Show r- r rIts rIt's Its It's the Anniversary o of or ortee h tee Famous Revolutionary Figures By By ELMO SCOTT WATS WATSON ON VARY UARY 1737 majority of 01 the To 10 of the citizens the e colonies in English that North America t the theof h 1 month meant e of a new year Le could not ore They it was to tod that ed rf d cant for them themie ie the births of three g its 31 days these citizens i year subjects of His HisK George II of 01 K King ng I But by the time an- an years had passed h their sons were to toed an armed re re- i ed in to his son and ng among the lire rebel bel would be these three n a i in the first month bad had made h his appear Luary 10 The place L home near the town fed Id Conn Coon and he was torn m rim of 14 M children in Domineering and clevert clevere clever t e was given the name i Hebrew name signi signi- ng And strong he hebe hebe hebe be for this boy was wasell wasten ten ell et who was later to as the the Rob RobI I Wilderness Common Common- I the Robin Hood of New Jand tad and the Strong Boy ution ulian uj later In the home of Kan an in Quincy Mass another boy who was wase le e e name of his father landfather also aiso a cler cler- boy however would fin In the pious footsteps fers ra n. Instead he would into to the counting house le e be adopted by that heir to a large forI for- for I become a great and erchant merchant of Boston And AndI I day in o 1776 he would t to sign his name to toJ J document of human id d sign it so large George could read it itis is spectacles That Id be John Hancock s changes now from id to Old England Onh On 9 fa h the home of a amaker maker esker in the little littlee e lord ord in Norfolk an an- Is 6 born bora He will beacher beacher becher be- be acher cher and a dissenter verse and prose a aB B and a radical and a aC C of the government governmental al l customs of his naAs naAs na na- As such he will beto be beJto beto to the British colonies a u the dispute bea be- be a and the Crown grows r and in 1776 1778 he will bearing the theon on Sense In that he will advocate ab ab- dence of the col col- t. t Y x 1 fi t 3 HANCOCK the Mother Country I of this pamphlet is stan W instantaneous a eouse and at John lohn Hancock will chance to flourish r write Mite his bold signa signa- Document which in the sentiments ex ex- Common Sense For ForI of I In In it TW was that thIrd d January 1737 1737 e. e f ere the three famous T figures whose two two- anniversaries this month Ethan frontiersman John John e merchant and e the pamphleteer ds their charac- charac careers were aU all as those of 1 ly be But three men they had On than the fact born bore in the same e I Same Year All AB au all labored same might es e. for cause though i doing so di dif dif- y and aU aA risked their ti else oar ear to bg that tha t of f lite hie bring liberty liberty about and a in a New Not Statues ds cans cane es in w are who the familia have read to school his his- tories tones But lack of space plus the inclination of most school book historians to make Revolutionary Revolutionary war heroes pieces of statuary rather than flesh and blood human beings has prevented prevented prevented pre pre- vented our learning there many other interesting details about the themen themen themen men themselves We know that Ethan Allen thundered on the portal of all earthly kings at Ticonderoga and demanded its surrender in inthe inthe the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress We know how John Hancock warned by Paul Revere fled tied from Lexington that April night in 1775 before the British redcoats redcoats redcoats red red- coats arrived thereby making it possible for him to write his signature with its historic flourish a year later We know that Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense and the Crisis and some of us have recited those thunderous words from the latter lat lat- lat lat- ter These ter These are the times that try mens men's souls souls- But Dut what else did they do to distinguish them from other men What of their subsequent 1 4 t s I T THOMAS OJ AS PAINE PAINS I careers Were those incidents l which are preserved in the school schoolbooks schoolbooks schoolbooks books the only ones worthy of mention In partial answer to those questions are offered these footnotes to history to help you recall on this the two-hundredth two anniversary of their birth these three notables in the history of Americas America's struggle for liberty When Ethan The Strong grew into young manhood he found Connecticut too narrow a sphere of action for his tremendous tremendous dous energies After farming a abit abit abit bit mining a bit and wandering from place to place he finally landed in the region into which he fitted so perfectly It was the frontier country between New Hampshire and New York known as the New Hampshire Grants There he acquired nearly acres of wilderness lands by grants from the New Hampshire provincial government But this territory was also claimed by bythe bythe bythe the province of New York who tried in vain to colonize it for forit forit forit it was already held by squatters squatters squatters squat called the Green Mountain Mountain Mountain Moun Moun- tain BoysA Boys A Name of Terror Before long the name of Ethan Allen was a name of terror to settlers setters who dared come there therewith therewith therewith with their New York grants and to the officials whom Governor Colden sent to survey the lands and try to enforce New Yorks York's title Cabins were offered as burnt sacrifices to the Gods of the World and the settlers setters driven out with instructions to toGo toGo toGo Go your way now and complain to that Damned Scoundrel Your Governor Damn your Governor Laws King Council and Assem Assem- bly In despair the officials of New York proclaimed Ethan AlIen Allen Allen Al Al- len Ien an outlaw and placed a price on his head Ethan retaliated with a similar proclamation against the governor of New York So the war of words and from time to time a more serious war of action continued Then came the outbreak of the Revolution and Ethan Allen embarking embarking em em- barking upon what was ostensibly a patriotic expedition but what was in reality a move to safeguard safeguard safeguard safe safe- guard the frontiers of his wilderness wilderness wilderness wilder wilder- ness commonwealth in case of war between Canada and the United Colonies marched with his Green Mountain Boys and with Benedict Am Arnold Did ld against Ti Ti- There on the early morning of May 10 1775 he ut uttered uttered uttered ut- ut the phrase which won himan himan him himan an imperishable place in American American Ameri Ameri- can history An Anti Climax The capture of Ticonderoga was a brilliant achievement but unfortunately for Allens Allen's future fame the remainder of his Revolutionary Revolutionary Revo Revo- war career was a sad anti Later he organized a filibustering expedition Into Canada with the object of capturing capturing capturing ing Montreal but after a short and almost farcical campaign he was captured by the British Kept as a prisoner of war until 1778 1776 he then returned to his wilderness commonwealth by now organized under the name of Vermont but still not a member member mem- mem b ber r of the Colonial family There he rose to even greater power as a sort of f an uncrowned king Od Ills llis h hatred a t re for New York Was as II strong as ever eve ever r to for r N Now New ew he had had an aversion almost as great nt as for the other colony and for or the Continental congress In whose name he had sworn at Ticonderoga he ho had profound un contempt ti t. t This I congress n r s refusing to deal i with ith Allens Allen's I outlaw titan lion tion tn en steadfastly d declined ec I me d to toU Sd consider a adding dd ding Vermont to the U United Colonies So Allen be began In negotiations ons with the British for a annexation of f Vermont to Canada un under e Brutish British dominion with a certain measure of independence reserved For this he has been branded by some historians as a traitor although his treason Is doubtful in light of the fact tact that t he the e congress had cast Vermont I loose to s shift it for its own independent independent inde inde- pendent existence Ethan Allens Allen's turbulent career came to an end in the roistering manner in which he had lived In February 1789 he died o on a lo load d of hay while returning from froma a joyous drinking party on an is island is is- land in 10 Lake Champlain A year later New York gave up its claim t to 0 the Vermont lands and recognized recognized the independence of that colony In 1791 it was taken into the United States as the first to o be admitted after the 13 original original nal nai colonies And when Vermont came to honor her two greatest men by placing their monuments in Statuary hall in the National Capitol in Washington the first one chosen was Ethan Allen In striking contrast to the career career career ca ca- reer of that frontier roughneck roughneck roughneck rough rough- neck was the career of John JohnI I Hancock ancock scion of two generations genera genera- Lions of clergymen a graduate of Harvard college a cultured polished gentleman whose heri heritage heritage tage and training assured him a leading place in the affairs of the colony Choosing a business career instead of the ministry he le showed a conscientious devotion devotion devo devo- tion to his work which would have lave assured his success even if he lie had not inherited a f fortune From the uncle who adopted him For seven o'clock in the mornIng morning morning morn morn- ing found young John Hancock at athis athis atlis his lis desk in his foster-father's foster counting house and even after he became the great Boston merchant merchant merchant mer mer- chant he still observed those early hours Some of the modern school of debunking historians have made much of the fact that just before the Revolution Hancock was engaged in smuggling goods into the country to evade the British excise taxes They have pointed out that there were indictments against him for this offense and that if convicted the penalties would have been pounds twice the value of all aU his property In this fact they see seethe seethe seethe the motive for his encouraging the revolt against the crown But it might also aiso be pointed out that when the best method of driving the British from Boston Boston Bos Bos- ton was under discussion at a patriotic club in to that city he declared declared de de- Glared Burn Boston Doston and make John Hancock a beggar if the public good requires it Furthermore Furthermore Furthermore Further Further- more in the autumn of 1770 1776 when congress gave Washington Instructions to destroy Boston if it should be necessary to do it In order to dislodge the enemy Hancock wrote to the commander of the Continental army saying that although he was probably the largest property-owner property in n the city he was anxious the thing should be done if it would benefit the cause Certainly Certainty that does not sound like a man whose main concern was private gain A Soldiering Statesman As for Hancocks Hancock's other services services sen ices after the outbreak of the Revolution and especially after he had become famous as the first and only signer of the draft of the Declaration of Independence Independence dence dente which was first published member of the Continental Continental Continental Conti Conti- he was a congress from 1775 to 1780 and again from 1785 to 1786 servine serving ing ine as president from May 1775 to October 1777 We do not ordinarily ordinarily ordinarily or or- think of him as a soldier soldier soldier sol- sol dier yet the fact is that as major major general general of the Massachusetts he commanded the militia contingent from that state nn and served valiantly In the expedition expedition h- h tion against the British in Rhode Island in 1778 After the close of the Revolution Revolt member of ol the tion he was a Massachusetts constitutional convention con con- and in 1780 he became of the new newstate newstate w first governor the Massachusetts He lie held het d state of Sat that office until 1785 when Jam James Jame s elected in 10 his s Bowdoin was weakness s sin Bowdoin's doin's w Bow But Dut 5 place handing handling the famous Shays Shay Shay s in 01 f made the people o othe Rebellion state regret the hange o ochief ol 01 f chief the executives executes es and iI ba 1787 Han Han- elec elected e II He ock was again e improved the the condit conditions in reX re reo X to taxes and seizure of ol prop property gard debt which h had d bee n arty erty for tor and andu d A responsible tot ro the rebellion an he was reelected re reelected death in 1793 re his u until regularly each h elected governor year The Importance of Thomas Paine aine and his pamphlets to the patriot Patriot cause is too well known to need much comment here It will be remembered that the first number of the Crisis that one which begins with the immortal Thes Those These are the times that try mens men's souls etc was read by Washington's orders to each regiment regiment reg reg- in the Continental army and they did much to relieve relle the despair that was so prevalent In the army during the trying win ter of 1770 1776 Paynes Payne's Other Services ServIce But Dut writing these pamphlets important though they were was not the only contribution which Paine made to the cause of American liberty After Arter serving a short time In the army ermy as aide to Gen Nathanael Greene he became became be i came secretary of the congressional congressional committee of foreign affairs affairs af af- fairs but lost this position in 1779 through charges made against him by Silas Deane commissioner commissioner commis commis- to France Then Paine became clerk of the Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Pennsyl vania legislature and while holding hold hold- holding ing this place made an urgent appeal to the people for money to relieve the distress of the ragged rag ged starving Continentals in Washington's army Moreover he subscribed his entire years year's salary to the fund that was thus raised In 1781 Paine was associated with Col Henry Laurens In a successful effort to obtain loans from France and Holland and a grateful nation voted him the sum of the state of New York gave him a large farm in Westchester county and Pennsylvania Pennsyl vania vanla again ogain made him clerk of the legislature But Paine was not yet ready to settle down to the quiet enjoyment of life in inthe inthe inthe the new nation which he had helped found The fight for buman human bu hu man liberty was still being waged in otter parts of the world He went back to England andIn andin and In 1791 published his Rights of Man in reply to Burkes Burke's ReElections Re Reflections Reflections Elections on the French Revolution Revolution tion For this he was outlawed by the court of the kings king's bench so he went to France where the Revolution had overthrown the Bourbons and where he was hailed as a hero In fact he was elected to the National convention convention con con- but his republicanism was not strong enough to please the Jacobins So when he opposed opposed op op- posed the execution of King Louis XVI and urged Instead that the monarch be exiled to America the Jacobins expelled him from the convention Saved by Chance When came into power Paine was thrown into prison where he was kept for a year in constant fear tear of death I seat ate 0 a 1 I ETHAN ALLEN Listed among those who were to mount the steps of the guillotine he escaped that fate by a strange freak of chance One morning the keeper of the prison went along the corridor placing chalk marks on the doors of those who were to be executed that day It so happened that the door to Paines Paine's cell celI was open and pushed back flat against the wall of the corridor In the darkness darkness darkness dark- dark ness of the gloomy old prison |