The Olive Branch Petition was a final attempt by the colonists to avoid going to war with Britain during the American Revolution. Show It was a document in which the colonists pledged their loyalty to the crown and asserted their rights as British citizens. The Olive Branch Petition was adopted by Congress on July 5, 1775. Who Wrote the Olive Branch Petition?Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of Olive Branch Petition but it was considered too inflammatory. John Dickinson, a delegate from Pennsylvania, wrote the final draft, which was much more toned down. Dickinson is often referred to as the “penman of the Revolution” and had previously represented Pennsylvania in the Stamp Act Congress in 1765 and drafted its declaration of rights and grievances. In 1767-68, he became famous after publishing his Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, to the Inhabitants of the British Colonies, which appeared in many colonial newspapers. What Was the Purpose of the Olive Branch Petition?The purpose of the Olive Branch Petition was to appease King George III and prevent the conflict between the colonies and the British government from escalating into a full blown war. The book The Long Road to Change: America’s Revolution 1750-1820 refers to the Olive Branch Petition as “a fascinating bit of historical confusion” and further explains that the petition could be construed as insincere:
The reason for the mixed messages was due to the fact that in the summer of 1775, the Continental Congress found themselves divided on the issue of going to war with Britain. One side wanted greater freedom under British rule, similar to what they experienced during the period of Salutary Neglect, while the other side wanted complete independence from Britain. Why Did the Continental Congress Adopt the Olive Branch Petition?This petition was a last ditch effort by the reconciliation party to amend things with the king before war was officially declared, even though the Revolutionary War had already begun in Massachusetts when the Shot Heard Round the World was fired and the Siege of Boston began in April of that year. In a letter to an unidentified friend, John Adams himself even wrote about the paradox of preparing for war while, at the same time, petitioning the king for peace but explained the petition was necessary to keep the colonists unified:
Furthermore, according to the book Independence: The Struggle to Set America Free, the petition was the result of a compromise, first proposed by John Dickinson in May, between the “moderates” and the “hard liners” in the Continental Congress: if the moderates agreed to the military preparations sought by the hard liners than the hard liners would agree to the Olive Branch Petition. What Were the Terms of the Olive Branch Petition?The Olive Branch Petition begins by explaining why the colonists had been recently rebelling against the British government, stating that after winning the French and Indian War the government didn’t thank the colonists for their support and participation in the war and instead enacted new laws and taxes that seemed more like a punishment:
The petition then declared that, despite their complaints, the colonists were still loyal to the British government:
The petition then goes on to ask the king to give the colonists their rights by repealing the unjust laws and taxes waged on them:
Two copies of the Olive Branch Petition were created and both were signed by 48 delegates which included John Adams, John Hancock, Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay and Thomas Jefferson. Was the Olive Branch Petition Successful?Richard Penn and Arthur Lee were sent to England to deliver the petition to the King and arrived in August of 1775. On August 21, 1775, the second copy of the petition was also sent to Lord Dartmouth, the Secretary of State for the colonies. When he later received the original petition from Penn and Lee on September 1, Dartmouth attempted to deliver the petition to King George III but the king refused to read it. On September 2, 1775, Penn and Lee reported back to the Continental Congress:
The king had already made his decision regarding the colonists about a week before, on August 23, when he issued the Proclamation of Rebellion, which stated that in light of “various disorderly acts committed in disturbance of the publick peace, to the obstruction of lawful commerce, and to the oppression of our loyal subjects,” the colonists were in an “open and avowed rebellion” and were “levying war against us.” Considering this, it is no surprise the king rejected the Olive Branch Petition without even reading it. The king then cemented his stance on the rebellion on October 27 of that year when he gave a speech to Parliament during which he stated the two sides were at war and increased military efforts were now necessary to stifle the rebellion:
Many sources state that a confiscated letter, written by John Adams to James Warren on July 24, 1775, that revealed detailed plans for war while also mentioning the petition undermined the Olive Branch Petition’s success when it was sent to England, arriving on September 17, where it was immediately published in the local newspapers. The letter not only demonstrates that the colonists already had plans to fight the British government despite its petition for peace, it also refers to John Dickinson, the author of the petition, as a “piddling genius” who has “given a silly cast to our whole doings.” It is unlikely though that the letter had much of an impact on the king’s decision since he had already issued the Proclamation of Rebellion in August. Although it didn’t influence the king’s decision, its publication officially outed Adams as a leader in the resistance against the British government. The Olive Branch Petition was a significant, yet doomed, attempt to preserve the relationship between the British government and the colonies before the conflict escalated into war. It appears, though, that since the petition arrived months after the Battles of Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill, it was too late to have any effect on the situation. Sources: Syfert, Scott. The First American Declaration of Independence?: The Disputed History of the Mecklenburg Declaration of May 20, 1775. McFarland & Company, Inc, 2014. Ferling, John. Independence: The Struggle to Set America Free. Bloomsbury Press, 2011. Adams, John and Samuel Adams and James Warren. Warren-Adams Letters: Being Chiefly a Correspondence Among John Adams, Sameul Adams and James Warren. Vol. 72, Massachusetts Historical Society, 1917. Nellis, Eric Guest. The Long Road to Change: America’s Revolution, 1750-1820. University of Toronto Press, 2007. |