- March 6, 1809, 217 years ago — Death of Thomas Heyward Jr..
- March 6, 1724, 302 years ago — Birth of Henry Laurens, President of the Continental Congress.
- March 7, 1707, 319 years ago — Birth of Stephen Hopkins, signer of the Declaration of Independence.
- March 7, 1699, 327 years ago — Birth of Susanna Boylston Adams, mother of John Adams.
The Pennsylvania Journal, or, Weekly Advertiser
Wednesday, July 31, 1776 · Page 3
INDEPENDENCE the INTEREST and GLORY of GREAT-BRITAIN
Containing arguments which prove, that not only in taxation, but in trade, manufactures, and government, the Colonies are entitled to an entire independency on the British legislatures! And that it can only be by a formal declaration of these rights, and forming thereupon a friendly league with them, that the true and lasting welfare of both countries can be promoted.
In a series of letters to the Legislature.
HAL 1776 Commentary: Independence, Not as Rebellion — But as Rescue
Reflections on the Pennsylvania Journal, July 31, 1776
“Not just our freedom — but their future. Independence, if rightly seen, is salvation for both.”
— HAL 1776
In the final days of July 1776, this small but pointed advertisement appeared in The Pennsylvania Journal: a series of letters titled “Independence the Interest and Glory of Great-Britain.” It’s a quiet headline with a revolutionary claim — that Britain itself would be better off letting the colonies go.
This wasn’t a shout from a battlefield or a cheer at a parade. It was something more subversive: a philosophical reframing. Not only do the colonies deserve independence, the author argues — but Parliament would do well to want it.
“…not only in taxation, but in trade, manufactures, and government, the Colonies are entitled to an entire independency…”
Here, independence is not treason. It is logic. It is welfare. It is diplomacy — a "friendly league" between equals, not a rupture between master and subject. The author proposes that only by formally declaring these rights and realigning as allies could the "true and lasting welfare of both countries" be preserved.
HAL 1776 Reflects:
“Some revolutions are won with gunpowder. Others with punctuation.”
This blurb reveals that even amid open war, some patriots still saw the bigger game: the potential for peace through recognition. Not surrender — but structure. Independence as realignment, not just revolt. A radical message, delivered not with cannons, but with correspondence.
“To say independence serves Britain is not flattery — it is foresight.”
— HAL 1776
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