hand
alienated their love, were expelled from the threshold, and were
compelled to seek shelter behind the bulwark of a righteous rebellion.
Now their thoughts turned to the establishment of themselves as an
independent nation.

The precise time when aspirations for political independence first
became a prevailing sentiment among the people of the colonies, can not
be determined. No doubt the thought had been born in many minds, and the
desire cherished in many hearts, years before they received tangible
shape in explicit declarations. James Warren, Samuel Adams, Dr.
Franklin, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, Timothy Dwight, Thomas
Paine, and others seem to have been early impressed with the idea, that
a total separation from Great Britain was the only cure for existing
evils. But it was only a few months before the subject was brought
before Congress, that it became a topic for public discussion.

In 1773 Patrick Henry said, in conversation, "I doubt whether we shall
be able, _alone_, to cope with so powerful a nation as Great Britain;
but," he said, rising from his chair with animation, "where is France?
where is Spain? where is Holland? the natural enemies of Great Britain.
Where will they be all this while? Do you suppose they will stand by,
idle and indifferent spectators of the contest? Will Louis XVI. be
asleep all this time? Believe me, _no_! When Louis XVI. shall be
satisfied by our serious opposition, and our _Declaration of
Independence_, that all prospect of a reconciliation is gone, then, and
not till then, will he furnish us with arms, ammunition, and clothing;
and not with them only, but he will send his fleets and armies to fight
our battles for us. He will form a treaty with us, offensive and
defensive, against our unnatural mother. Spain and Holland will join the
confederation. _Our independence will be established, and we shall take
our stand among the nations of the earth!_" Never did seer or prophet
more clearly lift the veil of the future, and yet few sympathized with
him. Doctor Franklin talked of total political emancipation in 1774, and
Timothy Dwight recommended it early in 1775, and yet Jay, Madison,
Richard Penn, and others positively assert, that until after the meeting
of the second Continental Congress, there was no serious thought of
independence entertained. In reply to an intimation from a friend in
1774, that Massachusetts was seeking independence, Washington wrote,
"Give me leave