made in the personnel. The Sixty-Six in-
cluded only seventeen members of the old Forty-Three;
and these were, for the most part, men of the more radical
stamp, like Dickinson. Thomas Mifflin, Joseph Reed and
Charles Thomson. Thomas Wharton and the Reverend
Dr. Smith were dropped permanently from committee rolls.
Of the new men on the Sixty-Six, William Bradford, editor
of the radical Pennsylvania Journal, was the best known.
The others were, for the greater part, small tradesmen,
mechanics, and nobodies who had been active in popular
demonstrations in earlier years. It is not necessary to
accept literally the scornful comment of a contemporary
that "there are many of this Committee who could not
get credit for 2Os. ;" and it would be difficult, if not impos-
sible, to verify his further statement that one of the Sixty-
Six, "an avowed Republican, had lately met with some dis-
appointments . . . ; another had acquired his fortune partly
by an illicit trade last war, and partly by taking advantage
< >f a Resolve of the people here, not to deal with the Rhcde-
Islanders. after they had broke through the Non-Importa-
tion Agreement, by supplying them with Goods, when no
other Merchant would do it; another was an illiterate Mer-
chant; another too insignificant to notice, &c. " a
The counties of the province quickly emulated the ex-
1 The names of the original sixty and of the four members from
Southwark are in Pa. Gas. , Nov. 16, 1774; the names of the two from
Kensington are in ibid. , Nov. 23. 'Lincoln states that the committee
was composed of sixty-seven. Rev'y Movement in Pa. , p. 185.
1 -V. Y. Goeetteer, Feb. 23, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 1232.
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? RATIFICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION 459
ample of Philadelphia in preparing for the enforcement of
the Association. In Philadelphia County, committees were
first selected for each township; and at a meeting of these
committees on November 26 a general committee of forty
was named. 1 By the middle of February seven other
counties had chosen committees of inspection; 2 and the
committee of correspondence of another county had as-
sumed the function of executing the Association. 8 There
is no record of action in the case of the two sparsely settled
frontier counties of Northumberland and Westmoreland.
Ratification o^ the ^^tiruf1tal A^sr)fiation_was jasily
carried in r,he Pennsylvania Assemblv. That body had
held its first session while the Continental Congress was
still in session; and its first act had been to elect a successor
to Joseph Galloway, who had been speaker for so many
years. The second session began on December 5, and on
the tenth the proceedings of Congress were approved by a
unanimous vote. 4 Three days later. Galloway made his
first appearance in this Assembly. During the remainder
of the session and in the February session he proceeded
quietly and indefatigably to work up sentiment among the
members in opposition to the measures of Congress, and
he gained an increasingly large following. But he was
laboring against heavy odds; and the excitement, produced
by the acceleration of public events, contributed in defeat-
1 This committee contained three members of the old Committee of
Forty-Three. Pa. Gas. , Nov. 16, 30, 1774.
* In chronological order: Berks, Bucks, York, Chester, Northampton,
Cumberland and Lancaster. Vide 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, passim, and
contemporary newspapers. Galloway wrote from his country seat in
Bucks County: "A Committee has been appointed for this County by
a few warm People of neither Property or significance among us. "
Pa. Mag. , vol. xxi, p. 478.
5 Bedford; 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 1226-1227, 1229-1230.
4 Ibid. , vol. i, pp. 869, 1023; Lincoln, op. fit. , p. 185.
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? 460 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763. 1776
ing his efforts. 1 Meanwhile the Sixty-Six at Philadelphia,
feeling that the time had come for frankly discarding the
leadership of the Assembly, had called into being a second
provincial convention. When that body assembled on Jan-
uary 23, 1775, it immediately adopted a unanimous resolu-
tion endorsing the Continental Association and pledging
obedience to its provisions. 2
In general, the situation in Pennsylvania was extremely
favorable for a close observance of the Association. With
the only port of entry well guarded, the chief source of
danger lay in the course which the Quaker merchants might
choose to pursue.
There was nothing distinctive about the movement to
ratifvjJ3? _^? SQciation in the T~)plawar<> O"mn^j{<<; On No-
vember 28, 1774, a committee of inspection was chosen in
Newcastle County. Kent County followed this example on
December 7. Apparently no committee was chosen at this
early stage in Sussex County, where the preponderance of
Episcopalians made it more difficult for the radicals to
carry their objects. 8 At the first session of the House of
Assembly following the dissolution of the Continental Con-
gress, several unanimous resolves were passed on March
15, 1775, expressing high approval of the proceedings of
Congress. 4
Of the plantation group, the earliest action was taken by
1 For Galloway's account of the sharp politics of this unavailing
struggle, vide his letters to Governor Franklin, / N. J. Arch. , vol. x,
pp. 572-575, S79-S86; his A Reply to the Observations of Lieutenant
General Sir William Howe, etc. , pp. 127-128; and his letters to Ver-
planck, Pa. Mag. , vol. xxi, pp. 477-484.
1 Pa. Gas. , Dec. 28, 1774, Feb. 1, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. I, p. 1169.
? Adams, J. , Works (Adams), vol. x, pp. 81-82.
*N. Y. Gas. , Mch. 27, 1775; also J Am. Arch. , vol. ii, pp. 126-137.
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? RATIFICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION 461
Maryland. The counties in which Annapolis and Baltimore
were located took the lead; and by the end of November
committees had been chosen in six of the sixteen counties. 1
On the twenty-first of the month a provincial convention
had assembled at Annapolis, but because of the shortness
of the notice several counties were not represented. Before
adjourning, the convention voted unanimous approval of
the proceedings of Congress and recommended to the people
of Maryland an inviolable obedience to the Association.
The convention renewed its vote at a full meeting on De-
cember 8-1 2. 2 Under stimulus of these provincial meet-
ings, a committee of observation was chosen in St. Mary's
County, and several of the old committees were enlarged so
as to afford a broader representation. * In the counties that
failed to appoint committees, it would appear that the ex-
isting committees of correspondence took over the new
functions. The province proved to be adequately organ-
ized to execute the Association.
. In the neighboring province of Virginia, committees of
nh. <;erva. fion were f.