Traitors to the Crown: Part I

The men we revere as our Founding Fathers were, when you think about it, criminals. Traitors to, as the British saw it, God, King, and Country. Had the United States been unable to defeat Britain, George Washington would more likely have ended up drawn and quartered than on the quarter.


Who were these brave men who risked their lives to rebel against the most powerful nation in the world? And what became of them?



John Hancock. Mass. Age 39. President of the 2nd Continental Congress and the first signer of the Declaration. One of the wealthiest men in the colonies, he owned a shipping business. In 1768 the British seized his ship, Liberty, and charged him with smuggling, though the charges were dropped. He obtained a leave of absence from Congress in Oct 1777 and was elected to the House of Representatives. He was a generous man, and beloved by his constituents. In Jun 1778, he returned to the Continental Congress, but he was miserable. In his absence, Congress had elected a new president, he became estranged from Sam Adams, his former mentor, and he missed his wife and infant son. He signed the ill-fated Articles of Confederation before returning to Boston, where he led men into combat. It was a fiasco. However, people still loved him. In 1780 he was elected Governor of Massachusetts by a landslide (over 90%). He suffered from failing health, and died 08 Oct 1793, and the age of 56. Samuel Adams, serving as acting governor during Hancock's illness, declared the day of his funeral a state holiday, setting aside their previous political differences.


   

Josiah Bartlett. NH. Age 48. Physician. Bartlett was elected to the Colonial Assembly of New Hampshire, though as a Whig he was frequently clashing with Royal Governor John Wentworth. When the assembly was disbanded, he became head of the illegal Provincial Assembly. His house was burned down, probably by political rivals. Before Gov Wentworth was kicked out of New Hampshire, one of his final acts was to revoke Bartlett's right to political participation. Because he was initially the only delegate from New Hampshire, he served on every single committee at the 1st Continental Congress. He signed the Declaration, but left national politics soon after, citing exhaustion. However, he served as physician to soldiers in his state, even accompanying them into battle. He was on the drafting committee of the Articles of Confederation and was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, he was even chairman for a time. He was offered the office of Senator, but declined because he missed his family. He became Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, and died in 1795. (On a side note, he is also an ancestor of the fictional Pres. Bartlett, on The West Wing.) 


 
William Whipple. NH. Age 46. Whipple had no special education, and went to sea at a fairly young age. He then became a partner in his brother's merchant firm. He was a delegate to the 1st Continental Congress, and a Brigadier General who fought at Saratoga, and several other battles. After one battle, he freed his slave, Prince. He felt that he could not claim in good conscience to fight for liberty if he himself owned a slave. After the war, he became a circuit judge. However, he suffered from heart problems and died in 1785, when he lost consciousness while riding his horse.


 
Matthew Thornton. NH. Age 62. Born in Ireland, Thornton moved to America when he was three. His childhood home was attacked by Native Americans, but he and his parents escaped unharmed. He returned to Europe to study medicine at Leicester, and he used his skills in private practice and during the war. He did not arrive in Philadelphia for the Continental Congress until Nov 1776, so signed the Declaration then. After the war, he wrote political essays, served as a judge, and operated a ferry. He died in 1803, and his tombstone reads simply, "an honest man."


 
Samuel Adams. Mass. Age 54. An unsuccessful businessman, the colorful cousin of our second president had considerably more luck in politics. His parents, devout Puritans, had hoped that he would go into ministry. Sam, however, was more interested in politics. And it's lucky he was, because he managed to save his family's estate from seizure by the Crown. His father was one of the heads of a pro-citizenry land bank. When the politically well-connected Tories had the bank shut down, the bank officials became personally liable for the losses of their clients. Sam spent years in court fighting this decision, and this fight greatly shaped his views of the Crown. He made a couple of halfhearted forays into the world of business, but he was lousy at it. His heart was only in politics. He did work in his father's brewery for a time, and married his pastor's daughter. She died after only eight years of marriage, and only two of their six children survived infancy. He remarried six years later, but had no more children. His first political office was that of tax collector. Far too nice to be a tax collector, his superiors held him liable for all the taxes he failed to collect from his constituents. He only paid a fraction of it, and the city wrote the rest off as a loss. Sam emerged more popular than ever. He was one of the instigators of the Boston Tea Party, and was one of the most radical political minds of his day. When he was elected to the 1st Continental Congress, he was completely broke. His buddies felt sorry for him, and they bought him some new clothes and paid his travel expenses. When the British and Patriot forces clashed at Concord, the Tories were on a mission to destroy a Patriot munition stash and arrest rebel leaders Sam Adams and John Hancock. After the skirmish, British General Gage offered full pardon to any who would lay down their arms and cease rebellious action. The only two who would not be pardoned were Hancock and Adams, both of whom were to be hanged if captured, according to some contemporary sources. Adams was extremely anti-Loyalist and a staunch opponent of a strong central government. He retired from Congress in 1781, suffering from what was likely an essential tremor or Parkinson's disease. Though he exited the national stage, he remained active in state politics. He was President of the Senate and continued to clash with John Hancock, his former protege. He also began a system of free public education in Boston, even for girls, and campaigned against military elitism and theatres. He attended the Massachusetts convention to decide whether the state would ratify the new US Constitution. It was here that he and Hancock reconciled; though they both opposed a constitution with no Bill of Rights, they finally decided to support the adoption of the document. Even though John Adams was his cousin, Sam supported anti-Federalist Jefferson in the election of 1800. He died in 1803.


 
John Adams. Mass. Age 41. His parents wanted him to becomes a minister, but John decided that law was the proper course for him. Later in life, he actually renounced his Calvinist beliefs in predestination and eternal damnation of sinners. A talented writer, Adams hadn't the charisma and popular appeal of his cousin Sam. Instead, he worked behind the scenes. Certainly not a hypocrite, he defended the British soldiers accused of opening fire on a crowd of unarmed civilians during what came to be known as the Boston Massacre. He was on the committee that drafted the Declaration, though most of the document was written by Thomas Jefferson. Though a consummate diplomat, he refused to negotiate peace with the British if he would retain his British citizenship. He was on a list of Patriots that could not be pardoned. In 1778, he was appointed ambassador to France. While aboard the ship Boston, the ship was struck by lightning, injuring 19 and killing one. In 1783 he became the first minister to Great Britain. It was in Britain that he and Abigail converted to Unitarianism, and they became good friends with Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. He was George Washington's vice president, though Washington rarely consulted him. He mostly presided over the Senate. He was elected President in 1796, but lost to Thomas Jefferson in 1800, and is best remembered for the infamous Alien & Sedition Acts. The two men were bitter rivals, but became close friends after their 1812 reconciliation. Adams was quite depressed as he left office, and chose not to attend Jefferson's inauguration. However, much of that depression was due to the recent death of his son Charles (who died of alcoholism), and the fact that he had not seen his beloved wife Abigail in months. He spent his retirement farming, writing letters refuting claims made about his policies by Alexander Hamilton, and bickering with family friend and historian Mercy Otis Warren via letters. On 01 Jan 1812, Adams sent a nice note to Thomas Jefferson, as well as two volumes of political documents written by his son John Quincy. The two men became friends again, and they wrote each other 158 letters over the next 14.5 years, and thus had one of the most epic bromances in American history. They even died on the same day, 04 July 1826, exactly 50 years after the signing of the Declaration. Adams's last words were, "Thomas Jefferson still survives," unaware that his friend had passed earlier in the day.


 
Robert Treat Paine. Mass. Age 45. Robert Paine was a merchant, and traveled to the Carolinas, the Azores, and Spain. He also tried his hand at whaling in Greenland. After that, he studied law. When the French & Indian War broke out, he tried unsuccessfully to get a commission, so he volunteered as a chaplain instead. He argued against John Adams in 1770, in the trial of the British soldiers responsible for the Boston Massacre. He signed the last-ditch attempt at Peace, the Olive Branch Petition, but when that failed he signed the Declaration without hesitation. After the war, he continued to practice law, and prosecuted the leaders of Shays' Rebellion. He died in 1814.


Here's just one more reason America is the greatest: our Founding Fathers were so badass.


Happy Fourth of July, y'all! Have a great evening, don't catch anything on fire, eat good food, and think about why we're celebrating.


God Bless America,
Callie R.