Tag: Joseph Galloway

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Father and Son: Patriots Who Gave Their All

William Mehls Dewees (1711-1777) The “Father” of this history is William M. Dewees. He was the son of William Dewees of Germantown (1680-1745), “the papermaker,” and Anna Christina (Mehls) Dewees (1690-1749).He was born at the new family home and paper mill in what is now Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia. In 1735, he married Rachel Farmar (1712-1777), […]

by William H. J. Manthorpe, Jr.
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Joseph Galloway’s Plan of Union

Late in September 1774 the Continental Congress was in the middle of an ongoing debate on the means that should be implemented to restore American rights. Most of the discussion was around methods of confrontation with Britain, embargoes, and non-consumption activities, as well as the breaking down of British law and order in the colonies. […]

by James M. Smith
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How America Declared its Rights

During the seventeenth century and into the eighteenth century the political philosophers of Europe were writing and discussing some new and radical ideas on what a government should look like and how it should function. They would reshape the political landscape in the late eighteenth century and well into the twentieth. One of the most […]

by James M. Smith
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Loyalist Slave-Owning Refugees in Postwar Jamaica

The two forces of paternalism and slavery shaped the lives of Loyalist slaveowners in the postwar British Empire. Historians rarely connect these forces in attempts to understand the relationship between refugees, colonial hosts, and British officials. In the postwar era, British officials treated Loyalists as an itinerant population to resettle to aid imperial expansion. In […]

by Patrick E. Brady
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A Visit to Fort Mifflin on the Delaware

The walls grew weak; and fast and hot Against them pour’d the ceaseless shot With unabating fury sent, From battery to battlement; And thunder-like the pealing din Rose from each heated culverin Lord Byron, “The Siege of Corinth,” VI The enthusiast in search of the storied Revolutionary War bastion on the west bank of the […]

by Rand Mirante
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How Magna Carta Influenced the American Revolution

In 1984, Ross Perot purchased a copy of the 1297 reissuance of the Magna Carta from the Brudenell family who had held the document for centuries. In 1988, it became a permanent fixture of the National Archives Museum where it stayed in the rotunda along with the American charters of freedom for several years. Nearly […]

by Jason Yonce
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This Week on Dispatches: Tristan J. New on Joseph Galloway’s Efforts for a Peaceful Resolution with Great Britain

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews budding scholar Tristan J. New about Joseph Galloway and his proposal for a peaceful political resolution with Great Britain rather than armed rebellion. His proposal was  rejected by Congress and sent him firmly into the Loyalist camp once the war began. As your host Brady Crytzer says, “Sit […]

by Editors
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Contributor Close-Up: Richard J. Werther

What inspired you to start researching and writing about the Revolution? I’ve always had an interest in writing, but with the demanding jobs I’ve had over my career I haven’t had the chance to do much, except writing in the course of my work responsibilities. My interest in the Revolution started in my mid-30s based […]

by Editors
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Grappling with Imperium in Imperio: Indivisible Sovereignty in Joseph Galloway’s British Empire

Although by 1775 hostilities between Great Britain and the American colonies had commenced, there were still those within the colonies who believed that the relationship between the two parties could be restored. Joseph Galloway’s 1775 pamphlet A Candid Examination of the Mutual Claims of Great Britain, and the Colonies: With a Plan of Accommodation on […]

by Tristan J. New
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The Earl of Dartmouth: Secretary of State for the Colonies, Third Year: August 1774–November 1775

While the Earl of Dartmouth, Secretary of State for the Colonies, was on holiday in the summer of 1774, his office continued to receive and send communications concerning the political divergence with the American colonies. The general issues were the Quebec Act, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, the Non-Importation Agreement, […]

by Bob Ruppert