Journey to the American Founding
December 7 1773
The stories we’re seeing from the last half of 1772 and early 1773 are a mixture of change and continuity. Surrounding the mixture is an intensification of actions and decisions. The new and old twist together in revolving cycles. The pace is not what it once was—it has picked up speed.
Excerpts from: Americanism Redux: December 7, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1773
The tea party has already started. The first direct and forceful public action against the British East India Company’s tea occurred this week. It was in Charleston, South Carolina, the work of Club 45 and hundreds of other colonial rights supporters in the town. They compelled local tea distributors to resign from their official imperial appointments.
At the same time, Abigail Adams is thinking about the potential for civil war, which she regards as the “most dreadful” form of armed conflict. Blood is in the air.
TITLE: Americanism Redux: December 7, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1773
By Dr. Dan Miller
To know us better then is to know us more fully now. Welcome to Americanism Redux and my one-a-week stories of 250 years ago. For the all the stories thus far, Visit Historical Solutions, Dr Dan Miller’s website>
Reference: The Remnant Trust Collection
RT Item: #0052-0053 – “Cato’s Letters”, by John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon, published in 1724. The story of Cato the Younger reached a remarkable level of popularity in the British colonies by 1773. Abigail Adams and many other British colonists knew the story of Cato’s resistance against tyranny during the Roman Empire. They also knew the writings of Trenchard and Gordon, who used the story of Cato to express anti-monarchical ideas in the 1720s. The play “Cato” by Joseph Addison was the source of Nathan Hale’s famous last words of regretting that he had but one life to give in the
service of his country.
View The Remnant Trust “Wisdom of the Ages Athenaeum PDF for reference>
Journey to the American Founding
Welcome to Americanism Redux, a series by historian author, Dr. Dan Miller. He explores what Americanism meant 250 years ago and its significance for America today.
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