Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was the last attempt made by the colonists to bring about a reconciliation with the British Government.[1]
Drafting
Second Constitutional Congress
Early in its history this second congress had drafted a new petition to the king. To this, the king did not even pay the courtesy of a formal answer.
The petition was adopted July 5th, 1775 and finalized July 8th, 1775, during the Second Continental Congress ,which appeals directly to King George III and expresses hope for reconciliation between the colonies and Great Britain.[2]
It was written by John Dickinson. Dickinson also wrote the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms, following the Olive Branch petition.[3]
Background and Reception
After the Battle of Bunker Hill, the King refused to receive the Olive Branch. His response to Bunker Hill was to issue the Proclamation of Rebellion, declaring the colonists to be rebels, closing the American ports, and warning foreign nations not to trade. This contemptuous treatment convinced many that the colonists need hope for nothing at the hands of the king; and when shortly after the news reached America that the British government had hired Hessian soldiers to help fight their battles in the colonies, even the most conservative began to admit the necessity of separation.[4]
References
- ↑ (1898) History of England.
- ↑ Congress adopts Olive Branch Petition
- ↑ Declaration of Taking Up Arms: Resolutions of the Second Continental Congress
- ↑ (1919) School Civics: An Outline Study of the Origin and Development of Government and the Development of Political Institutions in the United States.
External Links
- Journals of the Continental Congress, Full text