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John Hancock 3rd President of the Continental Congress United Colonies of America October 27, 1775 to July 1, 1776 1st President of Continental
Congress United States of America July 2, 1776 to October 29, 1777
"No Taxation Without Representation"
The phraseology
"Taxes … are imposed upon the people without their consent" is the best
one could hope for in the early rhetoric of the American Revolution. The "no
taxation without representation" slogan sounds good orally, but would be
completely out of character in writing of the period. This "No Taxation"
circular document is important not just for its content as it is signed by John
Hancock. President Hancock was the only "signer" to actually autograph
the Declaration in July of 1776 (the other members signed August 2nd,
1776). He was the President of Continental Congress and a key force in making
Independence a reality. While historians can argue whether John Adams, Samuel
Adams, or James Otis, was more important at the beginning of the revolution,
Hancock is without question valued more highly.
The issue of taxation
without representation was first raised by James Otis in 1764, but the only
documents of similar content are a few printed pamphlets from 1765 through 1768.
None of the documents are signed. This printed one sided Hancock document is
signed and only three others are known to exist. Most importantly, this
particular document had a demonstrable effect - it changed the world! In
response to the Boston Town meeting that issued this document, the governor
called for British reinforcements (noted in the third paragraph). Also as a
direct consequence of this document, the meeting called for here took place in
Faneuil Hall on September 23 to September 28, 1768, with 96 towns answering
Hancock’s call.
On the final day of the
meeting, warships arrived in Boston with the first British reinforcements, and
on October 1 two regiments arrived from Halifax, effectively beginning British
occupation of its own colony. British troops stayed in Boston until forced to
evacuate in March 1776.
This signed broadside can be read and studied in
Socratic detail. In one page this John Hancock document represents all the
issues leading to independence. Taxation, commercial differences between the
parent country and colonies in a mercantilist system, opposition to a standing
army in time of peace, the right to petition "expressly recognized at the
glorious Revolutions as the Birthright of an Englishman," dissolution of
American assemblies, anger at clumsy British Colonial Office threats, fear of
France, popular calls for conventions such as this (culminating in the
Continental Congress), local democracy, etc… Even the inconsistencies of the
patriots can be studies through this document. There is no more important
precursor to the Declaration of Independence in private hands today than this
John Hancock document
"Taxes equally detrimental to the Commercial
interests of the Parent Country and her Colonies, are imposed upon the People,
without their Consent…" Circular
Letter Signed "John Hancock," also signed "Joseph Jackson,"
"John Ruddock,""John Rowe," and "Samuel Pemberton" as
Selectmen of Boston, to the Selectmen of Petersham, one page; Boston, September
14, 1768.
CONTINENTAL CONGRESS "Officers of the Army are prohibited from holding
more office"
John Hancock 1st President of Continental
Congress United States of America July 2, 1776 to October 29, 1777
7th President of the United States
in Congress Assembled
November 23, 1785 to June 6, 1786
A Revolutionary War Letter Signed dated April 30, 1777
Philadelphia. By the spring of 1777 Fort
Ticonderoga, now in the hands of
the United States, had fallen in disrepair with only a handful of Continental
troops protecting the northern passage. When it became clear that the British,
under General Burgoyne, were marching to retake the fort, Congress quickly
ordered Major General Arthur St. Clair to command and defend Fort Ticonderoga. This crucial
Presidential Order is signed by John Hancock asPresident of the
Continental Congress, United States of America.
Articles of Confederation United Colonies of America
In the summer of 1775 Delegate Benjamin Franklin
realized the easily changeable resolutions and TheArticles of
Association that formed the Continental Congress needed to be restructured
to form a true “constitution” for the United Colonies. In July Franklin
presented his new plan for the colonies as the Articles of Confederation of
the United Colonies of America. The Continental Congress, upon a cursory
review of this important work, tabled the measure on July 21, 1775 only to
revisit the Articles in the spring of 1776 when the colonial leaders were in
full rebellion against Great Britain. This complete printing of Franklin’s
Articles is published in this January 1776 issue of The Gentlemen’s Magazine,
London England.
Henry Laurens 2nd President of the Continental Congress
United States of America
Served November 1, 1777 to December 9,
1778
Continental Congress Military promotion stating
"In Congress -- The Delegations of the United States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts-bay Rhode Island and Providence
Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia to ... "
which was commonly used before the Articles of
Confederation were ratifies. This Military order is signed by Henry Laurens
as President and Charles Thomson as Secretary of the Continental Congress
which was left undated and blank. The conducting of the war under the
un-ratified Articles of Confederation actually proved to be a blessing for the
new government. No President circumvented the ineffective Articles more then
Henry Laurens during those thorny days of the Revolutionary War. Military
Appointments and promotions were the responsibility of the Confederation
Congress but they were constantly on the move during Laurens Presidency due to
British battlefield successes which included capturing Independence Hall. To
expedite promotions and appointments President Laurens and Secretary
Thomson signed numerous blank appointments leaving them to be filled out by
the filed commanders.
John Jay 3rd President of the Continental Congress
United States of America December 10, 1778 to September 28, 1779
Exceptionally rare Revolutionary War autograph
letter signeddated Philadelphia April 2nd, 1779 as President
of Congress to Major General Benjamin Lincoln. In this letter of recommendation
Jay acknowledges he is not personally acquainted with Clarkson but is "so
well informed" of his character ".. as to believe you will always be
happy in leading a young soldier to glory, and to afford him that countenance
and protection which a brave and generous youth seldom fails to invite". He
adds that he will be obligated to Lincoln "by becoming his friend as well as
his general". Under General Lincoln, Clarkson participated in the siege of
Savannah, and in the defense of Charleston he served as a major of infantry. He
became a prisoner at Charleston’s surrender to the British. In 1781 as a
prisoner exchange he returned to his place as aide to General Lincoln, and was
with him at the reduction of Yorktown.
Samuel Huntington 1st President of
the United States in Congress Assembled March 1, 1781 to July 6, 1781
4th
President of the Continental Congress
United States of America September 28, 1779 to February 28, 1781
Letter Signed as President to Caesar
Rodney, dated November 13th, 1780 Philadelphia only 6 months after
Benjamin Lincoln surrendered to British Forces in Charleston, South Carolina.
During this dark period for the Continental Army the British, who controlled the
South, were making liberal use of papers and clearances that they took from this
great southern “prize.” In this letter a beleaguered President
Huntington urges Caesar Rodney of Delaware to support his resolution, adopted at
the urging of Minister of France, to deal with the problem of British Spies and
their disruption of US trade with France.
Samuel Huntington 1st President of
the United States in Congress Assembled March 1, 1781 to July 6, 1781
4th
President of the Continental Congress
United States of America September 28, 1779 to February 28, 1781
Partly-printed "United States of America in Congress
Assembled" Military Appointment signed "Saml: Huntington President"
as President dated February 24, 1781 in Philadelphia just four days before the
formal acceptance of the ratification of the Articles of Confederation by the
Continental Congress. This partly printed parchment
appoints Isaac Bronson"Surgeons Mate in Col. Sheldons Regiment of
Light Dragoons...." It is countersigned by Joseph Carleton as Secretary of
the Board of War.
Although the Military Appointment heading states:
The United States of America in Congress Assembledthe Perpetual Union of the
United States was not formed until March 1, 1781.
Maryland, the last holdout reported to Congress on February 12, 1781 that their
State had ratified the Articles on February 2, 1781. These partly printed
documents were most likely produced in anticipation of the formal acceptance of
the Articles on March 1. Note the
difference of this military appointment from the one signed by Henry Laurens in
1778 whose heading states "In Congress
-- The Delegations of the United States of
New Hampshire, Massachusetts-bay Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,
Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia,
North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia to ..."
Isaac Bronson went on to be one of New
York City’s most influential businessmen founding the New York and Ohio Life
Insurance Companies.
Articles of Confederation United States of America Ratified March 1, 1781
This is an official printing of The Journals
of the United States in Congress Assembled Published By Order Of Congress,
Volume VII New York: Printed by John Patterson in 1787. This 18th
Century Journal includes the full printing of the Articles of Confederation and
the installment of Samuel Huntington as President of the United States in
Congress Assembled. By virtue of the ratification of “The Perpetual Union”
the ever fluid Continental Congress ceased to exist and on March 2nd "The United States in Congress Assembled"
was placed at the head of each page of the Official Journal of Congress. The
United States of America, which was conceived on July 2, 1776, had finally been
born in 1781 under the watch of President Samuel Huntington.
On March 7th The Pennsylvania Gazette of
PHILADELPHIA reported of this event:
IN pursuance of an Act of the Legislature of
Maryland, intituled, "An Act to empower the Delegates of the State in Congress
to subscriber and ratify the Articles of Confederation," the Delegates of the
said State, on Thursday last, at twelve o, signed and ratified the Articles of
Confederation; by which act the Confederation of THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
was compleated, each and every of
the Thirteen States, from New Hampshire to
George, both included, having adopted and confirmed, and by their Delegates in
Congress ratified the same.
This happy even was immediately announced to the
public by the discharge of the artillery on land, and the cannon of the shipping
in the river Delaware.
At two his Excellency the President of the United
States in Congress received on this occasion the congratulations of the Hon. the
Minister Plenipotentiary of France, and of the Legislative and Executive Bodies of this State,
of the Civil and Military Officers, sundry strangers of distinction in town, and
of many of the principal inhabitants.
The evening was closed by an elegant exhibition
of fireworks. The Ariel frigate, commanded by the gallant John Paul Jones, fired
a feu de joye, and was beautifully decorated with a variety of streamers in the
day, and ornamented with a brilliant appearance of lights in the night.
Thus will the first of March, 1781, be a day
memorable in the annals of America, for the final ratification of the
Confederation and perpetual Union of the Thirteen States of America --- A Union,
begun by necessity, cemented by oppression and common danger, and now finally
consolidated into a perpetual confederacy of these new and rising States: And
thus the United States of America, having, amidst the calamities of a
destructive war, established a solid foundation of greatness, are growing up
into consequence among the nations, while their haughty enemy, Britain, with all
her boasted wealth and grandeur, instead of bringing them to her feet and
reducing them to unconditional submission, finds her hopes blasted, her power
crumbling to pieces, and the empire which, with overbearing insolence and
brutality she exercised on the ocean, divided among her insulted neighbours.
Thomas
McKean 2nd President of the United States in Congress Assembled July 10, 1781 to November 5, 1781
and
CHARLES THOMSON Secretary of the United
States in Congress Assembled
An October 19th, 1781 autograph letter
attested by Jos: Carleton the Secretary of the Board of War commending
Surgeon John Thomas, Esquire for serving with the 8th Massachusetts Regiment
since January 1, 1777 and ordering him to “… faithfully & diligently to
discharge the duty of Surgeon…”. The letter details Mr. Thomas’ duties
under the new United States in Congress Assembled. It is Signed Thomas McKean
president of the Congress of the United States of America at Philadelphia the
19th day of October 1781 and in the sixth year of our Independence.
Letters from the Presidency of Thomas McKean are
rare as his term lasted only four months. This letter is displayed with
Autographed Military Orders dated September 19, 1781 under McKean's Presidency
but signed by the Secretary of Congress. In this revolutionary war order
The Secretary of the United States in Congress Assembled, Charles Thomson,
instructs General Arthur St. Clair to round up his troops, who were protecting
Philadelphia, in preparation to join George Washington at Yorktown. Charles
Thomson was the only elected representative of all the people aside from the
early Presidents. He served as both the Secretary of the Continental Congress
and The United States in Congress Assembled from 1774 to 1789. He designed the
Great Seal of the United States.
By the United States in Congress Assembled
September 19, 1781
Ordered that Major General St. Clair cause the levies
of the Pennsylvania line now in Pennsylvania to rendezvous at or near
Philadelphia with all possible exposition.
18th Century Journal of the United
States in Congress Assembled dated September 16th, 1781 of a resolution
authorizing George Washington to negotiate terms of Peace with Great Britain a
month after his Victory at Yorktown signed John Hanson President of the United
States in Congress Assembled transcribed in full:
THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED.
To all people who shall see these presents, send greeting.
Whereas justice and humanity and the practice of civilized nations, require that
the calamities and asperities [SEAL] John Hanson Chas. Thomson, Secy. of war
should as far as possible be mitigated; and we being disposed for that
benevolent purpose to accede to a general cartel between the United States of
America and the British nation, for the exchange, subsistance and better
treatment of all prisoners of war: Now therefore know ye, that reposing high
confidence in the wisdom, prudence and integrity of our trusty and well beloved
George Washington, esq. our Commander in Chief of all our armies, raised and to
be raised for the defence of the United
States of America, we have authorised sad empowered, sad by these presents do
authorise and empower, our said Commander in Chief, for us and in our name, to
negotiate, accede to and establish, in the proper forms and with the usual
solemnities, such general cartel between the United States in Congress
assembled, and the king of Great Britain, for the exchange, subsistance and
better treatment of all prisoners of war, as well land as naval prisoners;
hereby giving and granting to our said Commander in Chief full power and
authority, ultimately and on all points, to adjust and conclude the principles,
terms and conditions of the said cartel, and in general to do and perform every
matter and thing which shall in any wise be necessary for the final and perfect
accomplishment thereof. And the better to enable our said Commander in Chief to
execute the trust reposed in him by these presents, we do hereby further
authorise sad empower him, from time to time, by commission under his hand and
seal, to nominate and constitute such and so many commissioners as he shall
judge necessary, to meet, treat, confer and agree with commissioners to be
appointed and competently authorised on the part of the king of Great Britain,
touching the terms, conditions and stipulations, for subsisting, better treating
and exchanging all prisoners of war as aforesaid, as well as for liquidating and
settling all accounts and claims whatsoever, respecting the maintenance and
subsistance of prisoners of war on either side. And we do hereby declare that
the engagements concluded upon by our said Commander in Chief in the premises,
being mutually interchanged with the party contracting on behalf of the crown
and nation of Great Britain, shall be binding and conclusive on the United
States of America.
In testimony whereof we have caused these our letters to be made patent, and the
great seal of the United States of America to be thereunto affixed. Witness his
Excellency John Hanson, President of the
United States in Congress assembled,
the 16th day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred
and eighty-two, and of our sovereignty and independence the seventh.
This is an
official printing of The Journals of the United States in Congress Assembled
Published By Order Of Congress, Volume VII New York: Printed by John Patterson
in 1787.
In July 1783, while President Boudinot
and Congress struggled with the treaty, massive debt, a corrupt court system and
a host of other ills, they were dealt a now unthinkable blow to the new
democracy. On a sizzling Sunday afternoon, soldiers from Lancaster, Pennsylvania
mutinied and marched for Philadelphia for the stated purpose of compelling
Congress to relinquish to their demands of back pay, food and desperately
needed supplies. Recruits from the barracks in Philadelphia reinforced the
mutineers; as they surrounded the Independence Hall where Congress was in
session, they numbered in excess of three hundred. Moreover, the Executive
Council of Pennsylvania’s State Government was meeting at the same very hall.
President
Boundinot called out the Pennsylvania militia but they failed to come to the
two-year old government’s rescue. The President of the United States, the
Unicameral Confederation Congress and Pennsylvania’s Executive Council, in the
midst of final negotiations with Great Britain for peace, were held captive in
Philadelphia’s famed Independence Hall. The mutineers demands were made in very
dictatorial tones, that
"…unless their
demand were com-plied with in twenty minutes, they would let in upon them the
injured soldiery, the consequences of which they were to abide."
Word was immediately sent to Major General Arthur
St. Clair requesting his presence. St. Clair rushed to the rescue and confronted
the mutineers. He reported the facts and demands to the Confederation Congress.
After lengthy debate Congress directed General St. Clair:
" ... to
endeavor to march the mutineers to their barracks, and to announce to them that
Congress would enter into no deliberation with them; that they must return to
Lancaster, and that there, and only there, they would be paid.'
Thanks
to Arthur St. Clair’s ability to reason with the men, President Boudinot and the
Congressional members passed through the files of the mutineers without being
molested. The committee, with Alexander Hamilton as chairman, waited on the
State Executive Council to insure the Government of the United States protection
when Congress was ready to convene the following day. Elias Boudinot, receiving
no pledge of protection by the Pennsylvania militia, advised an adjournment of
the United States in Congress Assembled on June 24th to Princeton, New Jersey.
President Elias Boudinot now in his home state of
New Jersey, and protected by their militia, wasted no time in dealing harshly
with the mutineers. On June 30th, the day after Congress's arrival in New
Jersey, a resolution was passed ordering General Howe to march fifteen hundred
troops to Philadelphia to disarm the mutineers and bring them to trial.
Before this force could reach
Philadelphia, General St. Clair and the Executive Council succeeded in quieting
the disturbance without bloodshed. The principal leaders were arrested,
obedience secured and a trial was set.
The Congressional resolution directing General Howe
to move with the troops against the mutineers affronted General St. Clair. St.
Clair regarded it as an attempt to supersede his command and undermine his
negotiations. Arthur St. Clair took it upon himself to write Congress a scathing
letter, which was answered by this very letter by Elias Boudinot, President of
the United States in Congress Assembled, from Princeton New Jersey:
Dear Sir,
I duly
recd your favor of yesterday but conceiving that you had mistaken the Resolution
of Congress, I showed it to Mr. Fitzsimmons and we have agreed not to present it
to Congress, till we hear again from you. Congress were so careful to interfere
one way or the other in the military etiquette, that we recommitted the
Resolution to have every thing struck out that should look towards any
determination as to the Command, and it was left so that the Commanding officer
be him who it might, was to carry the Resolution into Execution; and it can bear
no other Construction.
If
on the second reading you choose your Letter should be read in Congress, it
shall be done without delay …
Elias Boudinot, President
P. S., You may depend on Congress having been
perfectly satisfied with your conduct.
Boudinot undoubtedly trusted St. Clair’s judgment
and spared him the embarrassment of making his letter known to Congress. Peace
once again reigned. As a result of the mutiny the accused ringleaders were
sentenced to death, but were pardoned by Congress in September 1783.
Thomas
Mifflin
5th President of the United States
in Congress Assembled
November 3, 1783 to June 3, 1784
President Thomas Mifflin was also a
Revolutionary War General. He was accused of conspiring unsuccessfully with
Generals Horatio Gates and Thomas Conway to remove George Washington from his
office of Commander-and-Chief in 1777. In an ironic twist of fortune General
George Washington on December 23d, 1783, at a time when the people were calling
for him to be King, resigned his Commission as Commander-and-Chief to none other
then to President Thomas Mifflin the very man who conspired in 1777 to remove
him from this very office.
This promissory note “Borrowed 2nd August 1784 of …
Twenty-two pounds in Philefs to be accounted for on demand Thomas Mifflin”was executed in the year of his Presidency
demonstrating the sacrifices these Presidents made serving their country with no
salary compensation. Demands from Mifflin’s creditors finally forced him to
leave Philadelphia and he died in Lancaster in 1800 at 56. Pennsylvania
remunerated his burial expenses at Trinity Lutheran Church.
Richard
Henry Lee
6th President of the United States
in Congress Assembled
November 30, 1784 to November 23, 1785
This is a very unusual Revolutionary War Document
signed by Richard Henry Lee as
Colonel of the Westmoreland Militia approving payment for hours of two
Continental Soldiers who were patrolling the Potomac River in Virginia.
Westmoreland County D
to Hugh Luttrell and Richard Sandford for patroleing (sic) the year of 1780 as
following: Thursday Night April 20 … Tuesday Night August 8.
8th President of the United States
in Congress Assembled
June 1786 - November 13, 1786
Autograph Letter Signed on legal folio, Charles
Town, Nov. 5, 1772 to Philadelphia merchants John Reynell and Samuel Coates
writing that
“…by Capt. Hinkley I wrote you desiring you
to ship me 2 Tons Barr Iron which I take this opportunitiy to desire you to
alter & in the room of it to send six Tons pig Iron & if you cannot get pig Iron
then to send the Barr Iron as above mentioned…”
According to the Iron Act of 1750, iron
manufacture was prohibited in the colonies and all pig and bar iron was to be
shipped to Great Britain for finishing. Many Colonial merchants and
manufacturers skirted these laws and future President Gorham’s business was no
exception to circumventing these British Laws. While most of the arms used
during the American Revolution were of European manufacture, some of the
numerous New England iron furnaces did supply shot, shells and the occasional
cannon.
Arthur St. Clair 9th President of the United States in Congress Assembled February 2, 1787 to
October 29, 1787
Northwest Territory Governor & Revolutionary War Major General
A rare
document signed on partly printed parchment 12" x 7½" dated October 20th,
1787 New York. This Articles of Confederation Military Commission is for the
appointment of Jacob Kingsbury as Lieutenant in the Army of the United States
which, is boldly signed "Ar. St. Clair" as President of The
United States of America in Congress Assembled. The appointment is also
signed by "H(enry) Knox" as Secretary of War with an intact United States
War Department Seal.
Arthur
St. Clair's Congress passed two of the most important pieces of laws ever
enacted the Northwest Ordinance and the United States Constitution of 1787.
As recognition for his Herculean work as US President Arthur St. Clair was named
Governor of the Northwest Territory shortly after he executed this commission.
The
northwest ordinance
June 30th, 1787
The
Connecticut Courant – A full
printing of the Northwest Ordinance - HartfordJuly 30, 1787.
The Headlined
“An
ORDINACE for the GOVERNMENT of the TERRITORY of the UNITED STATES, North-Weft of
the RIVER OHIO”
In June, St. Clair decided to recycle Jefferson's Ordinance of 1784 as
the blueprint for national expansion to the West. This ordinance had failed
enactment for nearly three years. It was a combination of the dire need for
federal money and President Arthur St. Clair’s leadership that the Confederation
Congress, on July 13, 1787, passed one the most far-reaching acts in American
history, the Northwest Ordinance.
The world was now put on notice that the land north and west of
the
Ohio River and east of the
Mississippi would be settled and utilized for the creation of “… not less
than three nor more than five territories.”
Additionally, this plan for governing the Northwest Territory
included freedom of religion, right to trial by jury, the banishment of slavery,
and public education as asserted rights granted to the people in the territory.
This ordinance was and still remains one of the most important laws ever
enacted by the government of the United States.
Specifically, this ordinance was an
exceptional piece of legislation because Article 5 permitted the people
North and West of the Ohio River to settle their land, form their own
territorial government, and take their place as a full fledged state, equal to
the original 13. The Northwest Ordinance's Article 5 became the principle
that enabled the United States rapid westward expansion, which ended with the
inclusion of Alaska and Hawaii as our 49th and 50th states. This ordinance
guaranteed that inhabitants of the Territory would have the same rights and
privileges that citizens of the first thirteen States enjoyed. Equally
important Article 6 provided that slavery and involuntary servitude were
outlawed in the Northwest Territory. This was a law that finally gave some
merit to the Declaration of Independence's "... all men are created equal...”
The
Northwest Ordinance one of the great documents in American History. In the
words of Daniel Webster:
"We are accustomed to praise lawgivers of antiquity ... but I
doubt whether one single law of any lawgiver, ancient or modern, has produced
the effects of more distinct, marked, and lasting character than the Ordinance
of 1787"
The United Colonies 1st
government began in a Philadelphia Tavern
and the United States 1st federal government ended in a
NYC Tavern!
The Founders convened the government in 11 different capitol buildings and
experienced 15 years of challenges that
included war,
hyper-inflation, a failed
constitution, judicial corruption, armed citizen and U.S. Army rebellions.
Forgotten Founders Historic Documents and Coins of Freedom - By Stanley
L. Klos
Which U.S. President adopted
the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention
resolution, enacted the Northwest Ordinance, and backed George Washington,
James Madison and Nathaniel Gorham's resolution to submit the new U.S.
Constitution to the States for ratification without Congressional
alterations?
