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041 - Chapter 31 - Part 2 · The American Revolution A Historical Overview Vol. 3

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  Speaker 1: Section forty one of History the Rius Propress and Termination
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  Speaker 1: of the American Revolution, Volume three by Mercy Otis Warren.
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  Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
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  Speaker 1: the public domain. For more information at volunteer, please visit
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox dot org. History of the Virus, Propers and Termination
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  Speaker 1: of the American Revolution, Volume three by Mercy Otuswaran, Chapter
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  Speaker 1: thirty one, Part two. The ignorance of this incendiary, interbulen
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  Speaker 1: set of people might lead them to justification of their
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  Speaker 1: own measures from a recurrence to transactions in some degree
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  Speaker 1: similar to the early opposition to British government footnote. Some
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  Speaker 1: of them, indeed were artful and shrewd, but most of
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  Speaker 1: them were deluded and persuaded to attempt by resistance to
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  Speaker 1: government to relieve themselves from debts which they could not
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  Speaker 1: pay and from the hand of tax gatherers who had
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  Speaker 1: just strained in some instances to the last article of
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  Speaker 1: their property and the footnote. They had neither the information
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  Speaker 1: nor the sagacity to discern the different grounds of complaint,
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  Speaker 1: nor could they make proper distinctions with regard to the
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  Speaker 1: oppressions complaint of unto the Crown of Britain and the
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  Speaker 1: temporary purtens they now felt, which are ever the concomitance
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  Speaker 1: and consequences of war. They knew that a successful opposition
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  Speaker 1: had been made to the authority of Britain while they
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  Speaker 1: were under the dominion of the King of England, but
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  Speaker 1: they were too ignorant to distinguish between an opposition to
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  Speaker 1: regal despotism and a resistance to a government recently established
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  Speaker 1: by themselves country meetings and conventions, and the opposition of
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  Speaker 1: the body of the people to submit to judiciary proceedings
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  Speaker 1: in direct violation of their charter and the stipulated indulgence
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  Speaker 1: which they had claimed in common with their fellow subjects
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  Speaker 1: in Great Britain. Wore a very different aspect from those
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  Speaker 1: of the clamorers into multuary proceedings of the Massachusetts insurgents.
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  Speaker 1: These were violating the constitutions that they were informing and
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  Speaker 1: endeavoring to prostrate all legal institutions before they were cemented
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  Speaker 1: on the strong basis of a firm and well established government.
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  Speaker 1: Those disturbances were for town truly alarming, and gave cause
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  Speaker 1: for serious apprehensions that civil convulsions might spread through the
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  Speaker 1: country within the short term of three or four years
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  Speaker 1: after independence had been established and peace restored to the
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  Speaker 1: United States of America. Under existing circumstances, the high handed
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  Speaker 1: and threatening proceedings of the insurgents were a very formidable aspect.
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  Speaker 1: They were, among them very many men, hardy, bold and veteran,
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  Speaker 1: or had been very serviceable in the field during the
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  Speaker 1: lay Revolutionary War. They had assembled in great numbers in
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  Speaker 1: various places and at different times, and seemed to bid
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  Speaker 1: defiance to all law, order and government. In the winter
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  Speaker 1: of one thousand, seven hundred and eighty six, several thousands
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  Speaker 1: of those disorderly persons armed in a body and appeared
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  Speaker 1: in the environs of Springfield. They chose for their leader
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  Speaker 1: a man who had been a subaltern officer in the
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  Speaker 1: Revolutionary War, threatened to march to Boston, and by compulsory measures,
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  Speaker 1: obliged the governor in General Assembly to retrust the grievances
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  Speaker 1: of the people, which they alleged were brought upon them
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  Speaker 1: by enormous taxation and other severities from their own government.
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  Speaker 1: They however, thought proper to send forward a petition instead
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  Speaker 1: of marching sword in hand to the Capitol. In the meantime,
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  Speaker 1: the exertions and the results of the legislative body, with
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  Speaker 1: the view of relieving the public with distresses, only increased
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  Speaker 1: the discontents of the people. They were much divided in
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  Speaker 1: opinion relative to the best modes of quieting the disturbances.
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  Speaker 1: Tender laws and subduary regulations were superficial expedients that, like
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  Speaker 1: paper money, eventually would increase rather than eradicate the evils
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  Speaker 1: complained of or the temper of the people. Of various
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  Speaker 1: descriptions and from various motives argued in approaching crisis that
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  Speaker 1: might produce convulsions to extensive calculation. In this situation of affairs,
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  Speaker 1: the governor was empowered by the legislature to order a
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  Speaker 1: military force to be in readiness to march under the
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  Speaker 1: command of General Lincoln. The temority of the insurgents had
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  Speaker 1: emboldened them to move forward in hostal array, which made
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  Speaker 1: it necessary to direct General Lincoln to give a chapter
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  Speaker 1: to their insolence and to restore peace in order to
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  Speaker 1: the state. But before the truth from the lower counties
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  Speaker 1: had collected at Worcester, great numbers of the insurgents had
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  Speaker 1: embodied and moved forward to Springfield with the design to
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  Speaker 1: attack the Continental arsenal. This was defended by General Shepherd,
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  Speaker 1: who took every precaution to prevent the shedding of blood.
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  Speaker 1: He expostulated with their leaders and warned them against the
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  Speaker 1: fatal consequences of perseverance in their rebellious and hostile proceedings.
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  Speaker 1: They all, ever, neglected the warning and rushed on in
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  Speaker 1: the face of danger. This obliged General Shepherd to fire
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  Speaker 1: upon them, which so disconcerted them that they immediately retreated.
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  Speaker 1: General Lincoln reached Springfield about the same time, which entirely
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  Speaker 1: defeated this project. The field was left with dismay, and
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  Speaker 1: with the loss only of two or three of their party.
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  Speaker 1: The next movement of any importance was there again, collecting
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  Speaker 1: from all quarters and taking a position on the heights
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  Speaker 1: of General Lincoln, unwilling to see his countrymen involved in
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  Speaker 1: a war among themselves, passed on to Hadley without proceeding
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  Speaker 1: to extremities. There he received letters from some of the
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  Speaker 1: leaders of the insurgent parties, and with his usual wildness
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  Speaker 1: and humanity, endeavored to persuade them to quit their hostile parade,
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  Speaker 1: and by their peaceable demeanor, to render themselves worthy of
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  Speaker 1: the lenity of government, which was ready on their return
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  Speaker 1: to proper submission to extend to General pardon and throw
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  Speaker 1: a vail of oblivion over past transactions. But there appeared
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  Speaker 1: no signs of repentance or of a relinquishment of are
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  Speaker 1: atrocious projects. And though without system or any determinate object,
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  Speaker 1: and without men of talents to direct or even to
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  Speaker 1: countenance their disorderly conduct in any state of the business,
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  Speaker 1: they soon moved from powerment A strong body entered and
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  Speaker 1: halted in the time of Petersham. General Lincoln heard of
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  Speaker 1: the decampment of Jays and his followers from Pelham at
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  Speaker 1: twelve o'clock and had certain intelligence by the hour of
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  Speaker 1: six that they had moved on to Petersham. Convinced of
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  Speaker 1: the necessity of a quick bark, he ordered his troops
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  Speaker 1: to be ready at a moment's warning. By eight o'clock
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  Speaker 1: they began their route. Notwithstanding the intrepidity of General Lincoln,
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  Speaker 1: when immediate hazard required enterprise, he would not have exposed
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  Speaker 1: his troops to a march of thirty miles and one
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  Speaker 1: of the superiort nights of remarkably severe winter, had not
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  Speaker 1: the entrance of the evening been violent in serene, the
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  Speaker 1: sky unclouded, and the moon in full splendor. They began
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  Speaker 1: their march into the promise of a more easy termination.
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  Speaker 1: But after a few hours the wind rose, the clouds
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  Speaker 1: gathered blackness, and the cloud was so intense that it
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  Speaker 1: was scarcely supportable by the hardiest of his follow Nothing
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  Speaker 1: but the quickness of their motion prevented many of his
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  Speaker 1: men from falling victims to the severity of the season.
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  Speaker 1: The difficulty of their march was increased by a deep
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  Speaker 1: snow that had previously fallen and lay so uncemented that
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  Speaker 1: the gust drove it in the bases of the army
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  Speaker 1: with the violence of a rapid snow storm. They however,
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  Speaker 1: reached Petersham before nine o'clock the next morning, but so
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  Speaker 1: miserably fatigued and frost pitten that few of them were
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  Speaker 1: fit for service, and had not a general panic seized.
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  Speaker 1: The insurgents on the first alarment approached the government troops.
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  Speaker 1: They might have met them with great slaughter, if not
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  Speaker 1: with total defeat. But though in warm quarters well supplied
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  Speaker 1: with arms and provisions, they left there atvantageous post with
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  Speaker 1: the greatest recipitation, and fled in all directions. General Lincoln
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  Speaker 1: was not in a capacity for immediate pursuit, it was
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  Speaker 1: necessary to halt and refrain she men. Besides, his known
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  Speaker 1: humanity was such that he might be willing they should
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  Speaker 1: scatter and disappear without being pushed to submission by the
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  Speaker 1: point of the sword. The insurgents never again appeared in
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  Speaker 1: a collective body, but spread themselves over the several parts
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  Speaker 1: of the western counties and even into the neighboring states, plundering, harassing,
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  Speaker 1: and terrified the inhabitants, and never seemed the seeds of
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  Speaker 1: discontent and edition it had before been scattered amongst them.
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  Speaker 1: It was not long before General Lincoln pursued and captured
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  Speaker 1: many of them, who implored and experienced the clemency of
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  Speaker 1: the commander, and only a few were taken into custody
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  Speaker 1: for future trial. Thus, those internal commotions which had threatened
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  Speaker 1: a general convulsion were so far quelled that most of
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  Speaker 1: the troops returned to Boston early in the spring. Before
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  Speaker 1: his return, General Lincoln marched to the borders of the
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  Speaker 1: state and found many in the counties of Hampshire and
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  Speaker 1: Berkshire ready to take the oath of allegiance with all
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  Speaker 1: the marks of contrition for their late guilty conduct. Commissioners
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  Speaker 1: were afterwards sent forward with powers to pardon after the
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  Speaker 1: inquiry into the present temper and conduct of individuals, to
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  Speaker 1: administer the oath of allegiance to the penitent, and to
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  Speaker 1: restore to the confidence of their country, all such as
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  Speaker 1: were not stigmatized by the urges and murderous conduct. Perhaps
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  Speaker 1: no man could affected with more firm misdecision and judgment
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  Speaker 1: than did Governor Baudoin through the turful period of two
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  Speaker 1: years of which presided in the Massachusetts. Yet, notwithstanding his
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  Speaker 1: conspicuous talents and the public and private virtues which adorned
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  Speaker 1: his character, the popular account felt strongly against him. On
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  Speaker 1: the approaching annual election, and Governor Hancock, who had once
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  Speaker 1: resigned the chair, was again reques was to to resume
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  Speaker 1: his former dignified station, and was walked forward and chosen
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  Speaker 1: with eclock and expectation. He did not, however, contravene the
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  Speaker 1: wise measures of his predecessor. He was equally vigilant acquired
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  Speaker 1: the perturbed spirits of the people and to restore general tranquility.
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  Speaker 1: This he did by coercive or lenient measures as circumstances required,
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  Speaker 1: and by his disintereste conduct and masterly address. It was
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  Speaker 1: very influential in overcoming the remains of a factious and
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  Speaker 1: seditious spirit that had prevailed. Thus he did himself much
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  Speaker 1: honor and inquired the applause of his constituents. The governor
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  Speaker 1: was authorized by the legislature to keep and pay any
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  Speaker 1: number of troops that might be thought necessary to preserve
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  Speaker 1: the public peace. Eight hundred men were stationed on the
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  Speaker 1: western borders of the state, But before the summary lapsed,
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  Speaker 1: the insurgents was so generally subdued that the troops were
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  Speaker 1: called and dismissed. The governors of all the neighboring states
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  Speaker 1: had been requested not to receive or protect any of
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  Speaker 1: the guilty party, or had fled for security within their limits.
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  Speaker 1: These were all so sensibly impressed with the danger of
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  Speaker 1: disunion and anarchy which had threatened the whole, that they
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  Speaker 1: readily gave assurances of detection if any should fly to
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  Speaker 1: themselves with impunity by flying without the jurisdiction of their
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  Speaker 1: own government. Several of the most notorious offenders were secured
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  Speaker 1: and trialed by the Supreme Judicial Court and received sentence
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  Speaker 1: of death. But the compassion of the people, coinciding with
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  Speaker 1: the humane disposition of the governor induced him to grant
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  Speaker 1: reprised from time to time, and finally prevented the loss
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  Speaker 1: of life by the handles of ajustice in a single instance. Thus,
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  Speaker 1: by well timed lumnity and decided energy, as the exigencies
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  Speaker 1: of the moment required, was terminated in insurrection that, by
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  Speaker 1: its dangerous example, threatened the United States of the general
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  Speaker 1: rupture that might have been more fatal than foreign war
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  Speaker 1: to their freedom, virtue, and prosperity. But though the late
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  Speaker 1: disturbances were quelled, and the turbulent spirit which had been
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  Speaker 1: so alarming was subdued by a small military boors, yet
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  Speaker 1: it awakened all to a full view of the necessity
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  Speaker 1: of concert and union, and measures that might preserve their
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  Speaker 1: internal peace. This required the regulation of commerce on some
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  Speaker 1: stable principles, and some steps with the liquidation of both
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  Speaker 1: public and private debts. They also sought necessary to invest
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  Speaker 1: Congress with sufficient powers for the execution of their own
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  Speaker 1: laws for all general purposes relative to the union, and
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  Speaker 1: of Section forty one