Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-16
TAR-HEEL PATRIOTS
AMERICAS UNOFFICIAL INDIE
PENDENcE DAY.
The Story Of the Mecklenburg Declare
ton Of May 90, 1775-His-
torical Data.
From Harper's Weekly.

From Harper's Weekly.
Nesting in the Piedmont region OF North
Carolina stands the little town of Charlotte
Today 1t looks sleepy and peaceful and
quiet, but In colonial times 1t was perhaps
the iveliest place in the old North state.
Indeed, at least one of his most gracious
ma1estys officers referred to 1t as the
hornets nest" of America. This ep!thet.
born Of baff1ed wrath. was not misapplied
Almost from Its first settlement by the
sturdy Scotch who emigrated thither early
in the eighteenth century. from their ma
tive land or from temporary apldlng
place in the north of ireland, Mecklenburg
county, of which Charlotte is the center,
was famed as the habitat Of irreconcilables
The early annals Of North Carolina bear
abundant testimony to the temper and
spirit of the men of Mecklenburg, and as
the wears passed and the British yoke be-
came more and more uffbearable, nowhere
was disloyalty more openly voiced tnan
among the glades and hills of this charming
region. If it be true of the rest OF th e
period Immediately preceding the revolution
was for an amicable settlement OF the din-
culties with Great Britain. 1t would seem
certain that In Meckienburg' at leas.' .nel oe
was a well-defined opinion in favor OF re-
pudiating allegiance cutting loose entirely
from the motherland and entering upon
career Of indep endent nationality; inns
opinion, II the claims OF the MeckienpuI-
CLANS and their descendants are to ne ac-
cepted eliminated In May, ITO, In the
adoption, by regularly elected delegates 10
a county convention. of bold and warlke
declaration of independence, setting 1or,h
the wrongs under which the colonies were
laboring and in no uncertain terms assert
ing that I'VE do hereby declare ourselves
a free and independent people; that we are:
and of right ought to be, sovereign ano
self-governing people under the power OF
God and the general congress- to the main
tenance of which independence we soiemnly
pledge to each other our mutual co-opera-
tion our lives, our fortunes and our most
sacred honor"
Charlotte Convention.
As the story goes, the convention was the
outcome of several earlier meetings of the
leading spirits of the county held for the
purpose of ascertaining the attitude OF the
inhabitants with respect to the claim Oh
parliament to tax the colonies and other-
wise regulate their internal affairs so
soon as 1t was learned that open opposi., 0',I
to the home authorities would receive popu-
lar support Thomas Polk the colonel COM
mandant OF the county. issued an oroer u
each militia captain directing him 10 can
company meeting for the election Oh r rMe
delegates to a county convention. ms
was done and on May 10, ITO. the conVeh-
ton assembled In the court house at Cnar
lotte The original purpose OF the meeting:
it seems. was to pronounce the a,au
of all laws and commissions in consequence
of the kings address OF February declat
ing the colonies in state or repeil-oh, any ~
to make provision for temporary FORM VI
government until instructions from Tue
provincial congress regulating the juris-
prudence of the province snail proVioe
otherwise, or the legislative BODY OF Hrea'
britain resign its unjust and arpltrary pre-
80 IN
exnectation an elaborate set of resolutions
had been prepared for submission 10 the
convention. But before actlon couiu 70 9
taken the proceedings were Interrupted AZ
a most sensational way ,
courier bearing the tidfngs OF the oa,lie u
Lexington. American blood. ne toio the sN
cited townspeople who tnrohgeo auoS ~, the
troops OF the British king. Alarmed py nne
commotion outdoors, the convention hasuiy
adjourned. and as the delegates appeared
on the court house steps . an amns
LET us be independent! Let us oecia, :.
o,r indenendence and defend it with our
lives and fortunes! .or
IYnon learning the news from Lexington
.ba DELEGATES resumed their session In
snirit of frenzied Indignation. NO Ionsen
was there thought OF the compara.i,1 ,It
Mild resolutions under discussion; II inisIe'
some admitted, be advisable to adopt mem
90 snnnlementary to a briefer, poioer'
steiner set But all were agreed thal ~
denendence must be proclaimed IN eApned'
language And SO they sat. ana arsuTu q
and nroposed until well into the moIn,hs
Of the next day. when terse, six,caau se
declaration Of independence was i.ai, sa
md aSonted. Then, and only then, DID the
wearied delegates seek repose.
North Carolina and Liberty.
On this showing the bell Of liberty first
nealed in North Carolina. And 1t Is m
teresting to observe that state mas iol
many years religiously observed May ~
ga Independence day. But historians "a@o
never been disposed to credit me ACCOM- o''.
~ the occurrences at Chariotte' as ". .
| tined above. and outside of North CaroAi,la
,thas heen quite generally believed that the
so-called Mecklenburg declaration IS Oh ~
stuff of which myths are MADE 1ne,e o.
several reasons for this widespread shept.,
cism. Most important, pernaH's sns 20 before
| the United States as whole was ,ii" v
aware of the claim of North Carohna 10 ue
| tha cradle OF American freedom. Inc ciI
cumstances of Its announcement. MT, 'e ~; ss1s
there appeared in the Raleigh hegistel !"
lengthy communication signed John mo
| Knit" reciting the details OF the meeting
at Charlotte, and giving what purpo donteS Il
| Nobody but North Carolinians knew wn-
s.John McKnitt'' might be Che was the SOL
| of the secretary Of the Cnariotte CONVEX
| tion) and the resemblance oe,"een sua t,oy
| NesSa oea IN the Mecklenburg declaration
and others in the Fourth Of July deciara'loI
we're SO striking as to give rise to the &C
| cusation that John Mcknitt had borrow.
| ed freely from the latter. On .ne o ',a,,.
| hand there were some, including the ven
cradle John Adams, who seemed OF tht
| oninion that whatever borrowing had peer
| done was by the author OF the Fous!h ..
| July declaration. This drew from Jenersor
| a caustic letter addressed to Adams IL
| which he said In part:
what has attracted my peculiar notice
ia the paper from Meckienburg county Q,
| North Carolina, published In the Essex
! Ravi.ter. which you were so kind as to en-