Part 6

Among its first acts, the First Continental Congress sent a letter to General Gage; an address to the People of Great Britain; one to the People of Quebec; and a Petition to King George, setting forth the grievances of the American Colonists, the violations of their rights as free Englishmen, and asking for justice, but strongly urging a renewal of harmony and union between the Colonies and the Mother Country, England.

American histories tell how King George disregarded that Petition. American histories, also, tell how William Pitt and other great English statesmen, nobly defended America, as you may see if you read the story of William Pitt, on page 93.

WHAT A GLORIOUS MORNING!

When Paul Revere came galloping into Lexington, after warning the countryside that the British were coming to seize the powder and shot, he roused Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who were staying with friends.

Paul Revere was come to warn them also; for the British General Gage had given orders for their arrest, and intended to send them to England to be tried for high treason.

The British Government was specially afraid of John Hancock, one of the most daring and active of the Boston Patriots. “The terrible desperado,” he was called by that Government.

While he and Samuel Adams were escaping from Lexington and hurrying across some fields Samuel Adams exclaimed:--

“Oh, what a glorious morning is this!”

It was the morning of the Battle of Lexington, when the shot was fired that was heard round the world.

After the Second Continental Congress opened, John Hancock was chosen to preside, while the Congress discussed how to defend the Country.

JOHN TO SAMUEL

New England was in arms. Lexington and Concord had been fought, and Boston was being besieged by the New England Army.

The Congress was discussing the defense of the whole Country. There were some members who wished the Congress to take over the New England Army and appoint a Commander-in-Chief.

It was then that John Adams met his cousin Samuel Adams, in the State House yard. This is the way John Adams tells it:--

“‘What shall we do to get Congress to adopt our Army?’ said Samuel Adams to John Adams.

“‘I will tell you what I am determined to do,’ said John to Samuel. ‘I have taken pains enough to bring you to agree upon something; but you will not agree upon anything. And now I am determined to take my own way, let come what will come!’

“‘Well,’ said Samuel, ‘what is your scheme?’

“Said John to Samuel, ‘I will go to Congress this morning, and move that a day be appointed to take into consideration the adoption of the Army before Boston, the appointment of a General and officers; and I will nominate Washington for Commander-in-Chief!’”

A GENTLEMAN FROM VIRGINIA

So it happened, that John Adams rose in his seat, and moved that the Congress should adopt the Army of New England men, and appoint a Commander-in-Chief, adding, that he had in mind some one for that high command, “a gentleman from Virginia, who is among us, and very well known to all of us; a gentleman whose skill and experience as an officer, whose independent fortune, great talents and excellent universal character, would command the approbation of all America, and unite the cordial exertions of all the Colonies better than any other person in the Union.”

Every one knew whom John Adams meant. And George Washington, who was sitting near the door, was so overcome by modesty, that he sprang up and darted into the library close by.

But his modesty did not prevent his election. He was unanimously chosen Commander-in-Chief; while the army of New England men was adopted by Congress and named “the Continental Army.”

Later, when Washington’s appointment was announced in the Congress, he rose in his place, and said most earnestly:--

“Since the Congress desire, I will enter upon the momentous duty and exert every power I possess in their service and for the support of the glorious cause.

“But I beg it may be remembered by every gentleman in the room, that I this day declare, with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the command I am honoured with.”

But far-sighted John Adams was delighted. He was enthusiastic. “There is something charming to me in the conduct of Washington,” he wrote to a friend, “a gentleman of one of the first fortunes upon the continent, leaving his delicious retirement, his family and friends, sacrificing his ease, and hazarding all in the cause of his Country.

“His views are noble and disinterested. He declared, when he accepted the mighty trust, that he would lay before us an exact account of his expenses, and not accept a shilling pay.”

And to Abigail Adams, his wife, far off in Braintree, guarding her children from battle, and murder, and from sudden death, John Adams wrote:--

“I can now inform you, that the Congress have made choice of the modest and virtuous, the amiable, generous, and brave George Washington, Esquire, to be General of the American Army.”

He wrote thus joyously on the 17th day of June,--while on that very day, Abigail Adams and little John Quincy Adams were standing on a hilltop watching Charlestown burn and fall into ashes.

THE BOY WHO BECAME PRESIDENT

“My head is much too fickle, my thoughts are running after birds’ eggs, play, and trifles, till I get vexed with myself,” wrote little John Quincy Adams, nine years old, to his father John Adams.

Those were terrible times. Little John Quincy’s thoughts were running after other things besides birds’ eggs. He could hear the thunder of British cannon and the answering roar of American guns. There was fighting very near him. From a hilltop, he could see the battle raging. He knew that some of the American boys who were fighting, were from Braintree.

Sometime before, little John Quincy and his mother, Abigail Adams, had escaped from their home in Boston, and had taken refuge in Braintree, which was not far away. Now they were living in constant terror for fear the British should attack Braintree. His father, John Adams, was not there to protect him. He was attending the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

On the 17th of June, 1775, the British cannonading began in the direction of Charlestown. John Quincy and his mother climbed the hill, and watched the battle. With terror-stricken eyes, the boy saw Charlestown go up in flames and fall in ashes. And as for Abigail Adams, she trembled with fear lest the British should attack Braintree next; and then what would become of John Quincy and the other children?

So John Quincy and his mother watched the famous battle of Bunker Hill. And while they were listening to the cannon and the guns, their beloved friend, Dr. Joseph Warren, the noble Patriot who had joined the American forces as volunteer, fell mortally wounded.

And when the news of his death reached Braintree, John Quincy burst into tears, for Dr. Warren had been the family physician, and had once saved the boy from having a broken finger amputated.

And through those exciting times, John Quincy was a staunch boy-patriot. When he was only nine years old, he became his mother’s post-boy, riding to Boston and back, eleven or more miles each way, to get news for her.

And every morning before he climbed out of bed, he did as his mother had taught him. After he had said the Lord’s Prayer, he recited:--

_How sleep the Brave, who sink to rest, By all their Country’s wishes blest! When Spring, with dewy fingers cold, Returns to deck their hallowed mould, She there shall dress a sweeter sod, Than Fancy’s feet have ever trod._

_By Fairy hands their knell is rung, By forms unseen their dirge is sung, There Honour comes, a Pilgrim grey, To watch the turf that wraps their clay, And Freedom shall awhile repair To dwell a weeping Hermit there._[1]

Thus the boy-patriot did what he could. And when he grew up, he served his Country so well in many important matters, that he was called to her highest office, and became the sixth President of the United States.

HOW SHALL THE STARS BE PLACED?

On that great day, when the Congress of the United States adopted the Stars and Stripes as our National Flag, it resolved that the union should be Thirteen Stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.

And a new Constellation it was, Thirteen Stars of the Thirteen States united as one, a Constellation destined to shine on all the World--Liberty enlightening the World!

But how should the Stars be grouped upon the Flag?--that was the question.

John Adams suggested that they should be arranged in the form of the Constellation Lyra, the beautiful cluster of stars shining in our northern night.

But the new Constellation of American Stars could not be arranged thus to look well. So it was decided to place them in a circle, for a circle has no end. And it was hoped that as the Country grew larger, adding more States and a new Star for each State, that the circle would widen.

And it has widened and widened, until there is no longer any room for a circle on our Flag; but spangled like the sky at night, it has become the Star-Spangled Banner.

THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER

A mysterious foreign stranger suddenly appeared in New York City, after John Adams had retired from the presidency. He was handsome, with beaming hazel eyes and flashing white teeth. He was graceful, with courtly manners. He called himself George Martin.

But what his real name was, or what his mysterious purpose was, only a few people knew.

He was dined and toasted by New York officials. He went to the City of Washington on his secret mission. He was granted private interviews by the President and Secretary of State. He talked much about his friends Catherine the Great of Russia and William Pitt of England. He seemed to know the secret plots and political intrigues of Europe.

Then he vanished as mysteriously as he had come.

A few weeks later, John Adams heard the astounding news. The stranger was no other than the celebrated South American Patriot, Don Francisco de Miranda. He had sailed away secretly from New York in a little ship laden with arms and ammunition. And, what was worse, he had taken with him a band of young American men, some of them mere boys; and he was sailing toward the Spanish main with the intention of freeing South America from Spanish rule.

He had taken with him young William Steuben Smith, John Adams’s grandson. Young Smith was a college boy, very bright and courageous, and thirsty for adventure.

“What do you think were my sensations and reflections?” wrote John Adams to a friend. “I shudder to this moment, at the recollection of them! I saw the ruin of my only daughter and her good-hearted, enthusiastic husband, and had no other hope or wish or prayer than that the ship, with my grandson in it, might be sunk in a storm in the Gulf Stream!”

For young William Steuben Smith’s father was surveyor of the port of New York, and had allowed Miranda’s ship to clear with arms and ammunition in its hold, to be used against Spain with whom we were at peace.

Then came to John Adams the terrible news, that Spanish armed vessels had captured some of the American boys. His grandson had been captured, and thrown into a dungeon in a dark, filthy fortress in Venezuela. He was to be tried as a pirate taken on the high seas, and without doubt he would be hanged.

The Spanish Ambassador, who had known John Adams in Europe, hastened to offer his services. He would intercede with Spain for the grandson, he said.

“No,” said John Adams to a friend; “he should share the fate of his colleagues, comrades, and fellow-prisoners.”

But happily it was all a great mistake. Young Smith was not hanged as a pirate. He had not been captured at all. Instead, he was sailing gayly on in Miranda’s Mystery Ship. He had been made aid-de-camp and lieutenant-colonel, and had donned Miranda’s brilliant uniform.

For the story of what happened further to the Mystery Ship, see page 335.

HIS LAST TOAST

It was the last day of June, 1826. In five days, it would be the Fourth of July--the Fiftieth Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. John Adams had been one of the committee to frame the Declaration.

A neighbour was sitting with John Adams in his home in Quincy--that used to be Braintree. Ninety and one years old was John Adams!

The neighbour was to be orator at the annual banquet on the Fourth of July. He had called to ask John Adams to compose the toast.

“Independence for ever!” said John Adams.

But would he not wish to add something further to the toast, asked the neighbour.

“Not a word,” replied John Adams.

The Fourth of July dawned. The great Patriot lay dying. At the setting of the sun, those who stood beside him heard him whisper:--“Thomas Jefferson still lives!”

As the sun sank out of sight, a loud cheering came from the village. It was the shouts of the people at the words of his toast:--“Independence for ever!”

The cheering echoed through the room where John Adams was. But before its last sounds could die away, the great Patriot had passed into history and eternity--on the Fourth of July,--on the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence!

NOVEMBER 15

WILLIAM PITT, EARL OF CHATHAM DEFENDER OF AMERICA

_The Colonists are ... equally entitled with yourselves to all the natural rights of mankind, and the peculiar privileges of Englishmen._

WILLIAM PITT

_He at once breathed his own lofty spirit into the Country he served, as he communicated something of his own grandeur to the men who served him._

_“No man,” said a soldier of the time, “ever entered Mr. Pitt’s closet, who did not feel himself braver when he came out, than when he went in.”_

JOHN RICHARD GREEN

_He stands in the annals of Europe, “an illustrious and venerable name,” admired by countrymen and strangers, by all to whom loftiness of moral principle and greatness of talent are objects of regard._

THOMAS CARLYLE

William Pitt was born in England, November 15, 1708

Created Earl of Chatham, 1766

He died May 11, 1778

He was known “as the Great Commoner,” while in the House of Commons; as “Chatham,” after he entered the House of Lords; and as “the Elder Pitt,” to distinguish him from his son William Pitt, called “the Younger,” who likewise was a great statesman.

There are American towns and cities named in honour of William Pitt, our Defender; among them, Pittsburgh, Penn.; Chatham, N. Y.; and Pittsfield, Mass.

THIS TERRIBLE CORNET OF HORSE

In the hilt of Napoleon’s ceremonial sword, was set a huge diamond, one of the largest in the world. It had been brought from India by “Diamond Pitt” of England, who had sold it to the Regent of France.

“Diamond Pitt,” was Thomas Pitt. An adventurous young sailor, he had gone to India, and had started in business for himself as a trader.

The British East India Company claimed the monopoly of trade in India. When the bold young Englishman, without so much as “by your leave,” started an opposition business, the Company determined to crush him.

It set its powerful legal machinery to work. But it was one thing to try to crush Thomas Pitt, and quite another thing to do it. He fought desperately for his rights. Though he was arrested and fined he still kept on trading, in defiance of the Company. He battled so successfully and for so many years, that at last for its own protection, the Company was forced to take him into its service.

He rose to be Governor of Madras. He became known as “Diamond Pitt,” because he was always in search of large diamonds. Thus he procured the famous “Pitt Diamond,” which found its way into Napoleon’s sword.

With a part of the fortune which “Diamond Pitt” got from its sale, he bought an estate in England. Later he became a member of Parliament.

“Diamond Pitt’s” grandson, William Pitt, was not a strong boy. He spent much time with his books. He liked to read Shakespeare aloud to the family. He enjoyed reading the _Faëry Queen_, in which the Red Cross Knight, fearless of harm or evil thing, rides about rescuing the innocent and helpless.

Though he was not strong in body, William Pitt had an iron will. He had “Diamond Pitt’s” indomitable courage and the fighting qualities with which the sailor had matched his strength against that of the powerful East India Company.

William Pitt attended Oxford University. When he was twenty-three, he was commissioned Cornet of Horse in the King’s Blues.

The fearless Cornet of Horse was soon elected to the House of Commons. He started his political career in the House with a fiery, sarcastic speech supporting the Prince of Wales, who was at enmity with the King his father.

William Pitt was a born orator. He was tall, elegant, and graceful. His eyes were bright and piercing. He spoke with dignified gesture. And he delivered this speech with such strength, magnetism, and irony, that the Prime Minister exclaimed, “We must muzzle this terrible Cornet of Horse!”

To muzzle him, he tried, at first with promises of reward. But William Pitt was incorruptible. He would not sell his honour. Then influence was brought to bear, and the young Cornet of Horse was dismissed from the army.

But this very act, by which his enemies planned to muzzle William Pitt, brought him before the public eye. His fearlessness and remarkable oratory advanced him daily with both Parliament and People.

In time, William Pitt became a leading power, at first in the House of Commons, and afterward, when he was created Earl of Chatham, in the House of Lords. He served twice as Prime Minister of England; and he laid the solid foundations of the British Colonial Empire.

But more than all else, he was an Englishman defending the unalienable rights of all Englishmen. He steadfastly combated those political evils in the British Government, which, at that time, were threatening to undermine English Liberty as set down in the Magna Carta and safeguarded by the English Constitution.

THE CHARTER OF LIBERTY

_The Signing of the Magna Carta, 1215_

_O Thou, that sendest out the man To rule by land and sea, Strong mother of a Lion-line, Be proud of those strong sons of thine, Who wrenched their rights from thee!_

_What wonder if in noble heat, Those men thine arms withstood, Retaught the lesson thou hadst taught, And in thy spirit with thee fought fought-- Who sprang from English blood!_

ALFRED TENNYSON (_Condensed_)

Magna Carta! The Great Charter of the liberties of Englishmen!

At Runnimede, the freemen of England through the action of their Barons, forced King John to sign and seal the Magna Carta. His tyrannous power was torn from him. He was forced to pledge himself to violate no longer the rights and privileges of English freemen.

For, from times remote, human rights and liberties, protecting them from oppression by rulers, had been theirs by laws and by common consent.

About a hundred years after the signing of the Magna Carta, the great principle, that English freemen should not be taxed without representation, was established.

When King Charles the First broke his promises to respect the rights of his subjects, he was tried and executed. When King James the Second governed in despotic manner, exercising what he believed to be the “divine right of Kings,” he lost his throne.

What has this to do with America and William Pitt? Everything!

During the reigns of the Stuart Kings, large sections of America were explored and settled by English freemen, who came to America to escape persecution, and to enjoy English Liberty which at that time they could not possibly have had in England.

The Stuart Kings believed in “divine right,” which means that the King is the Lord’s annointed, and that neither Parliament nor People may question any of his acts; and that no matter how cruel or tyrannous a King may be, the People must submissively obey him.

The Magna Carta and the English Constitution protect the English People against this doctrine of “divine right.”

So, when during the reign of these Kings, men and women fled from England to find Liberty and refuge in America, they brought with them their ancient institutions, the rights and privileges guaranteed them under the Magna Carta.

There were other Englishmen equally courageous, equally liberty-loving, who came to seek their fortunes and build homes in the New World. They, too, brought with them their rights and privileges.

These English pioneers hewed their way through the savage wilderness. Many of them were massacred by Red Men, while their homes were burned; some of them were carried into captivity and tortured. Yet the great body of undaunted English settlers, resolutely kept on pushing their frontiers westward. They laid out farms and plantations, they built villages and towns, they founded churches and schools. They obtained charters from far away England, confirming their rights. And through God’s blessing they prospered, and became strong and rich.

Other liberty-loving folk, the Dutch, settled in great numbers in what is now New York and New Jersey; while many settlers from different parts of Europe, came to the New World to build homes for themselves and their children.

The very air of America breathed freedom. The magnitude of the country and the difficulties of pioneer-life helped to invigorate, expand, and make indomitable those ideals of English Liberty which the first settlers and frontiersmen had brought with them.

When King George the Third inherited the British Crown, he was unable to understand the free spirit of Englishmen. And he was far from realizing its tremendous growth in the New World.

He taxed the Americans without representation. He placed a standing army in the Colonies, without their consent. He blockaded the Port of Boston to force her to submit to his unjust laws. In some cases, trial by jury was abolished. These are some of his tyrannous violations of the rights and privileges of English freemen.

The People of America, in indignation, petitioned the King for redress.

There was no redress.

So the People of America rose in arms; and, in the true spirit of Magna Carta, they issued the Declaration of Independence.

Now, we shall see what William Pitt had to do with all this.

AMERICA’S DEFENDER

“_For the defence of Liberty, upon a general principle, upon a constitutional principle, it is a ground on which I stand firm, on which I dare meet any man._”

“_This Country had no right under Heaven to tax America! It is contrary to all the principles of justice and civil policy._”

“_If I were an American,” he exclaimed, “as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop was landed in my Country, I never would lay down my arms--never--never--never!_”

WILLIAM PITT, _Earl of Chatham_

It was natural that an English statesman who sincerely and firmly believed in the rights of all Englishmen, should become the defender of America. And her loyal friend and champion was William Pitt. By the weight of his eloquent speeches, he fought her battles in Parliament.

When the Stamp Act was passed, he was absent from his place in Parliament, because of illness. But later, he was present. Leaning on his crutch, for he was still very sick, he indignantly arraigned the British Ministry which had brought about the passage of the Act.

“When the resolution was taken in this House to tax America,” he said, “I was ill in bed. If I could have endured to have been carried in my bed, so great was the agitation of my mind for the consequences, I would have solicited some kind hand to have laid me down on this floor, to have borne my testimony against it!