- 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 American Crisis No. XII
To the Earl of Shelburne
The American Crisis by Thomas Paine
Published May 1782
To the Earl of Shelburne:
My Lord,
It is with a mixture of concern and satisfaction that I address your lordship. Concern, that the errors of your predecessors have brought the British empire to the brink of ruin; satisfaction, that your lordship, by the reputation of your character, may yet contribute to the restoration of peace and the acknowledgment of American independence.
The war, long and bloody, has failed in its object. The colonies you sought to subdue have become a nation. The people you called rebels have earned the respect of the world. The cause they embraced was not rebellion—it was revolution. And revolutions, once begun, are not reversed by proclamations or negotiations that ignore their root.
Your lordship must see that the time for dominion is past. The language of authority must give way to the language of justice. The rights of America are not to be bargained—they are to be recognized. The future of Britain depends not on conquest, but on reconciliation grounded in truth.
Let this be the last Crisis. Let the sword be sheathed, and let the nations of the earth learn that liberty, once awakened, is a force no empire can suppress.
Source: Public domain
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