Thomas Jefferson: Debate on Independence

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      During the debate on R.H. Lee's resolution for independence in June 1776, many of the old arguments for and against independence were restated. Thomas Jefferson recorded the views of both sides in notes that he made during the proceedings of the Continental Congress. These notes were later included in Jefferson's Autobiography.

      Friday, June 7, 1776. The delegates from Virginia moved, in obedience to instructions from their constituents, that the Congress should declare that these United Colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved; that measures should be immediately taken for procuring the assistance of foreign powers, and a confederation be formed to bind the colonies more closely together.

      The House being obliged to attend at that time to some other business, the proposition was referred to the next day, when the members were ordered to attend punctually at 10 o'clock.

      Saturday, June 8. They proceeded to take it into consideration and referred it to a committee of the whole, into which they immediately resolved themselves, and passed that day and Monday, the 10th, in debating on the subject.

      It was argued by Wilson, Robert R. Livingston, E. Rutledge, Dickinson, and others:

      That, though they were friends to the measures themselves and saw the impossibility that we should ever again be united with Great Britain, yet they were against adopting them at this time;

      That the conduct we had formerly observed was wise and proper now, of deferring to take any capital step till the voice of the people drove us into it;

      That they were our power, and without them our declarations could not be carried into effect;

      That the people of the middle colonies (Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, the Jerseys, and New York) were not yet ripe for bidding adieu to British connection, but that they were fast ripening and in a short time would join in the general voice of America;

      That the resolution entered into by this House on the 15th of May for suppressing the exercise of all powers derived from the Crown had shown, by the ferment into which it had thrown these middle colonies, that they had not yet accommodated their minds to a separation from the mother country;

      That some of them had expressly forbidden their delegates to consent to such a declaration, and others had given no instructions and, consequently, no powers to give such consent;

      That if the delegates of any particular colony had no power to declare such colony independent, certain they were the others could not declare it for them, the colonies being as yet perfectly independent of each other;

      That the Assembly of Pennsylvania was now sitting abovestairs, their convention would sit within a few days, the convention of New York was now sitting, and those of the Jerseys and Delaware counties would meet on the Monday following; and it was probable these bodies would take up the question of independence and would declare to their delegates the voice of their state;

      That if such a declaration should now be agreed to, these delegates must retire, and possibly their colonies might secede from the Union;

      That such a secession would weaken us more than could be compensated by any foreign alliance;

      That in the event of such a division, foreign powers would either refuse to join themselves to our fortunes, or, having us so much in their power as that desperate declaration would place us, they would insist on terms proportionably more hard and prejudicial;

      That we had little reason to expect an alliance with those to whom alone, as yet, we had cast our eyes;

      That France and Spain had reason to be jealous of that rising power which would one day certainly strip them of all their American possessions;

      That it was more likely they should form a connection with the British court, who, if they should find themselves unable otherwise to extricate themselves from their difficulties, would agree to a partition of our territories, restoring Canada to France and the Floridas to Spain, to accomplish for themselves a recovery of these colonies;

      That it would not be long before we should receive certain information of the disposition of the French court from the agent whom we had sent to Paris for that purpose;

      That if this disposition should be favorable, by waiting the event of the present campaign, which we all hoped would be successful, we should have reason to expect an alliance on better terms;

      That this would in fact work no delay of any effectual aid from such ally, as, from the advance of the season and distance of our situation, it was impossible we could receive any assistance during this campaign;

      That it was prudent to fix among ourselves the terms on which we should form alliance before we declared we would form one at all events;

      And that if these were agreed on and our Declaration of Independence ready by the time our ambassador should be prepared to sail, it would be as well as to go into that Declaration at this day.

      On the other side it was urged by J. Adams, Lee, Wythe, and others:

      That no gentleman had argued against the policy or the right of separation from Britain, nor had supposed it possible we should ever renew our connection; that they had only opposed its being now declared;

      That the question was not whether, by a Declaration of Independence, we should make ourselves what we are not, but whether we should declare a fact which already exists;

      That, as to the people or Parliament of England, we had always been independent of them, their restraints on our trade deriving efficacy from our acquiescence only and not from any rights they possessed of imposing them, and that so far our connection had been federal only and was now dissolved by the commencement of hostilities;

      That, as to the King, we had been bound to him by allegiance, but that this bond was now dissolved by his assent to the last act of Parliament, by which he declares us out of his protection, and by his levying war on us, a fact which had long ago proved us out of his protection, it being a certain position in law that allegiance and protection are reciprocal, the one ceasing when the other is withdrawn;

      That James II never declared the people of England out of his protection, yet his actions proved it and the Parliament declared it;

      No delegates then can be denied, or ever want, a power of declaring an existing truth;

      That the delegates from the Delaware counties having declared their constituents ready to join, there are only two colonies, Pennsylvania and Maryland, whose delegates are absolutely tied up, and that these had, by their instructions, only reserved a right of confirming or rejecting the measure;

      That the instructions from Pennsylvania might be accounted for from the times in which they were drawn, near a twelve-month ago, since which the face of affairs has totally changed;

      That within that time it had become apparent that Britain was determined to accept nothing less than a carte blanche, and that the King's answer to the lord mayor, alderman, and Common Council of London, which had come to hand four days ago, must have satisfied everyone of this point;

      That the people wait for us to lead the way;

      That they are in favor of the measure, though the instructions given by some of their representatives are not;

      That the voice of the representatives is not always consonant with the voice of the people, and that this is remarkably the case in these middle colonies;

      That the effect of the resolution of the 15th of May has proved this, which, raising the murmurs of some in the colonies of Pennsylvania and Maryland, called forth the opposing voice of the freer part of the people and proved them to be the majority, even in these colonies;

      That the backwardness of these two colonies might be ascribed partly to the influence of proprietary power and connections, and partly to their having not yet been attacked by the enemy;

      That these causes were not likely to be soon removed, as there seemed no probability that the enemy would make either of these the seat of this summer's war;

      That it would be vain to wait either weeks or months for perfect unanimity, since it was impossible that all men should ever become of one sentiment on any question;

      That the conduct of some colonies, from the beginning of this contest, had given reason to suspect it was their settled policy to keep in the rear of the Confederacy, that their particular prospect might be better even in the worst event;

      That, therefore, it was necessary for those colonies who had thrown themselves forward and hazarded all from the beginning to come forward now also, and put all again to their own hazard;

      That the history of the Dutch revolution, of whom three states only confederated at first, proved that a secession of some colonies would not be so dangerous as some apprehended;

      That a Declaration of Independence alone could render it consistent with European delicacy for European powers to treat with us, or even to receive an ambassador from us;

      That till this they would not receive our vessels into their ports, nor acknowledge the adjudications of our Courts of Admiralty to be legitimate in cases of capture of British vessels;

      That, though France and Spain may be jealous of our rising power, they must think it will be much more formidable with the addition of Great Britain, and will therefore see it their interest to prevent a coalition; but should they refuse, we shall be but where we are; whereas, without trying, we shall never know whether they will aid us or not;

      That the present campaign may be unsuccessful, and therefore we had better propose an alliance while our affairs wear a hopeful aspect;

      That to wait the event of this campaign will certainly work delay, because, during this summer, France may assist us effectually by cutting off those supplies of provisions from England and Ireland on which the enemy's armies here are to depend; or by setting in motion the great power they have collected in the West Indies, and calling our enemy to the defense of the possessions they have there;

      That it would be idle to lose time in settling the terms of alliance till we had first determined we would enter into alliance;

      That it is necessary to lose no time in opening a trade for our people, who will want clothes and will want money, too, for the payment of taxes;

      And that the only misfortune is that we did not enter into alliance with France six months sooner, as, besides opening her ports for the vent [sale] of our last year's produce, she might have marched an army into Germany and prevented the petty princes there from selling their unhappy subjects to subdue us.

      It appearing in the course of these debates that the colonies of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and South Carolina were not yet matured for falling from the parent stem, but that they were fast advancing to that state, it was thought most prudent to wait a while for them, and to postpone the final decision to July 1; but, that this might occasion as little delay as possible, a committee was appointed to prepare a Declaration of Independence. The committee were John Adams, Dr. Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert R. Livingston, and myself. Committees were also appointed at the same time to prepare a plan of confederation for the colonies, and to state the terms proper to be proposed for foreign alliance. The committee for drawing the Declaration of Independence desired me to do it. It was accordingly done, and, being approved by them, I reported it to the House on Friday, the 28th of June, when it was read and ordered to lie on the table.

      On Monday, the 1st of July, the House resolved itself into a committee of the whole and resumed the consideration of the original motion made by the delegates of Virginia, which, being again debated through the day, was carried in the affirmative by the votes of New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. South Carolina and Pennsylvania voted against it. Delaware had but two members present, and they were divided. The delegates from New York declared they were for it themselves, and were assured their constituents were for it, but that their instructions having been drawn near a twelvemonth before, when reconciliation was still the general object, they were enjoined by them to do nothing which should impede that object. They therefore thought themselves not justifiable in voting on either side and asked leave to withdraw from the question, which was given them. The committee rose and reported their resolution to the House.

      Mr. Edward Rutledge of South Carolina then requested the determination might be put off to the next day, as he believed his colleagues, though they disapproved of the resolution, would then join in it for the sake of unanimity. The ultimate question, whether the House would agree to the resolution of the committee, was accordingly postponed to the next day, when it was again moved and South Carolina concurred in voting for it. In the meantime, a third member had come post from the Delaware counties and turned the vote of that colony in favor of the resolution. Members of a different sentiment attending that morning from Pennsylvania also, her vote was changed, so that the whole twelve colonies who were authorized to vote at all gave their voices for it; and within a few days the convention of New York approved of it and thus supplied the void occasioned by the withdrawing of her delegates from the vote.

      Congress proceeded the same day to consider the Declaration of Independence, which had been reported and lain on the table the Friday preceding, and on Monday referred to a committee of the whole. The pusillanimous idea that we had friends in England worth keeping terms with still haunted the minds of many. For this reason, those passages which conveyed censures on the people of England were struck out, lest they should give them offense. The clause, too, reprobating the enslaving the inhabitants of Africa was struck out in complaisance to South Carolina and Georgia, who had never attempted to restrain the importation of slaves, and who, on the contrary, still wished to continue it. Our Northern brethren, also, I believe, felt a little tender under those censures; for though their people had very few slaves themselves, yet they had been pretty considerable carriers of them to others.

      The debates, having taken up the greater parts of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th days of July, were, on the evening of the last, closed. The Declaration was reported by the committee, agreed to by the House, and signed by every member present, except Mr. Dickinson.

Source: The Writings of Thomas Jefferson: Being his Autobiography, Correspondence, Reports, Messages, Addresses, and Other Writings, Official and Private, vol. 8, H.A. Washington, ed., 1871, pp. 12-26.

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