Document Based Analysis

The American colonists took up arms in 1775 when the British attacked in the Battle of Lexington and Concord. The battle, however, was a long time coming, with tensions beginning to rise because of the many duties and acts passed by the British Parliament. A few of these include the Stamp Act, the Mutiny Acts, and the Townshend duties. The Americans expressed outrage over the many taxes that they were forced to pay, and as each act passed, more and more Americans began to believe that the only way to gain freedom was to go to war. One major event believed to be the impetus of the Revolutionary War is the Boston Massacre, in which British soldiers fired upon and killed five American colonists. However, about a month or so before the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Patrick Henry wrote his speech “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death”, in which he expressed his willingness to fight the British. Similarly, a few months after the battle, Thomas Jefferson wrote his “Declaration of the Causes and Necessities of Taking Up Arms”. Although written at different times, both Jefferson and Henry believed the same thing. There was not a workable compromise between the British and the American colonists. In his speech, Patrick Henry reasons that the British had done nothing to reconcile with the colonists, instead doing everything they could to force the colonists into obedience. Henry states quite clearly that the colonists had already tried their best to accommodate the British: “Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical heads of the ministry and Parliament.” One example of this is the Olive Branch Petition, written by John Dickinson and other moderates, which stated that not all of the American colonists wanted to fight, and that they were willing to reconcile with the British. However, the king ignored the petition, exactly as this quote states. Patrick Henry articulates that the colonists had already exhausted every route they had in order to reconcile with the British, while the British do nothing in return but try harder to tighten their control of the colonists and raise up their armies to try and force the innocent people into submission under tyrannical rule. This proves that there was no workable compromise between the British and the Americans. A month or so after Patrick Henry wrote his famous speech, the British attacked at the Battle of Lexington and Concord, which was the push the Americans needed to declare war on the British. This battle marked the outbreak of open armed conflict between Great Britain and the thirteen American colonies. The leader of the British troops in the colonies received intelligence that there were military supplies stored in an armory at Concord. However, patriot colonials found out that the British army was to march on Concord, and began to clear out the weapons while men from Lexington gathered to try and forestall the army from advancing. The colonists were able to empty the armory before the British reached the town, and the battle was counted as a victory for the colonists, and also marked the beginning of the Revolutionary War. A few months after the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Thomas Jefferson wrote the “Declaration of the Causes and Necessities of Taking Up Arms”. Jefferson states in his essay that “We are reduced to the alternative of choosing an unconditional submission to the tyranny of irritated ministers, or resistance by force… We have counted the cost of this contest, and find nothing so dreadful as voluntary slavery. – Honor, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive from us.” Jefferson, ever the rationalist, echoes the beliefs of Patrick Henry, the passionate patriot, with a bit more reasoning. While Henry wishes to fight solely for his own freedom and the freedom of the country, Jefferson insists that they are also fighting for the freedom of the future generations, all of whom deserve to live their lives freely. He continues on, saying that, if, by surrendering to the British, the posterity are subjugated to a life of slavery, the colonists would never be able to forgive themselves. So while Henry argues that they had to fight because they needed to, Jefferson states actual reasons as to why they had to go to war. The fact is that, if, by creating an agreement with the British, the colonists would be “tamely surrender[ing]” their freedom, offers further proof that there can be no workable compromise between the two countries. Early on in his essay, Jefferson established that the colonists were not the first to bear up arms; the British had already attacked the colonists by that time. “His troops have butchered our countrymen, have wantonly burned Charleston, besides a considerable number of houses in other places; our ships and vessels are seized; the necessary supplies of provisions are intercepted, and he is exerting his utmost power to spread destruction and devastation around him.” In this particular quote, Jefferson is talking about the general of the British army, and his ruthlessness while killing the innocent countrymen. Note that this piece of writing was published on July 6, 1775, only a few months after the Battle of Lexington and Concord, which was the first battle in the American Revolution. The fact that, in such a small period of time, the British had already assaulted the colonists further proves Jefferson’s theory that the colonists had to fight back, and that it was near impossible to find a suitable solution to end the war.
Both Jefferson and Henry believe that what they are doing is right, morally and in the eyes of God. In both speeches, they say that God approves of their actions of rebellion against the British. Jefferson says, “Our cause is just. Our union is perfect. Our internal sources are great, and if necessary, foreign assistance is undoubtedly attainable.” Both Jefferson and Henry maintain the idea that they are fighting because God commands them to do so. Since, at the time, theocracy was the main form of government for the colonists, the fact that God, supposedly, commended their actions, was another motivating factor in the decision to bear up arms. Also, if God approved, then there was no reason to compromise with the British. So, while Henry writes his speech from the perspective of a man who would like nothing more than to take up arms, without actually acknowledging that fact that the British had a superior fighting force, rationalist Thomas Jefferson writes his declaration after the battle, with a different perspective on the war. Throughout his essay, Jefferson maintains a calm, reasoning tone, as if working out the pieces of a long, complicated puzzle and stating the facts. Henry begins his speech with a mild, indifferent tone, but as he continues on, he becomes angry and passionate, suggesting that this was a cause that he cared deeply for. After all, Henry is famous for saying the words, “give me liberty, or give me death”. The colonists chose to go to war instead of trying to reconcile with the British because they believed that there was no workable compromise between their two contrasting views of state. So, even though many lives were lost in the Revolutionary War, the American colonists eventually won their freedom, and proved that enough determination can lead to success.