Independence by J. T.
- In Dr.
Joanne Freedman’s lecture, Independence, Freeman explains that The
Declaration of Independence was an expression of the American Mind.
Freeman argues that Independence was not the sole purpose of The
Declaration of Independence; the purpose was to disclose the charges
made against the king. Joanne explains that before The Declaration of
Independence, there was a lot of talk about the ideas of Independence,
from Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, to each individual colony writing
their own declaration of Independence. Freeman provided evidence of
events, from The Olive Branch Petition; which was asking the king for
reconciliation, to the Prohibitory Act. Dr. Joanne also provided quotes
from the American colonist about their opinions on separating from the
king, and their ideas to form a new government.
- The
purpose of Freeman’s lecture is to acknowledge that The Declaration of
Independence was not just about the rights of the colonist, and
independence was not a spur of the moment idea, it was talked about all
over the colonies, from the ordinary citizens of the colonies to the
continental congress. In Joanne’s lecture we heard the voice of the
American colonist, we also heard the voices of the inhabitants of the
colonies. Joanne quoted, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. Joanne did
express how the colonist felt in reaction to the king’s prohibitory act,
but the king’s voice was missing in this account. The voice of women
was missing, and the voice of slaves was missing.
- In class
we discussed, that the purpose of The Declaration of Independence was to
let other countries, like Spain and France know that the 13 colonies
were Independent from England. This document was also to draw charges
against the king, for mistreatment, and for misrepresentation. We also
discussed that the king had practically disowned the colonist. And
because England wasn’t governing them anymore, the colonies had to come
up with their own form of government, which resulted in writing The
Declaration of Independence. In class we also read over Thomas Paine’s
Common Sense, where we got an understanding of the first idea’s of
independence. Paine claimed that the king, and Britain were using and
mistreating the colonies. Paine argued, that the colonist should end
their ties with England and become their own Independent states.
- One of the
historical questions we addressed in class was, why slavery was left
out in The Declaration of Independence. When Jefferson had first drafted
The Declaration of Independence, he mentioned that slavery was the
king’s fault and made several charges blaming the king for slavery and
for attempting to free the slaves. In class we drew conclusions about
the south and how southerners didn’t want the mention of slaves to be in
the document. In class we discussed, how slaves were given freedom if
they ran away and survived the war fighting in the british army. In our
class discussion we talked about the accounts between Thomas Jefferson
and John Adams about writing the draft of The Declaration of
Independence. John Adams believed he was obnoxious and not as popular as
Jefferson. We discussed that because John Adams was from MA, the people
in the colonies wouldn’t appreciate him writing the document opposed to
Jefferson who was from Virginia and a better writer.
- A few
questions that still leave me pondering are, What was it like for the
soldiers fighting in the war, who knew they could lose everything? What
struggles did the ordinary people of the colonies go through during the
war, and What was it like for a slave to be enslaved during this time of
revolution and a fight for American Independence?