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Bulletin 20: The Crisis: From the to the Articles of Confederation 1773–1777

This bulletin is devoted to four critical years of American history, from the Boston Tea Party in December 1773 to the adoption of the Articles of Confederation in December 1777—the crisis of the Revolution. The British colonies in progressed from civil unrest to open defiance, armed insurrection to open war, loose association to an organized Continental government, and finally independence and formal confederation.

To tell this story, this offering of 34 items is organized differently than typical rare book catalogues. The items are arranged chronologically, and a narrative text tells their story, enhanced with images and captions. Full individual descriptions, with the usual bibliographical references, details of condition, and explanations of rarity, are available on our website at williamreesecompany.com or from us on request.

We hope this narrative format will provide the reader with a sense of the context of these items, all interesting in themselves, but far more so when their place in the larger story of the is seen.

Planning the Original Tea Party: “. . . the detestable tea . . .”

1. BOSTON, DECEMBER 1, 1773. AT A MEETING OF THE PEOPLE OF BOSTON, AND THE NEIGHBOURING TOWNS . . . FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONSULTING, ADVISING AND DETERMINING UPON THE MOST PROPER AND EFFECTUAL METHOD TO PREVENT THE UNLOADING, RECEIVING OR VENDING THE DETESTABLE TEA SENT OUT BY THE EAST-INDIA COMPANY, PART OF WHICH BEING JUST ARRIVED IN THE HARBOUR [caption title]. [Boston. 1773]. On December 1, 1773 the people of Boston resolve not to allow the unloading or sale of tea two weeks before the Boston Tea Party. $48,000. n the summer of 1773 the situa- Ition in Great Britain’s American colo- nies was tense but stable. The various political disagreements that began with the Stamp Act (1765) and broke into civil conflict such as the New York Protests (1770) had been assuaged by some con- the Boston Port Act ciliation from Parliament, such as the repeal of most import duties (1770–71). 3. NEW-YORK. THE FOLLOWING Few thought of independence; most still DIALOGUE BEING CONCEIVED, sought to resolve their grievances within IN SOME MEASURE, the framework of the British Empire. CALCULATED TO ADVANCE THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM, On May 10, 1773, Parliament passed the IN THE PRESENT CRITICAL , giving the East India Company SITUATION OF AFFAIRS, a monopoly on tea sales in America, and IS FOR THAT PURPOSE the right to pass English import duties PRESENTED TO THE PUBLIC. on to the colonies. The colonies were [New York. 1774]. stunned; it not only raised the old ques- tion of taxation, but presented the specter On May 20, 1774 news of the of a government run monopoly gaining Boston Port Act closing that port, a foothold to control commerce. By the arrived in New York, rallying the late fall opposition to the Act was wide- colonists against Great Britain. spread, with threats leveled at shippers $17,500 and merchants who hoped to profit by it. In Boston the Committee of Correspon- dence began a vigorous campaign against tea importation in late October, and a town meeting of Nov. 29 resolved that no tea should be unloaded (item 1). This set the stage for the Boston Tea Party, on Dec. 16, 1773. The crisis had begun. Reaction in was angry and swift. The administration of Lord North was determined to teach Massachusetts and the other colonies a lesson. In the spring of 1774 Parliament passed a string of laws known as the Intolerable or Coercive Acts (item 2). The Boston Port Act of March 31 closed the port until the tea was paid for. The Massachusetts Government Act of May 1 revoked the colonial charter and in The : The Final Spark of the Revolution effect imposed martial law. The Adminis- tration of Justice Act of May 20 allowed While aimed at Boston, the Port Act aroused immediate 2. [A SET OF THE FIVE PARLIAMENTARY BILLS KNOWN AS THE “INTOLERABLE Americans to be taken to England for trial. outrage throughout the colonies. On May 20, 1774, a group The titles of items still available ACTS”; THE BOSTON PORT ACT, THE MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNMENT ACT, THE The Quartering Act of June 2 forced resi- of New Yorkers vigorously objected to the news (item 3). appear in blue. Click on these blue ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE ACT, THE QUARTERING ACT, AND THE QUEBEC dents to lodge British soldiers. Finally, the With Boston closed, merchants made for the nearest open links to view complete descriptions ACT]. London. 1774. of June 20 put the western port, Salem, where news of the second and third Acts of the items and additional images where applicable. Between March and June, 1774 the British government punished Massachusetts and lands under the control of Canada; this arrived June 3 (item 4). Both of these broadsides give imme- threatened the other colonies with the “Intolerable” Acts, designed to suppress dissent was a huge blow to land speculators like diate testimony to the anger and resolution they provoked and civil unrest. $35,000. . as the colonists learned of Parliament’s actions. Electing the Delegates to the First

5. ADVERTISEMENT. AT A GENERAL MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE OF MECHANICKS, AT THE HOUSE OF EDWARD BARDIN . . . THE NOMINATION OF THE COMMITTEE OF MERCHANTS, OF DELEGATES TO SERVE AT THE GENERAL CONGRESS. . . . [New York. 1774]. On July 6, 1774, New York joined other colonies in electing delegates to a Continental Congress to air grievances and decide on a mutual strategy. $6750.

News of Further Intolerable Acts Arrives in Massachusetts News of the Port Act alone was sufficient for calls throughout the colonies for a Continental Congress, an idea long discussed. Massa- 4. THE FOLLOWING EXTRAORDINARY BILLS, PENDING BEFORE THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT, chusetts elected its delegates June 17, and others in July and August. ARRIVED LAST NIGHT IN CAPT. WILLIAMSON, IN 36 DAYS FROM BRISTOL. BOSTON, JUNE 3, 1774 In New York, a struggle ensued between the merchant party and [caption title]. Salem. [1774]. the “Committee of Mechanics”. Here, on July 6 (item 5) the latter With the Port of Boston shut, the news of two further Intolerable Acts arrived in Salem, Massachusetts party lays out their slate of candidates for delegation. They were on June 3, 1774. $15,000. defeated in the voting the next day. The Royal American Magazine, with Plates, Minuteman Breck Parkman’s Copy

6. THE ROYAL AMERICAN MAGAZINE, OR UNIVERSAL REPOSITORY OF INSTRUCTION AND AMUSEMENT. Boston. 1774. Patriot printer Isaiah Thomas founded the only magazine in the colonies in January 1774. This complete set of monthly issues for 1774 is illustrated with Paul Revere plates and belonged to Lexington minuteman Breck Parkman, great-uncle of the famous historian. $50,000.

Colonies Unite: Journal of the First Continental Congress

7. JOURNAL OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONGRESS, HELD AT , SEPTEMBER 5, 1774. Philadelphia. 1774. The first Continental Congress met in Philadelphia from September 5 to October 26, 1774, bringing together leaders of all the American colonies for the first time. $35,000.

Meanwhile, the public prints were vocal about the issues of the silversmith Paul Revere, including portraits of such leaders as John The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia from Sep- “An Address to the People of Great Britain”. Far more importantly, day. In January 1774 the ambitious young printer Isaiah Thomas Hancock and . Thomas edited the first six issues, tember 5 to October 26 1774, and their Journal records their doings it brought most of the future leaders of the Revolution together founded the only magazine then published in the colonies, The but his political opinions made it expedient for him to move to (item 7). The Congress adopted a series of resolves against the in a single forum. The emblem on the titlepage, showing twelve Royal American Magazine (item 6). Issued monthly, it was lavishly Worcester in June, 1774, leaving Joseph Greenleaf as editor. Intolerable Acts and called for an Association for non-importation hands supporting a column topped by a Liberty Cap, demon- illustrated (for the time) with engravings primarily by patriot of British goods. They attempted to rally support in England with strated their unity. In the meantime, a pamphlet war of political A Remarkable Collection of Political Tracts Relating to the American Revolution, An Extraordinary Pro-American London Newspaper of 1775–76 Including Some of Great Rarity 9. THE CRISIS. NOS. I–XCI. London. 1775–1776. 8. [SAMMELBAND OF FOURTEEN TRACTS RELATING TO AFFAIRS IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, PLUS ANOTHER TRACT ON POST- This London newspaper, published from January 1775 to October 1776, came close to sedition in its support of the American cause and its attacks on King George and his ministers before it BRITISH TEA DUTIES]. [London. 1774–1780]. was suppressed by the government. $45,000. As troubles intensified, the war of political pamphlets supporting both sides escalated. This collection of 14, published between 1774 and 1780, were assembled by a member of Parliament, and are mostly anti-American. $35,000. There was, however, a strong pro-American party in Great Britain and Concord they addressed King George: “Sir, like that fell mon- opinion raged in both England and America (item 8). The collec- Taxation No Tyranny and John Dalrymple’s The Rights of Great who were strongly opposed to the actions of the administration. ster and infernal tyrant Charles I, you are determined to del- tion of individual pamphlets offered here, bound together at the Britain Asserted. One, Ambrose Serle’s Americans Against Liberty, One of the most vocal examples of this was the newspaper The uge the land with innocent blood.” One of the first English time by a member of Parliament for his own use, mainly repre- concludes that “the Rebel-Americans, in the wildest delusion and Crisis, which began in January, 1775, and continued for 91 numbers printings of the Declaration of Independence appeared here and sents the arguments of the Lord North administration against by the worst of means, are avowing themselves the open enemies until the fall of 1776 (item 9). Its editors hurled abuse at the Crown the paper continued until shut down by the British government. the American position. These include from Samuel Johnson’s of the Public and general liberty of the British Empire.” and ministers in language little short of sedition. After Lexington ’s Real Job while Writing , with Highly Important Plates and Maps, Including the View of the

10. [Paine, Thomas, editor]: THE MAGAZINE: OR, AMERICAN MONTHLY MUSEUM. MDCCLXXV. VOLUME 1. [JANUARY 1775 TO DECEMBER 1775]. Philadelphia. [1775]. The other magazine of the Revolution was edited by Thomas Paine, and was a major source of political argument and war news. $50,000.

Back in America, the second magazine of the Revolutionary period, The Pennsylvania Magazine, began publication in January of 1775 with Thomas Paine as editor item( 10). Amply illustrated with maps and plates, the present copy is a complete run for the The titles of items still available year 1775. In it Paine honed his political writing style while provid- appear in blue. Click on these blue The Speeches of Governor Johnstone and the Earl of Chatham in Parliament, ing readers with accounts of the ever-swifter flow of events. News- links to view complete descriptions supporting the American Colonies papers were the primary source of immediate news, and they often of the items and additional images resorted to extra issues or “postscripts” to present breaking stories. 11. [Johnstone, George]: POSTSCRIPT TO DUNLAP’S PENNSYLVANIA PACKET. APRIL 19, where applicable. John Dunlap, proprietor of the Pennsylvania Packet and later first 1775. [Philadelphia. 1775]. printer of the Declaration, did exactly that in his paper on April On April 19, 1775 printer John Dunlap issued this extra number to his newspaper, publishing 19, 1775 (item 11), publishing speeches made by two supporters of the famous speech in Parliament supporting the American cause by former Prime Minister America in Parliament, George Johnstone and the Earl of Cha- William Pitt, now the Earl of Chatham. $6000. tham, calling for conciliation instead of confrontation. A Few Weeks after Lexington and Concord, Connecticut Puts Itself on a War Footing

13. AT A GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE GOVERNOR AND COMPANY OF THE ENGLISH COLONY OF CONNECTICUT, IN NEW-ENGLAND IN AMERICA, HOLDEN AT HARTFORD, IN SAID COLONY, ON THE SECOND THURSDAY OF MAY . . . AN ACT FOR REGULATING AND ORDERING THE TROOPS THAT ARE, OR MAY BE RAISED, FOR THE DEFENCE OF THIS COLONY [caption title]. [New London. 1775]. On May 2, 1775 the legislature of Connecticut adopted rules and regulations for its militia, readying for war. $6000.

On the Day of Bunker Hill, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Raises Troops

14. EXTRACTS FROM THE VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE OF OBSERVATION FOR THE COUNTY OF LANCASTER. AT A MEETING . . . HELD AT THE COURT-HOUSE . . . ON THE 16th AND 17th DAYS The Primary Account of Lexington and Concord, OF JUNE 1775. . . . Lancaster, Pa. [1775]. a Seminal Document of the American Revolution On June 17, 1775, Lancaster, Pennsylvania called out its militia, 12. NARRATIVE OF THE EXCURSION AND RAVAGES OF THE KING’S TROOPS UNDER THE COMMAND OF GENERAL GAGE, organized it into companies, and began to take action against ON THE NINETEENTH OF APRIL, 1775. TOGETHER WITH THE DEPOSITIONS TAKEN BY ORDER OF CONGRESS, suspected Loyalists.

TO SUPPORT THE TRUTH OF IT. Worcester. [1775]. $22,500. April 19, 1775 was the day of the battles of Lexington and Isaiah Thomas in this pamphlet, one of the greatest rarities Concord, the military beginning of the Revolution. First-hand of Revolutionary books. $125,000. accounts of the fighting were gathered and quickly published by

Even as Dunlap’s extra hit the streets, on April 19, the crisis Excursion and Ravages of the King’s Troops by him with a week of Pennsylvania issued a broadside (item 14) both organizing mili- arrived. General Gage, seeking to destroy American caches of the event (item 12). Drawn from eyewitnesses, it is a major land- tias and taking steps against Loyalists, “those who, unmoved by arms and munitions, sent out a column of British troops toward mark in the written history of the Revolution and of the great- the calamities which threaten their country . . . shall ungener- Lexington and Concord. Confronted by militia, open warfare est rarity. Reaction ran like a shock wave through the colonies. ously refuse to comply with these Resolutions.” Everywhere in broke out, and the Revolution, in military terms, had begun. The On May 2, 1775, Connecticut passed a law to raise and orga- America militias assembled and troops paraded. first extensive account of Lexington-Concord was gathered by nize its militia (item 13). In mid-June, on the day of the Battle Isaiah Thomas in Worcester, and published asNarrative of the of Bunker Hill, the Committee of Correspondence in Lancaster, A Contemporary The Journals of the Second Description of the Battle Continental Congress in of Bunker Hill the Summer of 1775

15. BOSTON, 26th OF 16. JOURNAL OF THE JUNE, 1775. THIS TOWN PROCEEDINGS OF THE WAS ALARMED ON THE CONGRESS, HELD AT 17th INSTANT AT BREAK PHILADELPHIA, MAY 10, OF DAY, BY A FIRING 1775. Philadelphia. 1775. FROM THE LIVELY SHIP OF From May 10 to September WAR . . . [first line of text]. 5, 1775 the Second Boston. 1775. Continental Congress met A week after the Battle of in Philadelphia, appointing Bunker Hill, on June 26, George Washington 1775, a Loyalist printer in commander-in-chief and Boston issued this account making many other military of the battle, exaggerating preparations. $42,500. the Americans loss and minimizing that of the British. $25,000.

If there was a chance of stopping a war, it ended with the Battle In the meantime, the Second Continental Congress began meet- of Bunker Hill on June 17, the first pitched battle of the war, with ing in Philadelphia on May 10 and sat until September 5. Its doings extensive loss of life on both sides. A week later, on June 26, the were recorded in its Journal, published shortly thereafter (item 16). Loyalist printer John Howe published a broadside account of the This crucial session followed the day-by-day evolution of events; battle (item 15) that gave as much positive spin for the British as the appointment of Washington as commander-in-chief, the last possible. While emphasizing the uncontested bravery of the Eng- attempt at reconciliation with Britain in the , lish troops, it downplayed their considerable losses. and various steps moving toward creating a and The Declaration of Taking Up Arms, in the Philadelphia and London Editions

17. A DECLARATION BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED COLONIES OF NORTH-AMERICA, NOW MET IN GENERAL CONGRESS AT PHILADELPHIA. Philadelphia. 1775. [bound with:] THE DECLARATION BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED COLONIES OF NORTH AMERICA, NOW MET IN GENERAL CONGRESS AT PHILADELPHIA, SETTING FORTH THE CAUSES AND NECESSITY OF TAKING UP ARMS. . . . London. 1775. On July 6, 1775 the Congress made a Declaration for its reasons for military response, and also offered the olive Branch Petition, a last attempt at conciliation. This Philadelphia first edition is bound with the London edition of October, showing how it was presented in England. $20,000.

New York Arms for the Revolution, 1775

18. IN , NEW-YORK, AUGUST 8th, 1775. RESOLVED, THAT THE SEVERAL COMMITTEES AND SUB-COMMITTEES OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES WITHIN THIS COLONY, BE DIRECTED IMMEDIATELY TO PURCHASE OR HIRE ALL THE ARMS, WITH OR WITHOUT BAYONETS, THAT ARE FIT FOR PRESENT SERVICE (ON THE CREDIT OF THIS COLONY) AND TO DELIVER THEM TO THE RESPECTIVE COLONELS IN THIS COLONY government. Perhaps the most crucial of these, adopted on July the Olive Branch Petition, and probably published in London in EMPLOYED IN THE CONTINENTAL SERVICE, OR THEIR ORDER, FOR THE USE OF THE 6, was the Declaration . . . Setting Forth the Causes and Necessity October. The two documents were the final carrot and stick the CONTINENTAL ARMY. . . . [New York. 1775]. of Taking Up Arms. This was issued separately item( 17) before Congress could offer to the King. In the meantime, the individual the full Journals were published, in the late summer of 1775. Our colonies struggled to assemble armaments, as a New York procla- On August 8, 1775 the Second Provincial Congress in New York issued this call to assemble $12,500. copy is bound with the English edition, which is combined with mation of August 8 illustrates (item 18). arms and munitions for their militia. George III Declares War on his A Striking Mezzotint American Subjects: the Official Portrait of Charles Lee Beginning of the American 20. [Lee, Charles]: CHARLES LEE, ESQR. Revolution MAJOR GENERAL OF THE CONTINENTAL- 19. BY THE KING, ARMY IN AMERICA [caption title]. A PROCLAMATION, London. 1775. FOR SUPPRESSING REBELLION This portrait of General Charles Lee, the AND SEDITION [caption title]. second in command of the American army, London. 1775. was published in London in the fall of 1775, In late July and early August capitalizing on the interest in the events in news of Bunker Hill, the the colonies. $1500. Declaration Taking Up Arms, and the Olive Branch Petition arrived in England. George III refused to hear the petition, and on August 23, 1775 issued this proclamation, declaring the American colonies to be in open rebellion. $75,000.

The titles of items still available appear in blue. Click on these blue links to view complete descriptions The arrival in London in August of the news of Bunker Hill and the only hardened resistance. In London print makers capitalized on of the items and additional images Taking Up Arms Declaration negated any effect the Olive Branch the interest in American affairs by publishing portraits of the colo- where applicable. Petition might have had. The King refused to receive it. Instead, nial leaders. General Charles Lee, who had been an officer in the on August 23, he issued a Proclamation Suppressing Rebellion and but was now second in command of American forces, Sedition (item 19), declaring the colonies to be in open rebellion, was the subject of this mezzotint published in London on Oct. 25, and calling for its suppression and the bringing of traitors to jus- 1775 (item 20). tice. This put many of the American leaders outside the law and The Atlas of the Revolution

21. Jefferys, Thomas: THE AMERICAN ATLAS; OR, A GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE WHOLE CONTINENT OF AMERICA; WHEREIN ARE DELINEATED AT LARGE ITS SEVERAL REGIONS, COUNTRIES, STATES, AND ISLANDS; AND CHIEFLY THE BRITISH COLONIES. . . . London. 1775. The extensive atlas of the American colonies compiled by cartographer Thomas Jefferys became the main source of accurate maps for both sides of the American conflict. It was first issued in London in the fall of 1775. $165,000.

An Important Map of Boston in 1776

22. Beaurain, Jean Chevalier de (cartographer): Frentzel, Georg Friedrich Jonas (engraver): CARTE VON DEM HAFEN UND DER STADT BOSTON. Leipzig. 1776. Detailed maps of local areas were issued throughout the war, such as this map from the winter of 1776 depicting the by an American army commanded by Washington. $37,500.

The titles of items still available As the war heated up, good maps to understand the situation were appear in blue. Click on these blue essential. The most important of these was English cartographer links to view complete descriptions Thomas Jefferys’American Atlas (item 21), issued in late 1775. It of the items and additional images provided the best maps of the time of all of the American colonies, where applicable. and would be crucial to military operations on both sides. Equally important were maps of cities and military positions, such as the French cartographer Beaurain’s map of Boston (item 22), under siege by the American army under the command of Washington. An Extraordinary Collection The British Thrown Out of of 1776 Pamphlets, including Boston, with a Fine Woodcut Common Sense and Works 24. TWO FAVORITE SONGS, Reacting to It MADE ON THE EVACUATION 23. Paine, Thomas: COMMON OF THE TOWN OF BOSTON, SENSE; WITH THE WHOLE BY THE BRITISH TROOPS, ON APPENDIX: THE ADDRESS THE 17th OF MARCH, 1776. TO THE QUAKERS: ALSO, [Boston. 1776]. THE LARGE ADDITIONS, On March 17, 1776 the AND A DIALOGUE BETWEEN British evacuated Boston, THE GHOST OF GENERAL and the American side MONTGOMERY, JUST celebrated with this broadside ARRIVED FROM THE ELYSIAN songsheet mocking the enemy FIELDS; AND AN AMERICAN army. $17,500. DELEGATE IN A WOOD, NEAR PHILADELPHIA: ON THE GRAND SUBJECT OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCY. Philadelphia. 1776. The most influential political pamphlet of the Revolution, Common Sense, was published in January 1776. This “enlarged” edition, the first to have the final full text, was published in late February, and here is bound with other contemporary pamphlets supporting and attacking it. $60,000.

1776 brought the galvanizing publication of Thomas Paine’s contemporary binding. On March 17 the colonists had cause for famous Common Sense (item 23). The edition present here, “with celebration, when General Gage yielded to the choking American Large Additions,” issued in mid-February, is the first with siege of Boston and evacuated the city. Patriots celebrated with the complete final form of the text, and it is bound with other a broadside printing Two Favorite Songs . . . (item 24) mocking the Revolutionary pamphlets reacting to it, both pro and con, in a British retreat. Less than a month later, on the first anniversary The Extremely Rare Original Printing of the Congressional Journals for Early 1776: The “Cartridge Paper” Edition

26. THE JOURNALS OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF CONGRESS. HELD AT PHILADELPHIA, FROM JANUARY TO MAY, 1776. Philadelphia. 1776. In the first four months of 1776 the Continental Congress issued its Journals for its private use only. Much of the printing was later used as paper for The First Anniversary of Lexington cartridges, making this the rarest of early Congressional journals. They are and Concord, Narrated by an full of details of war preparation. $25,000. Eyewitness

25. Clark, Jonas: THE FATE OF BLOOD-THIRSTY OPPRESSORS, AND GOD’S TENDER CARE OF HIS DISTRESSED PEOPLE. A SERMON, PREACHED AT LEXINGTON, APRIL 19, 1776. TO COMMEMORATE THE MURDER, BLOOD-SHED, AND COMMENCEMENT OF HOSTILITIES, BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA . . . TO WHICH IS ADDED A BRIEF NARRATIVE OF THE PRINCIPAL TRANSACTIONS OF THAT DAY. Boston. 1776. On April 19, 1776, the anniversary of the battle of Lexington and Concord, the pastor of the Lexington church, Jonas Clark, delivered a sermon that was more a history of the events of the previous year and a history of his personal part in them. $9500.

Carrying Out the First Census

27. AN ACT FOR THE CARRYING INTO EXECUTION A RESOLVE OF THE AMERICAN CONGRESS, FOR ASCERTAINING THE NUMBER OF INHABITANTS IN THIS COLONY [caption title]. [Watertown, Ma. 1776]. The Continental Congress asked the colonies to conduct censuses to determine the number of able-bodied fighting men. In late spring 1776, Massachusetts passed a law to do so, but still indicated it was passed “in the reign of King George.” $9500.

of the Lexington and Concord battle, Lexington pastor Jonas The Continental Congress reassembled in Philadelphia in January, the rarest of the pre-Independence Congressional journals. The Clark castigated the British, and incidentally told his dramatic and now issued their Journals monthly for greater convenience separate colonies moved to comply with requests of the Congress, personal story of the day, in a sermon that was more a political (item 26). Their deliberations were now largely military. Most of such as a Massachusetts act of the spring of 1776 calling for a cen- address (item 25). the copies of the journals of this period were eventually used for sus of the inhabitants (item 27). The war was now a hot one in munitions, and they are often called the “Cartridge Paper” edition, all the colonies; on June 28 the British moved to seize Charleston, Open War Breaks Out in the South: The British Move to Seize Charleston

28. Faden, William: A PLAN OF THE ATTACK OF FORT SULIVAN [sic], NEAR CHARLES TOWN IN SOUTH CAROLINA. BY A SQUADRON OF HIS MAJESTY’S SHIPS, ON THE 28th JUNE 1776. WITH THE DISPOSITION OF THE KING’S LAND FORCES, AND THE ENCAMPMENTS AND ENTRENCHMENTS OF THE REBELS FROM THE DRAWINGS MADE ON THE SPOT. London. 1776. On June 28, 1776 open war began in the South, as British ships shelled Fort Sullivan at the mouth of Charleston harbor. This map by William Faden depicts the engagement. $15,000.

A Contemporary Cartoon of “One of the Obstinate Daughters of America” in 1776 South Carolina, an action recorded by the British mapmaker The final step to independence was taken of July 4, 1776 with the MISS CAROLINA SULIVAN , ONE OF THE OBSTINATE DAUGHTERS OF AMERICA 1776 William Faden (item 28). The defiance of the Southerners pro- Declaration of Independence. This was first published in broad- 29. [sic] . vided fuel for a British cartoon about the “obstinate daughters of side form, but later appeared in volume 2 of the newly collected [caption title] London. 1776. America,” featuring a towering coiffure full of cannons and forti- Journals of Congress (item 30). Volume 1 had reprinted the jour- The Fort Sullivan engagement led a British cartoonist to depict a young American woman with a fications item( 29). nals which first appeared separately items( 7, 16, and 26 in this fashionable hairdo of the day, fortified with cannons and military encampments. $4500. The Declaration of TThe First, Radical, Independence, in a copy Constitution of Pennsylvania owned by a Prominent 31. THE CONSTITUTION OF Member of the Lee Family THE COMMON-WEALTH OF 30. JOURNALS OF PENNSYLVANIA, AS ESTABLISHED BY CONGRESS, CONTAINING THE GENERAL CONVENTION ELECTED THE PROCEEDINGS IN THE FOR THAT PURPOSE, AND HELD AT YEAR 1776 . . . VOLUME II. PHILADELPHIA, JULY 15th, 1776, AND Philadelphia. 1777. CONTINUED BY ADJOURNMENTS TO SEPTEMBER 28, 1776. Philadelphia. On July 4, 1776 the Continental 1776. Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. On September 28, 1776 the Pennsylvania This is its first appearance in the Legislature adopted one of the first Journals of Congress, in a copy state constitutions, creating a broadly belonging to Lee, democratic government with single- the younger brother of famed year terms, a unicameral legislature, Revolutionary general “Light- and greatly widened suffrage. It was Horse Harry” Lee and uncle of considered by many to be dangerously Robert E. Lee. $25,000. radical. $65,000.

bulletin). Volume 2 covered the activities of Congress through (item 31), one of the most radical and democratic of any state. Mas- In Boston, the Loyalists who had remained during the siege the end of 1776, and includes the details of the establishment of sachusetts took longer to organize itself, but on May 5, 1777 the now had vengeance turned on them. One, Hopestill Capen, was the government of the new United States. The states themselves House of Representatives called for a constitutional convention imprisoned in August, 1776, and held for almost a year. In a broad- moved quickly to form their own new governments. Pennsylvania (item 33), the beginning of a process which would produce one of side statement (item 32) he puts forth his defense, that his loyalty was one of the first, adopting its Constitution on September 28 the most influential state constitutions. was founded on religious beliefs. In the end he fled to . Massachusetts Calls its First An Extraordinary Foundation Constitutional Convention Moment of Habeas Corpus in Revolutionary America 33. STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS-BAY. Capen, Hopestill: THE 32. IN THE HOUSE OF FOLLOWING WAS WRITTEN REPRESENTATIVES, MAY 5, WITH AN EXPECTATION THAT 1777. THAT THE HAPPINESS I SHOULD HAVE THE LIBERTY OF MANKIND DEPENDS TO LAY THE SAME BEFORE THE VERY MUCH ON THE FORM COURT OF ENQUIRY, BEFORE AND CONSTITUTION OF WHOM I WAS IMPEACHED AS GOVERNMENT THEY LIVE AN ENEMY TO MY COUNTRY, UNDER . . . WE DO RESOLVE, AND CAST INTO PRISON THAT IT BE, AND HEREBY IS [caption title]. Boston. 1776. RECOMMENDED TO THE Capen, a Boston merchant, SEVERAL TOWNS . . . refused to abandon his loyalty to TO SEND MEMBERS TO THE the King on religious grounds. GENERAL ASSEMBLY . . . He was imprisoned for over a TO FORM SUCH A year, from August 1776, and CONSTITUTION OF on December 16 wrote an GOVERNMENT, AS THEY impassioned plea for mercy on the SHALL JUDGE BEST back of the printed statement of CALCULATED TO PROMOTE his case. $20,000. THE HAPPINESS OF THIS STATE . . . [caption title]. [Boston. 1777]. On May 5, 1777 the Massachusetts legislature called a convention to establish a state constitution. Although not adopted until 1780, it proved a model for others, including the Federal Constitution. $5000.

His pathetic letter begging mercy illustrates that the abuses of the October, 1777. The final Articles of Confederation, one of the Revolution cut both ways. foundation documents of the United States, was finally agreed to on November 15, 1777 and first published in Lancaster. This was The Continental Congress began discussion of a binding docu- followed quickly thereafter by the Boston edition (item 34). It was ment of confederation in July, 1776, but the details of the military published almost exactly four years after the rallying cry against war, and later the British seizure of Philadelphia and the flight tea—the four years that contained the crisis of American liberty. of Congress to York, Pennsylvania delayed deliberations until The Articles of Confederation Binds a Nation Together

34. ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION AND BETWEEN THE STATES OF NEW- HAMPSHIRE, MASSACHUSETTS- BAY, RHODE-ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS, CONNECTICUT, NEW-YORK, NEW-JERSEY, PENNSYLVANIA, DELAWARE, MARYLAND, , NORTH-CAROLINA, SOUTH-CAROLINA AND GEORGIA. Lancaster, Printed; Boston, Reprinted. 1777. On November 15, 1777 the Continental Congress—now refugees from the British in York, Pennsylvania—agreed to the document that formally bound the former colonies together for the first time. Reprinted in Boston almost exactly four years after the Boston Tea Party, it brought to a conclusion the crisis of the Revolution. $75,000.

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