July3, 1776: John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail Adams, “Yesterday the greatest question was decided which ever was debated in America, and a greater perhaps never was nor will be decided among men. A resolution was passed, without one dissenting Colony, ‘that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States….’ You will see, in a few days, a Declaration setting forth the causes which have impelled us to this mighty revolution, and the reasons which will justify it in the sight of God and man.”
New York did not dissent, but abstained from the vote.
Paul Herbert Smith, ed., Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774-1789: Vol. 4: May 16-August 14, 1776 (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1979), 359, 372 and 374.
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2 comments:
Brian,
Sometimes I have wondered if the Founding Fathers were fully aware of just how grand of an undertaking they embarked upon. This Adams letter indicates that they did understand just how important the things they were doing were to them and the future.
Their letters really indicate they had a sense of a momentous decision. Even John Dickinson's objections to a Declaration of Independence in July 1776 suggest a painful awareness of how important the historic occasion was. (Dickinson held in with the American effort, and later attended the Constitutional Convention.)
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