.png)
Events In The Year 1776
The year 1776 was a monumental year. Most people recognize 1776 as the year that America declared its independence. But as this article will share, 1776 was important for much more than just the year that the Declaration of Independence was signed.
On the timeline of history, there are years that are more important than others. Years such as 1776 and 2021 are examples of such years. As one studies history, it becomes apparent that there are years packed full of memorable world events, and there are other years that are not so easily remembered. There are years that represent the bookend of one era and the beginning of a new era and there are those stuck somewhere in the middle. The year 1776 happened to be one of these types of years where many memorable events took place, kicking off a new era in world history. And it is as if each event in a way, foreshadowed what was to come during the American Age.
The Declaration of Independence signaled that America and its colonies were entering a new age, the age where a new empire was going to begin to rise and where humans of various different demographics and ethnic groups would learn to live under one system of laws and government. As I mentioned, there were other events in 1776 that remain hidden in the shadow of American Independence, but before we examine these various other events, let's first look at the Declaration of Independence to understand exactly what it set out to accomplish.
The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence rightfully steals the show for the year 1776. The Declaration of Independence was and still is an important document that must be rightly understood for what it both immediately accomplished and set America on the path of striving to accomplish.
To understand what it accomplished, one must first understand what it said. Here are the first two paragraphs quoted in their entirety below.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.1
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.2
The authors of the Declaration of Independence went on to name a long list of the offenses of the King of Britain toward the colonies. Following that list of offenses, it concluded with this paragraph.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.3
The Declaration of Independence was a profound document and something we should all be familiar with. I would encourage Americans to read the list of offenses that the British King was accused of and you may realize that many similar things are happening in this current day. Today's offenses are not only related to money and taxes but I would argue money and taxes sit at the forefront. Here were the two complaints listed in the Declaration related to money.
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent4
When we reflect on the Declaration, the first paragraph is most important because it lays out the ideals that America was founded upon. I believe it can be summarized like this, "all men are created equal because there is a Creator, and the government receives its power from the consent of the governed."5 Why is this the paramount idea in the Declaration? That's because prior to forming their own government, the colonists were ruled by the British Crown or the British Constitutional Monarchy form of government. Furthermore, the upper house of the British legislative branch was known as the House of Lords which similar to the crown, was also handed down by lineage and/or status.
The idea that someone was allowed to rule over men for the simple fact that they were heirs to the throne, or held some special divinely appointed status was an idea that reached its expiration date in 1776. Many today rightfully claim that the founding of America represented the separation of church and state. Unfortunately, that phrase has been perverted by secular society to mean the total abolition of any organized religion or proselytizing in the public square. The problem is that humans are religious creatures for the simple fact that each one of us was created by God. And so although "total abolition of Christianity in the public square" may sound good to some in theory, it simply creates fertile ground for the replacement of the worship of the one, true God with any number of made up secular gods that lead to the worship of self. Even Bob Dylan knew "You Gotta Serve Somebody."
You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, oh yes you are
You're gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody6
To understand what separation of church and state meant in 1776, one must understand that the British King derived a significant portion of its power by claiming to be the "Supreme Head of the Church" and that he/she ruled with a "divine right." Even today, in 2023, the British king or queen holds the title, the Defender of the Faith. In other words, the Crown claims to be divinely appointed by God to a certain degree and so their authority sits above any other in the British government. And this is what separation of church and state actually meant in 1776 and what the Declaration of Independence aimed to accomplish, and would accomplish 'more perfectly' with time.
Any society without the one, true God at the center, will begin to crumble, as America currently appears to be doing.
Common Sense and The Case for Self-Government
Thomas Paine published his famous pamphlet titled Common Sense in January 1776. In his famous pamphlet, Paine laid out several arguments against British government and for the colonies to adopt self-government. Paine was the first person in America to advocate for complete independence from Great Britain. Other founding fathers advocated for a certain degree of self-government, but nothing had gone as far as Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Paine originally published his pamphlet anonymously.
An interesting fact is that in the history of America, no book has sold as many copies as Common Sense did in proportion to the total population in America at that time.7 Here are some famous quotes from the pamphlet and as you can see, the book makes various points against the kind of government Britain was imposing on the colonies. Common Sense is recommended reading to gain the full context of the issues of that age. Given the title, naturally many of the concepts from Common Sense are still applicable today.
From the errors of other nations, let us learn wisdom, and lay hold of the present opportunity--To begin government at the right end.8
Small islands, not capable of protecting themselves, are the proper objects for kingdoms to take under their care; but there is something absurd, in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island[Britain].9
For all men being originally equals, no one by birth could have the right to set up his own family in perpetual preference to all others forever, and tho' himself might deserve some decent degree of honours of his cotemporaries, yet his descendants might be far too unworthy to inherit them.10
Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow insolent; selected from the rest of mankind their minds are early poisoned by importance; and the world they act in differs so materially from the world at large, that they have but little opportunity of knowing its true interests, and when they succeed to the government, are frequently the most ignorant and unfit of any throughout the dominions.11
Common sense will tell us, that the power which hath endeavoured to subdue us, is of all others, the most improper to defend us.12
But where, says some, is the King of America? I'll tell you. Friend, he reigns above, and doth not make havoc of mankind like the Royal Brute of Britain.13
There is something exceedingly ridiculous in the composition of monarchy; it first excludes a man from the means of information, yet empowers him to act in cases where the highest judgment is required. The state of a king shuts him from the world, yet the business of a king requires him to know it thoroughly; wherefore the different parts, by unnaturally opposing and destroying each other, prove the whole character to be absurd and useless.14
The name by which a man is called, is of itself, but an empty thing. It is worth and character alone which can render him valuable, for without these, Kings, and Lords, and Presidents, are but jingling names.15
The Battle of Brooklyn (Long Island)
The Battle of Brooklyn occurred on August 27, 1776, nearly two months after the Declaration of Independence was signed. It was also known as the Battle of Long Island, or as the Battle of Brooklyn Heights. It is known as the Battle of Long Island because Brooklyn is on the western edge of Long Island, which was where the epicenter of the battle occurred. In essence, this battle took place in and around what is today, downtown New York City. In one book's account, it states, "The site now occupied by the two cities of New York and Brooklyn and over which they continue to spread is pre-eminently "revolutionary soil."16 And ironically, Brooklyn was and is located in a county known as Kings County, New York which sits right next to Queens County, New York.
The Battle of Brooklyn was not the first battle of the Revolutionary War but it did go down in history as the largest. The general who commanded the American troops was none other than the commander-in-chief George Washington. On March 17, 1776 George Washington was commanding the colonial army in Boston where they defeated the British in the Siege of Boston. The siege had lasted ten months and the British eventually retreated from Boston. Washington had become the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army on June 19, 1775 and immediately traveled to Massachusetts, assuming command on July 3, 1775, shortly after the Battle of Bunker Hill in Boston. The Battle of Bunker Hill was the first major battle of the revolution which invoked the British to begin preparing for their campaign of 1776. Immediately following the British retreat from Boston in March 1776, George Washington with a number of men began relocating to New York City where he wrote his brother John Augustine in May 1776 saying, "We expect a very bloody summer in New York and Canada."17
In October 1775, the British king gave a speech denouncing the colonists stating,
"it is now become the part of wisdom,...to put a speedy end to these disorders. For this purpose, I have increased my naval establishment and greatly augmented my land forces...and I have received the most friendly offers of foreign assistance."18
As the historian Henry Phelps Johnston was documenting the importance of 1776 he wrote in 1878,
It will be found to be the year in which Great Britain made her most strenuous efforts to suppress the colonial revolt, and which both sides mustered the largest forces raised during the war...and when their[the colonists] faith and resolution was put to the severest test; but a year, also, which ended with a broad ray of hope, and whose hard experiences opened the road to final success.19
In 1776, New York City proper was of course nowhere near the size that it is today. It is difficult to envision that New York City only occupied roughly one square mile primarily at the tip of Manhattan Island and its population was only around twenty-five thousand.20 And Brooklyn, which was barely visible from New York City, was a small number of houses organized around a church and a community of Dutch-reformers. As one stood in New York, the surrounding view all around was described as "rural and inviting."21
As New York City was destined to be a battleground in 1776, a number of the residents in the city were loyalists to the Crown. American soldiers began to arrive in New York City on February 4th and it is recorded that residents began to flee the city in fear, as if it were the "last days."22 The American Continental soldiers went to work determining the best way to defend the city. General Charles Lee, the commanding general at the time, reported to Washington that, "it is so encircled with deep navigable waters, that whoever commands the sea must command the town."23
General Lee went on to construct a plan to defend the city. The plan was a multi-layered plan but without getting deep into the details, the plan was centered strategically around Columbia Heights on Long Island. Here, Lee planned to station three to four thousand men in a "chain of redoubts."24 When the defense plans were finalized, 1,700 men got to work executing the plan, building the necessary reinforcements throughout and around the city. General Lee did not get to stay and see his plan play out in battle as he was called south in a new role as Commander of the Department of the South. He was replaced for a short time by General William Stirling before George Washington arrived from Boston on April 13th and the last of his men arrived on April 24th. At this point, there were roughly 10,000 men making up twenty-five battalions in New York which Washington divided into five brigades.25
By the middle of June, General Nathanael Greene who was in charge of the Long Island front began assigning permanent positions to men. He told them "all these posts are to be defended to the last extremity."26
In the last week of June, as the soldiers finished their preparations, the enemy began to arrive only serving as added motivation to hasten final preparations. It had been three and a half months since the Siege of Boston ended and if the enemy was going to make their move, the prime summer months were quickly passing. By the middle of July, there were over 300 British ships docked on Staten Island and in the greater New York Bay area preparing for battle. The ships originally began to make their landing on Long Island, but quickly learned that the Americans had fortified the island further west, thus opting to anchor mostly on Staten Island.27
On July 2nd, 1776, just days before the Declaration of Independence was signed, and as enemy ships continued to arrive, George Washington delivered this inspiring speech. . .
The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us no choice but a brave resistance or the most abject submission. This is all we can expect. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die. Our country's honor calls upon us for a vigorous and manly exertion, and if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous to the whole world. Let us, therefore, rely upon the goodness of the cause and the aid of the Supreme Being, in whose hands victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble actions. The eyes of all our countrymen are now upon us, and we shall have their blessings and praises, if happily we are the instruments of saving them from the tyranny meditated against them.28
Through July, the attack of the British continued to be restrained. Then, in the middle of August, the German Hessian soldiers arrived with 9,000 additional soldiers and brought the total number of ships to over 400 transports and warships. According to Johnston, "England had never before this sent from her shores a more powerful military and naval armament. . ."29
On July 14, while British forces continued to arrive and organize on Staten Island, the British General Lord Howe attempted to communicate with Washington. Washington was met with Lord Howe's authority to pardon but George Washington explained that he held no such authority to grant any request and that no pardon was necessary as his men were simply defending their indisputable rights. In this exchange ". . .Washington had preserved the dignity of the young nation and his own self-respect as the commander of its armies."30
On July 13th, as Washington's army prepared to defend New York City, it was still comprised of roughly 10,000 men. In prior months, the Continental Congress had sent out recruitment letters to various New England States and not nearly enough men answered the call. However, as the British began to arrive and their vast numbers were realized, men from all over the countryside began to courageously travel to New York City to join the militia. By the time the battle began, General Washington's army stood at 28,000, a giant increase over just two months.31 This was a comparable force to Britain's 31,000 men camped out across the bay.32
On August 22, the British began to move. Lord Howe began his strategy by safely dispatching 15,000 troops on Long Island at Gravesend Bay.33 The British troops remained on the coast for three days without any advancements. Washington remained cautious as he received reports of 8,000 men instead of the actual 15,000 men, making him suspicious that it was a diversion and that a more substantial attack might come upon New York City. Washington traveled back and forth between New York City and Long Island anxiously preparing his armies for the day the British would unleash their attack.34 In the days leading up to August 27, only light skirmishes occurred, but at 2 am on the twenty-seventh, the British unleashed their attack.35 At this point, the British were attacking with 20,000 men while the Americans were defending Brooklyn Heights with only 5,000 and by the afternoon of August 27th, the British had already achieved a decisive victory.36
This result would have inevitably come, sooner or later, but no one could have entertained the possibility of its coming in this sudden and disastrous shape.37
Although the battle was decisive, the wounded, killed, and prisoners for both sides were comparable. The British and Hessians had casualties approaching four hundred. The Americans had much fewer casualties, but around eight hundred prisoners were captured.38
Eventually, the Americans were forced to retreat from not only Brooklyn, but New York City as well. The result of the battle caused many throughout the country to anxiously panic. However, many men(and women including Abigail Adams) spoke up and provided encouragement that it was but only one battle in a much larger war. The event on that day granted some degree of battle experience to a much larger group of men and "hardened them for future endurance."39
Word was received across the Atlantic Ocean of the British victory at three o'clock in the morning on October 10th. The celebrations by the king and the countrymen were exuberant and naturally, they began to count their chickens as the London Tories began planning for future methods of governance for the colonies.40 But the American's were not done fighting.
As the American's left New York City to the enemy, there was serious consideration of burning it to the ground. Washington sent inquiry to Congress on the best path forward and Congress advised Washington to leave New York City standing. Although New York City's property was owned mostly by Tories, and it would provide quarter for the enemy throughout the entirety of the war, Congress believed it would once again come into possession of America.41 And indeed it did.
The German Hessian Soldiers
Perhaps you didn't realize it before reading about the Battle of Long Island, but the American colonists didn't just fight the British in the Revolutionary War. They also fought against and defeated the Germans who at the time were still within the Holy Roman Empire. Yes, strangely, the Germans fought in the Revolutionary War. What were the Germans doing fighting against the American colonists? The Germans had a group of soldiers known as the Hessian Soldiers.
The Hessians came from a western German region known as Hesse-Cassel. In that era, it wasn't uncommon to hire militia from another region of the world as mercenaries. In Hesse-Cassel, boys were required to enter the military at age seven and from ages sixteen to thirty-two could be called upon to serve at any time.42 The life expectancy at that time was less than forty, so for the majority of a man's life, he was at risk of serving in the military. Typically, the more productive and valuable citizens became exempt from this calling, but those who were less productive and deemed less valuable would often be called into service.43
As was already mentioned, in the Battle of Brooklyn, out of the 31,000 troops fighting for Britain, somewhere between eight and nine thousand of them were German mercenary soldiers from the German Hessian region.44 The Hessians provided a total of about 30,000 troops at various times and places during the Revolutionary War.45
What did the Hessians get for their service? In exchange, the Hesse-Cassel region received revenue from the British that according to one source was thirteen times their annual tax revenue.46 This may seem like a lot, and it was, but for leadership of Hesse-Cassel, this was a shortsighted gain which likely sacrificed a longer-term vision. For example, nearly half of the German Hessians never returned to Germany and one has to wonder, if we only look at this in terms of taxes, how much tax revenue was lost in the long-term.
Approximately 1,200 Hessian soldiers were killed, 6,354 died of disease, and another 5,500 deserted and settled in America afterward.47
This is an often overlooked aspect of the Revolutionary War, but it is an integral part of the greater story of history. After the Roman and Byzantine Empires, the empires of the world had sat in the German region and at present sat in London. The two great empires of the world since Rome(The Holy Roman Empire aka Germany and Britain) set out to wage war on what would become the American Empire. And the significance of the Battle of Long Island taking place in the heart of America's greatest city, New York City, was no accident. It was also no accident and no less significant that although America would win the war, they lost the Battle of Long Island.
While the German Hessians supported the British, it is noteworthy that the French were allied with America. According to one source, the French contributed 12,000 soldiers and even more sailors toward the revolutionary cause.48
The Steam Engine: Creating "Industria" From Coal
In 1776, a Scotsman named James Watt invented a new steam engine that greatly improved upon the Newcomen Steam Engine, invented in 1712. James Watt received the British patent for his invention in 1769 and it became the greatest invention of the 18th century and maybe the greatest invention in British history.49
In 1776, the Scotsman James Watt and his business partner Matthew Boulton installed the first two steam engines with separate condensers. The first was at the Bloomfield Colliery in Tipton, England. The second was for John Wilkinson's ironworks at Shropshire, England. The separate condenser increased the efficiency of the Newcomen Steam Engine by roughly seventy-five percent.50 With this dramatic increase in efficiency, new uses for the steam engine were unleashed and the Second Industrial Revolution was made possible.
Although James Watt and Matthew Boulton created the first steam engine with a separate condenser, there were still improvements to be made. In 1788, another breakthrough occurred when Watt invented the centrifugal governor. The centrifugal governor was used to regulate the amount of steam entering the steam engine, once again, creating greater efficiency. The first drawing of the centrifugal governor was dated November 8, 1788 and was labeled 'The Whirling Regulator' by Watt.51
Although Watt and Boulton made some of the most important advancements to the Newcomen Steam Engine in 1776, from that point onward, there were many different men working on advancements to the steam engine. Inventors began to understand the impact that the use of energy from steam could unleash. And in fact, this is where the term 'industrial' comes from. In Latin, the word that means energy is 'industria.'52 At the very same time, Americans were just beginning to discover the vast amounts of coal that sat below their ground.
First Anthracite Coal Discovered
Anthracite coal was first discovered in the United States in 1762 in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania at what became known as "Coal Hill."53 It began to be mined in 1769 and around 1775-76, the first records of commercial uses of anthracite coal were recorded in the midst of the Revolutionary War.54 The same year that the steam engine was invented in Scotland and England, the first anthracite coal began to be mined commercially in the United States.
Where modern day Pittston, Pennsylvania sits, coal began to be more 'regularly,' mined and used from the banks of the Susquehanna River. However, it wasn't until after 1810 that its use became more understood by the general public, making it a more popular source of heat and industrial use. The first metallurgical use was by Judge Jesse Fell from Wilkesbarre who used coal it to create iron nails in 1778.55 The first firm to mine and market coal was Abijah Smith & Company who was mining only 55 tons by 1807.56
When you look ahead to the early 1900s, the dollar value of anthracite coal mined in 1901 was 60,242,560 long tons. By then, anthracite coal was the largest output of any nonmetallic product, besides bituminous coal(has a higher tar content) in the United States. The official records of anthracite coal output didn't begin to be tracked until 1820.57
The Wealth of Nations: Capitalism Is Born
In 1776, Adam Smith published his most famous work, Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, which eventually earned him the title as the "Father of Capitalism." By now, perhaps you can begin to see how the many events of 1776(and many more that aren't mentioned in this article) came together to unleash a new age in world history. Adam Smith's book was a thorough account of how capitalism was a better economic system for nations, and for the world.
Here are a list of some of the important quotes made in Adam Smith's book.
It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.58
In next quote, Adam Smith derides the thought of a person doing the same tasks over and over again to make a living. Although Henry Ford's moving assembly line advanced the limits of human productivity in 1913, it did exactly what Adam Smith warned would happen, create people who through the monotony of their work, become 'stupid and ignorant.' Today, advanced robotics are providing a way out for many of the monotonous tasks, allowing manufacturing workers to once again advance in their skillsets and provide exercise for their mind. This is in no way an indictment on factory workers as there is dignity and honor found in all work. It only serves to highlight another one of the ingredients of the 20th century that was created in recipe of 1913.
The man whose whole life is spent in performing a few simple operations, of which the effects are perhaps always the same, or very nearly the same, has no occasion to exert his understanding or to exercise his invention in finding out expedients for removing difficulties which never occur. He naturally loses, therefore, the habit of such exertion, and generally becomes as stupid and ignorant as it is possible for a human creature to become.59
Smith points to the nature of self-interested individuals as business owners. They complain about the wages they must pay their workers, but never complain about their own profits being too high.
Our merchants and masters complain much of the bad effects of high wages in raising the price and lessening the sale of goods. They say nothing concerning the bad effects of high profits. They are silent with regard to the pernicious effects of their own gains. They complain only of those of other people.60
Corrupt governments extracting unnatural amounts of wealth from their people has been a problem since time began. Smith provides reference to that fact in this remark.
There is no art which one government sooner learns of another than that of draining money from the pockets of the people.61
Money that is created from work is a tool that allows a person to raise a family and provide for the next generation. Smith makes the common sense observation that the worker's wage must be able to do this.
A man must always live by his work, and his wages must at least be sufficient to maintain him. They must even upon most occasions be somewhat more; otherwise it would be impossible for him to bring up a family, and the race of such workmen could not last beyond the first generation.62
Smith writes about the freedom that must exist to work and bring industry and capital into a competitive marketplace.
Every man, as long as he does not violate the laws of justice, is left perfectly free to pursue his own interest his own way, and to bring both his industry and capital into competition with those of any other man, or order of men.63
Adam Smith's Four Canons of Taxation
Adam Smith identified four important tests which should be applied by any nation before applying a tax code. Today, many nations, including America, have completely abandoned these points made my Adam Smith.
The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state.
The tax which each individual is bound to pay ought to be certain, and not arbitrary.
Every tax ought to be levied at the time, or in the manner, in which it is most likely to be convenient for the contributor to pay it.
Every tax ought to be so contrived as both to take out and to keep out of the pockets of the people as little as possible, over and above what it brings into the public treasury of the state.64
The Birth Of A Middle Class
In 1776 America, a new class of citizen was allowed to exist, and grow and prosper following the Revolutionary War. It was the first time that individuals had strong property rights which allowed people to own land and businesses without fear of confiscation.
The historian Gordon Wood describes the middle class that was emerging in his book, Empire of Liberty.
So scrambled was the social hierarchy becoming that men struggled to identify the various degrees and ranks that were emerging.65
These "middling sorts" were middling because they could not be classified either as gentlemen or as out-and-out commoners. They could not be gentlemen, because they had occupations and worked for a living with their hands; even artisans who employed dozens of journey-man employees were regarded as something less than gentlemen.66
It was, in fact, the unique combination of work and property, as one perceptive scholar of this social group has put it, that distinguished the 'middling sort' from the elite who owned but did not engage in productive labor, and from the wage earners who labored, but did not own.67
A View of the Internal Evidence of the Christian Religion
In 1776, Soame Jenyns wrote A View of the Internal Evidence of the Christian Religion. Jenyns was a member of British Parliament and had held the position since 1742. In 1756, Jenyns wrote his first work titled Free Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Evil. Jenyns also wrote a pamphlet in 1765 titled, The Objections to the Taxation of our American Colonies by the Legislature of Great Britain.
Below, Jenyns laid out the thesis and purpose of his work, where he began with this:
Most of the writers who have undertaken to prove the divine origin of the Christian Religion, have had recourse to arguments drawn from these three heads: the prophecies still extant in the Old Testament, the miracles recorded in the New, or the internal evidence arising from that excellence, and those clear marks of supernatural interposition, which are so conspicuous in the religion itself.68
...but to show, that it cannot possibly be derived from human wisdom , or human imposture, is a work I think attended with no great difficulty, and requiring no extraordinary abilities, therefore, I shall attempt that by stating, and then explaining, the following plain, and undeniable propositions.69
First, that there is now extant a book called the New Testament. . .70
Secondly, that from this book may be extracted a system of religion entirely new, both with regard to the object and to the doctrines...which had [n]ever before entered into the mind of man.71
Thirdly, that from this book may likewise be collected a system of ethics, in which every moral precept founded on reason is carried to a higher degree of purity and perfection. . .72
Lastly, that such a system of religion and morality could not possibly been the work of any man, or set of men; much less of those obscure, ignorant, and illiterate persons, who actually did discover [it] and publish it to the world...and that therefore...it must derive its origin from God.73
The Encyclopadia Britannica of 1911 describes Jenyn's book this way: "The work was deservedly praised in its day for its literary merits, but is so plainly the production of an amateur in theology that as a scientific treatise it is valueless."74 I must strongly disagree with this statement from 1911 and of course Jenyn's work didn't go down in history as one of the great Christian works, but it was nonetheless valuable. Jenyns even stated as much in the opening statements of his book. The statement from Encyclopadia Britannica describes it as 'valueless as a scientific treatise' which is in a way, the very point Jenyns was making. Trying to distill it down into a "scientific treatise" would not be able to explain away Jenyn's arguments.
As I read parts of Jenyn's work, I appreciated the simple, yet compelling points from which he argued and his clear, easy to understand writing style.
The Death of David Hume
David Hume was a Scottish philosopher and atheist. His conservative contemporaries abhorred his work as it was plainly atheistic. A Treatise in Human Nature is considered his most important work in this postmodern age we are now living, but when it was published, it was not well regarded. Hume, as many postmodern philosophers often try to do, tried to explain the world around him, without any reference to God. While even on his deathbed, he is known for defending his belief that there was no life after death.75
Adam Smith became the 'literary executor' or the person in charge of his unpublished works. Smith was his friend and described him as “approaching as nearly to the idea of a perfectly wise and virtuous man as perhaps the nature of human frailty will permit.” As a described moralist, or one who believes in the importance of morality, disconnected from the thought of their being a God, it makes sense that he was likely a respected person.76
David Hume died in 1776, but his philosophies carried on in those after him just as they had in the ones that came before him. Man has, since the beginning of time, tried to explain philosophy and metaphysics without any reference to God. And in doing so, "professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." (Romans 1:22)
How to Celebrate July 4th As a Christian
In light of all of these seemingly 'random' events happing in the very same year, how then should we view each year's July Fourth celebration? Does this change the way Christians should look upon that fateful event which granted America its independence? I will be writing a follow-up article to that question.
Sources/Citations:
National Archives. “Declaration of Independence: A Transcription,” October 11, 2023. Accessed January 18, 2024. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript.
National Archives. "Declaration of Indendence: A Transcription."
National Archives. "Declaration of Indendence: A Transcription."
National Archives. "Declaration of Indendence: A Transcription."
National Archives. "Declaration of Indendence: A Transcription."
“Gotta Serve Somebody | the Official Bob Dylan Site.” Accessed January 18, 2024. https://www.bobdylan.com/songs/gotta-serve-somebody/.
“Common Sense: Paine, Thomas: 9781979552585: Amazon.Com: Books.” Accessed January 18, 2024. https://www.amazon.com/Common-Sense-Thomas-Paine/dp/1979552584#.
Paine, Thomas. Common Sense: Addressed to the Inhabitants of America .... United Kingdom: H.D. Symonds, 1792. 16.
Paine. Common Sense. 16.
Paine. Common Sense. 9.
Paine. Common Sense. 10.
Paine. Common Sense. 24.
Paine. Common Sense. 20
Paine. Common Sense. 5.
Paine. Common Sense. 20.
Johnston, Henry Phelps. The Campaign of 1776 Around New York and Brooklyn. United States: Long Island historical society, 1878. Preface.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 14.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 20.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 14.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 36.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 47.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 53.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 54.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 56.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 63.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 82.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 94.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 95.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 95.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 99.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 106.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 133.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 141.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 153.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 152.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 190.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 191.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 195.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 201.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 200.
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 229-230.
Head, David, Ph.D. “Hessians.” George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Accessed January 18, 2024. https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/hessians/#.
Head. "Hessians."
Johnston. The Campaign of 1776. 133.
Head. "Hessians."
Head. "Hessians."
American Battlefield Trust. “American Revolution Facts,” November 16, 2023. Accessed January 18, 2024. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/american-revolution-faqs#.
American Battlefield Trust. “France and the American Revolution.” Accessed January 18, 2024. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/topics/france-and-american-revolution#.
Cartwright, Mark. “Watt Steam Engine.” World History Encyclopedia, June 16, 2023. https://www.worldhistory.org/Watt_Steam_Engine/.
Belludi, Nagesh. “What James Watt and the Steam Engine Teach You about Creativity and Invention - Right Attitudes.” Right Attitudes, July 19, 2022. Accessed January 21, 2024. https://www.rightattitudes.com/2019/12/09/necessity-is-the-mother-of-invention-james-watt-steam-engine/.
Dickinson, Henry Winram., Jenkins, Rhys. James Watt and the Steam Engine: The Memorial Volume Prepared for the Committee of the Watt Centenary Commemoration at Birmingham 1919. United Kingdom: Clarendon Press, 1927. 221.
WordHippo. “What Does ‘de Industria’ Mean in Latin?” Accessed January 21, 2024. https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/the-meaning-of/latin-word-ac9f35deced1c630bd5b9f79767eed0e1d1a228b.html.
Bulletin of the Bureau of Labor. Issues 45-49. United States: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1903. 444.
Bulletin of the Bureau of Labor. Issues 45-49. 444.
Bulletin of the Bureau of Labor. Issues 45-49. 444.
Bulletin of the Bureau of Labor. Issues 45-49. 444.
Bulletin of the Bureau of Labor. Issues 45-49. 444.
Smith, Adam. An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. United Kingdom: Printed at the University Press for T. Nelson and P. Brown, 1827. 6.
Smith. The Wealth of Nations. 327.
Smith. The Wealth of Nations. 41.
Smith. The Wealth of Nations. 364.
Smith. The Wealth of Nations. 28.
Smith. The Wealth of Nations. 286.
Smith. The Wealth of Nations. 347.
Wood, Gordon S.. Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2009. 28.
Wood. Empire of Liberty. 28.
Wood. Empire of Liberty. 28.
Jenyns, Soame. A View of the Internal Evidence of the Christian Religion. Ireland: J. Dodsley, 1776. 1.
Jenyns. A View of the Internal Evidence of the Christian Religion. 8.
Jenyns. A View of the Internal Evidence of the Christian Religion. 8.
Jenyns. A View of the Internal Evidence of the Christian Religion. 8.
Jenyns. A View of the Internal Evidence of the Christian Religion. 9.
Jenyns. A View of the Internal Evidence of the Christian Religion. 9.
The Encyclopedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information. United States: Encyclopedia Britannica Company, 1911. 321.
Encyclopedia Britannica. “David Hume | Biography, Philosophy, Empiricism, Skepticism, & Works,” January 5, 2024. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/biography/David-Hume/Belief.
Encyclopedia Britannica. David Hume.