Jefferson Warns King George (p394-p397)

(Setting:  Thomas Jefferson pens a passionate letter to King George of Great Britain, warning him that revolution in the American colonies is imminent.  He begs the King to consider a peaceful settlement before violence erupts).

Franklin solemnly pulled a parchment from his greatcoat and handed it to the King. "This letter expresses the sentiments of all Americans. It’s addressed to you, from a Virginian named Thomas Jefferson, although who wrote it is of little consequence. Read it and heed it."

As the King unfolded the parchment, the Head Honcho reeled from the shock of hearing Jefferson’s name through George's ears. "How can this be?" he wondered to himself. "Is he the ancestor of my Insurrection Czar?" While he wrestled with this disconcerting enigma, the King read the letter.

It began with a long description of how Britain had abused the American colonies. King George hastily scanned these complaints, as though they were natural and harmless observations of the way things ought to be, rather than angry objections to unholy imperialism. But, the closing words of the obscure American author sent a chill down his slackened spine:

"....The God that gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time. The hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them. Every man, and every body of men on earth, possess the right of self-government. They receive it with their being from the hand of nature. This sire, is our determined resolution, and all that is left for us is to awaken and snap the Lilliputian cords which entangle us.

"In Great Britain, it’s said that their constitution relies on the House of Commons for honesty, and the Lords for wisdom; which would be a natural reliance, if honesty were bought with money, and if wisdom were hereditary. They are hired to lie, and from them no truth can ever be extracted but by reversing everything they say. With money they will get men, and with men, they will get money. Taxation follows from this credo, and in its train, wretchedness and oppression. If we allow ourselves to be taxed in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and our amusements, for your callings and your creeds, then we have hired ourselves out for the chains to be riveted to our necks. We in America have made our election between liberty and slavery. We will not submit to your taxation or your laws.

"Your officers cover our land and reach into every article of produce and property, and thence to every thought, of all Americans. To this intrusion of government into the crevices of our lives, we can no longer acquiesce. While the evils encompassing the life of man are sufficiently numerous that it isn’t prudent to add to them by destroying one another, and while peace is better than war, Europeans have habitually confounded force with right, so if force be the language you understand, then force shall be the language we speak.

"Word from London suggests you perceive our effort to be an insignificant rebellion propagated by just a few, and that the mere specter of the awesome might of the empire is sufficient to quell any potential uprisings. In fairness to your majesty, let it be known that our resolve is unshakable. We prefer freedom with danger than slavery with ease, and we despise all timid men who prefer the calm of despotism to the boisterous sea of liberty. We understand that the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of both patriots and tyrants. A little rebellion now and then is as necessary in the political world as storms are in the physical. From the blood of such rebellions is fertilized the fruit of freedom.

"We consider it a universal truth that governments exist for men, and not vice versa. If we must bear arms in defense of this, we declare to your majesty and to the world at large that we will bear them with perseverance, and exert our utmost energies to preserve that liberty which was committed to us in sacred deposit from the beginning of time. We do not delude ourselves into thinking that we can be transported from despotism to liberty in a feather bed.

"We do not desire separation from the Crown for the mere sake of separation, nor do we desire revolution for the sake of revolution. But our rights are inviolate, and we stand prepared to leap over the awful chasm that lies between here and there, knowing all the while that a chasm cannot be traversed in two bounds, and therefore the one bound should be powerful enough to accomplish the task.

"We also believe that, once started, a chain of revolutions will encircle the globe, and that Britain itself won’t be exempt. You have loaded the inhabitants of Great Britain with debts equal to the whole value of their island, selling it to creditors who lend money to be lavished on priests, plunder, and perpetual war. With the weight of your taxes, the shackles on commerce by monopolies and on industry by guilds, the censorship of conscience, thought, speech, and the press by venal judges, the enormous expense of the Queen, the princes, and the court, and the luxury, indolence, and immorality of the clergy, surely, under such massive misrule and oppression, the people of Britain might justly press for a thorough reformation, and might even dismount their rough-shod riders.

"Do not delude yourself into thinking that the sheer might of the empire will prevent insurrections, because no degree of power in government hands can do so. In Turkey, where the sole nod of the despot means death, insurrections happen every day. And pay no heed to your sycophantic ministers, who daily inform you that yours is the most perfect government ever established on earth. They are blind, mistaken, and corrupt themselves. And so, we entreaty you to reconsider the brutality with which you wield your power over the American colonies, and ask you one last time, peacefully, to let us be. History awaits your answer, and is amply prepared to render its verdict on your choice. Humanity stands poised on the threshold of a bold new vision of restrained power and neutered mysticism. Your answer to our plea will not deter us from crossing that threshold; it will simply determine whether we cross it peacefully or violently."