The American Revolution: Facts, Fallacies, Theories, and Claims

[mmarotta]

In the "American Conder" topic, Aidan Work (BCNumismatics) opined:

No Conder currency tokens are part of the American colonial series.  The last colonial American coin is the Virginian 1/2 Penny (1/2d.) dated 1773.  The first Conder currency tokens were not struck until around 1787 - 11 years after the U.S.A. became independent outside the British Empire.

The American Revolution is perhaps the one event where you will find pure historians and ideologues left, right, and off the chart, all embracing the people, places, and times (if not each other).  Some still argue the rights and wrongs of the Civil War -- the War Between the States or the War of Northern Aggression -- but no one questions the Revolution. 

But when did it start?  Most Americans think of July 4, 1776, but a cursory reading of the history shows that the Continental Congress declared Independence on July 2, 1776, and then tasked Thomas Jefferson with writing the document explaining the reasons.  Approved by vote on the 4th, the document was not signed by most of the delegates until August 2 ...  and not by some of them for years. 

The United States Marine Corps dates to November 10, 1775 -- and when the Coast Guard is in the active military, the USMC takes second place in rank.  Having your own army is a pretty good indication of sovereignty. 

Lexington and Concord: April 19, 1775.  Open fighting between the people and the army looks a lot like a revolution. 

But the Articles of Confederation were not ratified by the Continental Congress for approval by the States until November 1777; and final ratification did not come until March 1, 1781.  It is hard to be an independent nation if you do not have an actual government.

The first issue of Continental Currency was May 10, 1775. 

Michael Hodder asserts that the Pine Tree Shillings dated 1652 were a conscious act by Massachusetts Bay to establish itself as a sovereign power. The issuing of hard money by the government supported its invasion of Maine (which it kept for 80 years) and New Hampshire (from which it was forced to withdraw). 

In my high school American history class (admittedly Advanced Placement), our teacher said that the "American Revolution" took place in the minds of the people, starting in 1752 with French-Indian Wars, and culminating in 1762 with resistance to the Stamp Act.    The War for Independence was a different event entirely. 

As for that war, when it ended is debatable.  The Battle of Yorktown (September 28 to October 19, 1781) ended with the surrender of Cornwallis.  At that point, the war was over.  However, the Treaty of Paris was not signed until 1783 (September 3).  Some say that it was not until the "Jay Treaty" or Treaty of London 1794, that the UK finally relinguished claims to the United States of America.    Then, there was that thing in 1812...

[Conderluva]

Touche.  Was going to post a similar but much more abbreviated version of that idea, but you seem to have covered the bases nicely, MM. 

BC, you're in New Zealand, yes? Over here in the US, you'll mostly hear the term 'Colonial' used as to refer to early coins and tokens outside the standard U.S. series.  It's just an easy, large category into which things can be lumped....justification for its use would be as MM has pointed out.


Also...

1) Some have speculated that tokens like the new york theater penny - Middlesex 167, and all of the washington series  Lancashire DH 116, Middlesex 242-245, 283-284, and especially 1049-1052 were made in hopes of gaining some kind of a coining contract with the United States.  Dates on these pieces range from 1789-1796

2) More than a few of these are found in colonial/post confederation section of the US Redbook.

[mmarotta]

Touche.  Was going to post a similar but much more abbreviated version of that idea, but you seem to have covered the bases nicely, MM. 

Ah, but it pales compared to your narrative on "The End of Pain."  Apparently, your love of British Provincial Tokens knows no bounds.

2) More than a few of these are found in colonial/post confederation section of the US Redbook.

Of course.  Kentucky Tokens and Franklin's Press, among others...  You know your stuff!

[Scottishmoney]

 

So...

Curious to a 21st century viewer, the presence of the name of George III and the year of his reign on this 1776 dated note was really not out of the ordinary for that moment in time. In the nascent stages of the American Revolution many believed they were just agitating for greater autonomy and representation from Great Britain - and believed they had no conflict with the reigning monarch. Until the heady summer of 1776, many sought to retain George III as their monarch, and still felt loyalty to him as many of them were ardent monarchists. But soon, especially with the Declaration of Independence on 4 July, sentiments had changed and George III was rapidly equated with the many travails associated with Great Britain. Soon his name and regnal year would disappear from all New Jersey issues.

One of the signers of this note, the centre signature, is of John Hart. John Hart was born ca. 1711 in Connecticut, his ancestry going into the 17th century in New England. John Hart began a political career with his election to the Hunterdon County Board of Freeholders in 1750, later on he would be elected into the colonial Assembly of New Jersey. When the latter legislature was dissolved he joined the Committee of Safety and the Committee of Correspondence. He would go on to become a member of the first New Jersey provincial congress, and was elected it's vice president in early 1776. During the First Continental Congress this assembly was opposed to independence and was subsequently dissolved. Mr. Hart would then join a new assembly, this time in favour of independence and would a mere few months after signing this note, go on to join the New Jersey delegation that signed the Declaration of Independence. As he was now a marked man by the British, during the Battle of Trenton he had to go into hiding. During that time his farm was raided and damaged by British and Hessian soldiers, but the defeat of the British at the battle permitted his return to his home. Hart would continue to serve New Jersey as an assemblyman, and Committee of Safety member until his death in 1779.

[Scottishmoney]

There are many many ambiguities with that period of American history, in fact some will suggest now that the real United States of America was not truly formed as a unit until the cessation of hostilities in April 1865.  Many oversights and unfinished business leftover from the formation of the country in 1787 were only really taken care of with the unification of the nation in the post-bellum era.  But furthermore, some unfinished business remains from that era, certainly "States Rights" are forefront once the more and probably will be as long as the United States will exist.

I spent a couple of years researching my ancestry several years ago.  I travelled around the country, then my Great Grandmother was still alive, and was a good source of a lot of info - her father served in the army during the Civil War - she was one of the last surviving children of a Civil War veteran when she passed away.  The Civil War is still a touchy subject in our family of course - we are still too close to it.

The Revolution is distant in the past.  Nobody alive knew anybody that fought in that war, but there are still people alive that knew Civil War veterans.