The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is a document that was allegedly signed on May 20, 1775, in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, by a group of citizens who declared the colony's independence from Great Britain. The document, which is also known as the Mecklenburg Resolves, has been the subject of controversy and debate for many years, with some historians doubting its authenticity and others claiming that it was an important precursor to the United States Declaration of Independence.
According to legend, the Mecklenburg Declaration was drawn up in response to the oppressive actions of the British government, which had imposed a series of taxes and restrictions on the colonists in an effort to assert its control over the colonies. The document contained a list of grievances against the British government, as well as a declaration of the colonists' rights and freedoms. It also contained a call for the establishment of a new, independent government in the colony, free from British rule.
The authenticity of the Mecklenburg Declaration has been the subject of much debate over the years. Some historians believe that the document is a genuine historical document, while others believe that it is a myth or a forgery. The main evidence for the authenticity of the Mecklenburg Declaration is a series of documents known as the "Mecklenburg Minutes," which were allegedly written by the members of the Mecklenburg Committee of Safety, a group of colonists who were responsible for organizing the resistance to British rule in the colony.
Despite the controversy surrounding the Mecklenburg Declaration, it is widely recognized as an important symbol of the struggle for independence in the United States. Whether or not it is a genuine historical document, it represents the determination and bravery of the colonists who were willing to fight for their freedom and their rights. It is a testament to the spirit of independence and self-determination that has always been a central part of the American experience.
D.G. Martin: Mecklenburg Declaration centerpiece to murder mystery
Graham on the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. Do we get bragging rights that we elected him months earlier? Creator Alexander, Joseph McKnitt, fl. It was made over a year before the national Contemporaries outside of North Carolina, including There is a historical paper trail for another meeting in Mecklenburg County around that time, though. It was not at all clear or inevitable in May 1775 that Congress would declare independence, so it would have been significant if a little county in North Carolina had taken such a bold step before anyone else. According to lore, a group of residents met in Charlotte on May 20, 1775 to discuss their grievances about taxation and the king. The state rests its case on an investigation of the declaration undertaken in 1820 by the North Carolina Legislature. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web.
. Contents list 41 items. It caused John Adams to call Thomas Paine's Common Sense a "crapulous mass". What occurred that day in Philadelphia might have been a Declaration of Independence, but the first such was enacted here on May 20, 1775. Supporters of the Declaration maintained that both documents were genuine, and were adopted to serve different purposes. The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, May 20, 1775 1.
In 1838, a document reported to be the contents of the Mecklenburg Declaration was published. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications e. A Defence of the Revolutionary History of the State of North Carolina from the Aspersions of Mr. Questions for Discussion: 1. Henderson noted that it was previously thought that Martin had sent a copy of the Mecklenburg Declaration to England, but that it is "now established beyond doubt" that he had sent a copy of the Resolves.
Sorry George, the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence Was Probably a Myth
The same letter from Adams to Bentley mentioned above also includes the following powerful sentiment, one that Jefferson surely would have echoed: "The Declaration of Independence, made by Congress on the 4th. The first is, if Mecklenburg County actually declared independence in May 1775, they were crossing into dangerous territory without any assurance that others would follow. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1988. Enjoy a thoroughly entertaining conversation between two Founding Fathers in their twilight years 76 and 84, respectively , confounded and disgruntled by a document from North Carolina. But it's certainly changed since then. Morrill writes, "Let's make one thing clear. Adams charged that Jefferson had plagiarized the Mecklenburg Declaration when writing his own draft in 1776.
He ended up writing the book, looking at the skepticism and the evidence. Charlotte, NC: Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. § 126-22 et seq. Let's say I call a bunch of people together and we decide to call ourselves the Electoral College and elect Barack Obama president. . The focus shifted from Thomas Jefferson to the question of how to account for two very different sets of resolutions supposedly adopted in Charlotte only eleven days apart. The article published in the Raleigh Register was written by Dr.
Delegate Discussions: The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence
Throughout the 19th century, supporters of the Mecklenburg Declaration hoped that the missing paper would be discovered, proving their case. Lives and Times of the 27 Signers of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence of May 20, 1775 1956. You may see him giving a tour in Uptown along the Charlotte Liberty Walk, a route of Revolutionary War sites in the city. It's the story of the "What is this city really all about? President George Washington called Charlotte, a "trifling place" during his visit to the city in 1791. In Latin, "a word to the wise is enough" Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, July 9, 1819 Dear Sir, I am in debt to you for your letters of May 21. One cannot demonstrate conclusively that the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is a fake.
Episode #18: The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence
But the problem with that is they testify 30 years after the fact and they've passed away by the time the story becomes nationally known. The eyewitnesses were misled into accepting the text of the Mecklenburg Declaration as authentic because it had been published in 1819 with the claim that it was a true copy of the original resolutions. The absence of a contemporary record is suspicious. Delivering The Meck Dec Captain Kevin Grantz was in character as George Washington and president of Central Piedmont Community College Tony Zeiss played Captain James Jack during a forum at Central Piedmont Community College. Jefferson thought it was a hoax. For a long time, hardly anyone knew of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. .
Now as all things are cyclical, it comes back and becomes more interesting. Regardless, as a result of this copy, the state of North Carolina launched a commission in the early 1820s to collect witness testimony and confirm if this document really did exist. McNitt's book Chain of Error and the Mecklenburg Declarations of Independence. North Carolina University Magazine, May 1853. And John Adams reads it and says "the genuine sense of America at that moment has never so well been expressed before nor since.
N.C. Firsts: The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence
For one thing,there were 16 credible eyewitnesses who say they were present during the signing of the MeckDec, including Revolutionary war soldiers, Presbyterian ministers and even a governor of North Carolina Montford Stokes. That document known as the Davie Copy as well as the accompanying certificate from Samuel Henderson, can be seen in the images below. Please contact staff at wilsonlibrary unc. That year, while examining newspapers published in 1775, archivist Raleigh Register in 1819, the Mecklenburg Resolves fell short of an outright declaration of independence, and did not contain language that was parallel to Jefferson's 1776 Declaration of Independence. The Resolves show colonial unrest and disgust over the policies of Great Britain. In questioning the authenticity of the Mecklenburg Declaration, Jefferson, a Virginian, had impolitically referred to The state of North Carolina responded to Jefferson's letter in 1831 with an official pamphlet that reprinted the previously published accounts with some additional testimony in support of the Mecklenburg Declaration. For George Will to report the story as if it were true is misleading.
Retrieved 26 September 2014. The dramatic events of May nineteenth and May twentieth could have happened. Collection Number: 00501 Collection Title: Mecklenburg Declaration Papers, 1775-1982 bulk 1775-1853 This is a finding aid. Why North Carolinians Believe in the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence of May twentieth, 1775. Another marker shows that he was a signer of the Meck Dec.
