Diary of John Adams, volume 3
1776-03-06
Wednesday March 6. 1776. A Letter from General Washington of the 26. of Feb. was read. Resolved that it be referred to the Committee to whom his other Letters are referred.1 The order of the day renewed.
Washington's letter is printed in his
Writings, ed. Fitzpatrick, 4:348–350. See the preceding entry and the references cited in the note there. No separate report on these further letters has been found.
1776-03-07
Thursday March 7. 1776. The order of the day was renewed.
1776-03-08
Fryday March 8. No order of the day. The Committee to whom the Letters from Generals Schuyler, Wooster and Arnold were referred brought in their report.1
These letters had been read in Congress on 4 March and referred that day to the committee (of which JA was a member) appointed to prepare instructions for the commissioners going to Canada (
JCC
), 4:182–183; see entry of 17 Feb., above), but JA overlooked the entry of 4 March when abstracting the Journals, and he also forgot the wrangle evoked by his report on the 8th. According to Richard Smith's Diary, 8 March, “a long Altercation followed on the first Article of a Report made by John Adams for reconciling the Differences between the Generals Schuyler and Wooster. the Article was at last voted out and other Parts of the Report adopted” (Burnett, ed., Letters of Members
, 1:382–383, and see note at p. 383). The report has not been found, but the resolutions adopted are in
JCC
, 4:190–192.
1776-03-09
Saturday March 9. 1776. The Committee appointed to prepare Instructions for the Commissioners going to Canada, brought in a draught which was read.
1776-03-11
Monday March 11. 1776. Congress took into Consideration the Instructions to the Commissioners going to Canada. Postponed.
1776-03-12
Tuesday March 12. 1776. Postponed again.
1776-03-13
Wednesday March 13. 1776. Although the System had been so long pursued to postpone all the great Political Questions, and take up any other Business of however trifling Consequence; Yet We were daily urging on the order of the day: and on this day We succeeded.
Congress resolved itself into a Committee of the whole to take into Consideration the Memorial of the Merchants &c. of Philadelphia &c, The Letters from General Washington, the State of the Trade of the Colonies &c. Mr. Ward reported no Resolution. Leave to sit again.
1776-03-14
Thursday March 14. 1776. The State of the Country so obviously called for independent Governments, and a total Extinction of the Royal Authority, and We were so earnestly urging this measure from day to day, and the Opposition to it was growing so unpopular, that a kind of Evasion was contrived in the following Resolution, which I considered as an important Step, and therefore would not oppose it, though I urged with several others, that We ought to make the 370Resolution more general, and Advize the People to assume all the Powers of Government. The Proposition that passed was
Resolved That it be recommended to the several Assemblies, Conventions and Committees or Councils of Safety, of the United Colonies, immediately to cause all Persons to be disarmed, within their respective Colonies, who are notoriously disaffected to the cause of America, or who have not associated, and shall refuse to associate to defend by Arms these united Colonies, against the hostile Attempts of the British Fleets and Armies, and to apply the Arms taken from such Persons in each respective Colony, in the first place, to the Arming the continental Troops raised in said Colony, in the next, to the arming such Troops as are raised by the Colony for its own defence, and the Residue to be applied to the arming the Associators; that the Arms when taken be appraised by indifferent Persons, and such as are applied to the Arming the Continental Troops, be paid for by the Congress and the Residue by the respective Assemblies, Conventions, or Councils or Committees of Safety.
Ordered that a Copy of the foregoing resolution be transmitted by the Delegates of each Colony, to their respective Assemblies, Conventions, or Councils or Committees of Safety.
This Resolution and Order was indeed assuming the Powers of Government in a manner as offensive, as the Measures We proposed could have been: But it left all the Powers of Government in the hands of Assemblies, Conventions and Committees, which composed a Scaene of much Confusion and Injustice the Continuance of which was much dreaded by me, as tending to injure the Morals of the People and destroy their habits of order, and Attachment to regular Government. However I could do nothing but represent and remonstrate: The Vote as yet was against me.