ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, July 4, 1996 TAG: 9607050030
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-11 EDITION: HOLIDAY
COLUMN: Ray L. Garland
SOURCE: RAY L. GARLAND
THE WAR for American independence has gradually receded in our national memory, being perhaps too much connected to the deeds of dead white males to inspire the polyglot country we have become in the 220 years since its official declaration.
It is not usually recalled that our official declaration of independence took place July 2, 1776, when Congress approved the resolution introduced June 7 by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia: "That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states. ... " The momentous step was taken in a statement of only 79 words.
But there were those in Philadelphia who thought a more detailed bill of particulars was required for domestic and foreign consumption. We chiefly remember its eloquent preamble: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights ... .''
What followed was one of the more egregious exercises in propaganda ever seen, containing 29 separate accusations against George III. If that hard-working monarch ever read the entire document, he would have been amazed to discover he was "at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages ... .'' The notion that a few thousand British soldiers and officials could exercise such dominion in a territory exceeding a million square miles was farfetched, even absurd. And the purity of American motives was compromised by an unsuccessful invasion of Canada in 1775, taken up again in the War of 1812, with equal lack of success.
This isn't to say the issues that divided America from Britain were trivial. The British saw America as integral to a worldwide mercantile empire that should operate to benefit their trade. After the French and Indian War (1756-63), which added 136 million pounds to their national debt - perhaps $30 billion in current money - the British stationed 6,000 troops in America and sought to restrict the westward expansion of the country, which they believed would provoke new wars with the French and the Indian nations.
The British position was simple. They had expended vast sums to secure the colonies and wanted no renewal of hostilities. In their logical view, the colonists should be grateful for the shield of British power and be prepared to pay a portion of its maintenance.
In a time when it took Jefferson more than a week to journey from Monticello to Philadelphia, and six weeks to get word from London to Boston, the scale of the American Revolution is impressive, though actual combat was brief and most of the country saw no fighting. American battle deaths in the conflict are officially recorded at 6,824, though that may not be complete.
The problem for the British, as some of her foremost statesmen pointed out, was they controlled only the ground upon which they stood - tiny islands in a vast country. As the earl of Chatham told the House of Lords in 1777, "You cannot conquer America. ... Your efforts are forever vain and impotent."
From the small American incursion into Canada in 1775, the war skipped up and down the coast, from Boston to Charleston, with minor skirmishing along the western frontier from Detroit to Louisville.
After mixed results in North Carolina, Gen. Cornwallis marched to Yorktown in the fall of 1781, expecting his army to be taken off by sea for winter quarters. Here the intervention of the French navy, anxious to settle old scores with the British, proved decisive. A considerable fleet of 24 ships, manned by 19,000 French sailors, barred the way.
At this stage, the land forces were also considerable. Washington advanced from Williamsburg with 8,845 men, joined by 7,800 French. Against them, with his back to the water, Cornwallis disposed about 6,000. Fighting during the siege of Yorktown was desultory and casualties were light: 228 killed among all combatants and 516 wounded. In true 18th century fashion, Cornwallis was wined and dined by his captors and shortly allowed to depart for New York with his personal suite. As one British officer recorded, `` ... to do them justice, the Americans behaved with great delicacy and forbearance."
King George regarded it as an unfortunate incident that could be made good. But, for Parliament, it was enough. Soon after Yorktown, the Commons voted it "would consider as enemies of his Majesty and the Country all those who should advise or by any means attempt the further prosecution of offensive war on the Continent of North America. ... "
The legend that grew up around the "tyranny" of King George and the heroism of the American patriots was far greater than events justified. But the great value of the Declaration of Independence and the fighting that followed was establishing an American mythology of a virtuous people winning their country's freedom. In that sense, the American experience was more beneficial to nation-building than the freedom Canada was voluntarily given a half-century later.
King George, who was plagued by opponents in Parliament for most of his long reign, was no doubt dumbfounded to be called a tyrant. Why, neither he nor his grandfather, nor his great-grandfather, ever vetoed an act of Parliament.
By providing such a terrific symbol of despotism for American propaganda, King George did us a great favor, and one that has done much to shape our national character. By establishing such a special place for the Declaration in our story, we have been forced to live up to its lofty sentiments - or at least to try. The thread runs from Philadelphia in 1776 through the Civil War to the great wars of the 20th century and the debates over human rights still in progress.
In the whole of modern history, the preamble to the Declaration must be regarded as the most potent words ever written.
Ray L. Garland is a Roanoke Times columnist.
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