2.5 A Pledge to Violate the Stamp Act
Printed in the North Carolina Gazette (Wilmington), February 26, 1766.
A proof sheet of one-penny stamps to be used on newspapers, pamphlets, and all other papers "being larger than half a sheet and not exceeding one whole sheet." (Original in the Board of Inland Revenues Stamping Department Archive, Philatelic Collection, The British Library. More about the photograph)
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We the subscribers, free and natural born subjects of George the third, true and lawful King of Great Britain and all its Dependencies (whom God preserve) whose sacred person, crown and dignity, we are ready and willing, at the expense of our lives and fortunes to defend, being fully convinced of the oppressive and arbitrary tendency of a late Act of Parliament, imposing Stamp duties on the inhabitants of this Province, and fundamentally subversive of the liberties and Charters of North America; truly sensible of the inestimable blessings of a free Constitution, gloriously handed down to us by our brave Forefathers, detesting Rebellion, yet preferring death to slavery, Do, with all loyalty to our most gracious Sovereign, with all deference to the just Laws of our Country, and with a proper and necessary regard to ourselves and Posterity, hereby mutually and solemnly plight our faith and honour, that we will at any risque whatever, and whenever called upon, unite, and truly and faithfully assist each other, to the best of our Power, in preventing entirely the operation of the Stamp Act.
Witness our hands this 18th day of February 1766.
Comments
- subscribers
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The people signing this pledge subscribed to it in the way someone “subscribes” to a belief — that is, they agreed to follow it.
- natural born
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A natural born citizen of a country is someone who was born a citizen of that country, so the signers are saying that they are not immigrants from other countries but were born subjects of the British Empire.
- true and lawful King
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Why was it important to say that George III was the “true and lawful” king?
- late
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Late here means recent.
- liberties and Charters
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English people and colonists in the eighteenth century used liberties much the way we use rights today — to refer to a variety of things that by law and tradition they were able to do.
Charters are fundamental laws, similar to a constitution. The word might refer to charters of colonies, but North Carolina’s charter had long ago been revoked — it was a royal colony. Since he says “the charters of North America” the author of this pledge may be referring to the charters of other colonies, such as Massachusetts. He may also be referring to important laws and precedents in North Carolina that guaranteed citizens the right to a voice in their government.
- a free Constitution, gloriously handed down to us by our brave Forefathers
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The English (or British) Constitution was, and is, a collection of fundamental laws through the centuries, not a single founding document like the Constitution of the United States that lays out all of the functions and powers of a government. The two most important laws in the English “constitution” were the Magna Carta (or “great charter”) of 1215 and the Bill of Rights of 1689. Both guaranteed certain rights to British subjects, including the right to a say in their government.
- slavery
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It was common in the eighteenth century for English people to refer to anyone who did not share their rights and liberties as a slave. Why might American colonists have used this word so frequently in their protests against acts of Parliament?
- Posterity
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Posterity means future generations. By mentioning posterity, the signers are saying that they feel responsible to their children and their children’s children, and that they are willing to fight and sacrifice for them.
- solemnly plight our faith and honour
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Plight here means pledge. By pledging their honor, they were saying that if they broke their pledge, they would lose honor, or their reputation as men.
Credits
Printed in the North Carolina Gazette (Wilmington), February 26, 1766.
Original source available from UNC Libraries / Documenting the American South.
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North Carolina Digital History: Credits and acknowledgments
