January 11, 1776

Whereas it appears to this Congress, that several evil disposed persons, in order to obstruct and defeat the efforts of the United Colonies, in the defence of their just rights, have attempted to depreviate the bills of credit emitted by the authority of this Congress,

Resolved, therefore, That if any person shall hereafter be so lost to all virtue and regard for his country as to 'refuse to receive said bills in payment,' or obstruct or discourage the currency or circulation thereof, and shall be duly convicted by the committee of the city, county, or district, or in case of appeal from their decision, by the assembly, convention, council or committee of safety of the colony where he shall reside, such person shall be deemed, published, and treated as an enemy of his country, and precluded from all trade or intercourse with the inhabitants of these colonies.

Worthington Chauncey Ford, ed., Journals of the Continental Congress 1774-1789: Vol 9: January 1-June 4, 1776(Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1906), page 49.

The resolution highlights the activism of local committees and provincial level committees and councils. In an article for The Daily Beast, historian T. H. Breen called these local committees "schools of revolution," tutoring thousands of ordinary Americans in self-government and participatory democracy. T. H. Breen, "The Secret Founding Fathers," The Daily Beast (3 July 2010), http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-07-03/the-real-founding-fathers-th-breen-on-the-american-revolution/#
(accessed 28 March 2011)