The Declaration of Independence wasn’t just an internal document for advocates of separation from Britain. It was a public statement meant to persuade American colonists not yet committed to the struggle, British Whigs, and European leaders. America couldn’t win without foreign support, particularly from France. It was important for the French to see that revolution in America didn’t set a precedent that would reduce royal power, but was the only course for English subjects whose king had failed to follow those precepts first set out in Magna Carta. [Previous posts on Magna Carta are here and here.]

Revolutionary Americans went to great lengths to prove King George III had violated the rights of his subjects and turned a deaf ear to their demands for redress. Under the circumstances, Americans invoked the right of revolution and concluded that George III’s actions absolved them from all allegiance to England.

It was important to tell the world that these were not the actions of volatile riff raff, but of honorable men. More than life or wealth, the most important attribute of an eighteenth century gentleman was his Honor. The word conveyed everything about a man and his value to society. Honor could only occur among equals, a status held by independent men who didn’t depend on anyone else for their livelihood. An honorable man kept his word to other honorable men.

With this in mind, the signatories closed their Declaration in a way to prove their worthiness.

And for the support of this Declaration,

with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence,

we mutually pledge to each other

our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

Well aware that with their signatures they identified themselves as traitors against Great Britain, fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence. John Hancock, president of the Congress, signed boldly in the center, saying “There! His majesty can now read my name without glasses.”

Abraham Clark’s signature is on the bottom of the fifth column, legible but less than flamboyant.

Did the signatories have to make good on their mutual pledge?

Fourteen men sacrificed their lives:

• The British captured five of the signatories and tortured them before they died.
• Another nine men fought in the war and died from their wounds or other military hardship.

Many lost their fortunes, among them:

• Twelve signers had their homes burned.
• Carter Braxton of Virginia was a wealthy planter and trader when the war started. The British navy destroyed his ships at sea. After paying his debts, Braxton died penniless.
• Thomas McKean, delegate from Delaware, lost his possessions and died in poverty.
• When General Cornwallis took over his home near Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr. urged American forces to fire on it. Nelson died bankrupt.
• John Hart fled his dying wife’s bedside.

But what about their Honor?

Did they retain their reputations and mutual respect?

 Abraham Clark 1725-1794

Consider the story of Abraham Clark, an ordinary farmer and lawyer from Elizabethtown, New Jersey. A married man with ten children. A professional man known as the “Poor Man’s Counselor” for his willingness to assist poor farmers with titles to their land. A politician who served at the local level before being appointed to New Jersey’s delegation to the Continental Congress.

Writing from Philadelphia, Clark informed his constituents: “Our Congress has resolved to declare the United Colonies Free and Independent States.” Aware of what he was risking and the seriousness of the delegates’ mutual pledge, Clark noted “We can die but once.”

There are events worse than death. Two of Clark’s sons, Aaron and Thomas, were officers with the Continental Army. They became prisoners of war. As officers they might have been eligible for parole, but when the British discovered who they were, both men were placed on the prison ship Jersey where they received brutal treatment.

The British informed Abraham Clark of his sons’ condition, and said the men wouldn’t be fed until Clark renounced his signature on the traitorous Declaration of Independence.

Clark responded he would give the British everything he had, but as a man of honor, he couldn’t renounce his signature.

Not good enough.

Clark offered to exchange his life for that of his sons.

No.

Clark held fast to his signature and his conviction that if he denounced his honor to save the lives of his sons, he would be leaving them a legacy of dishonor far more painful than death.

This is a difficult concept for modern Americans to understand. Most parents will do anything to save the lives of their children and are expected to do so. But in the eighteenth century, honor was more important than life because without honor, life had no value.

When American patriots signed the Declaration of Independence they pledged everything that made their lives worthwhile, not just life itself but the means by which they held their place in society. When a gentleman gave his word, there was no going back.

Epilogue: As things turned out, both Clark’s sons were released in a prisoner exchange. Clark continued to serve the new United States as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and a member of the House of Representatives. He died in 1794 from what was diagnosed as sunstroke.

Epitaph:

 In memory of

Abraham Clark, Esq.

Who died

Sept. 15, 1794

In the 69 year of his age

Firme and decided as a patriot

Zealous and faithful as a servant of the public

He loved his country and adhered to her

In the darkest hours of her struggles

Against oppression.

 Acknowledgements:

Featured Image: Signing of the Declaration of Independence by John Trumbell. US Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons.

Portrait of Abraham Clark. US Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons.

____. Abraham Clark. Here.

____. The Price They Paid. Snopes.com

Ann Clark Hart. Abraham Clark. SF: The Pioneer Press. 1923. Classic Apologetics.

Shalin Punn. “The Meaning of Honor.” New York Sun. June 12, 2006. Here.

Christy Watterson. “Are You Ready to Pledge Your Life, Fortune, Sacred Honor?” Star Forum. June 26, 2009. Here.

Gordon S. Wood. The Radicalism of the American Revolution. NY: Alfred A. Knopf. 1992.

The post ABRAHAM CLARK’S ‘SACRED HONOR’ first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

Many of John’s abuses were due to his need for money. The last king, his brother Richard, had emptied the royal treasury for his crusading expenses, and John needed to pay for his wars against France. The king raised funds in a way that made him unpopular to all levels of society.

KING JOHN’S CRIMES

John
• charged high reliefs [an inheritance tax],
• abused his authority over wardships [administering the estates of minor and/or female heirs and keeping the money]
• abused his authority over marriages [royal approval of marriages for a fee],
• increased levies of scutage [taxes so John could hire soldiers instead of recruiting knights,]
• raised rents.

John even turned the pope’s interdict to his advantage by collecting church fees that would have gone to Rome. John didn’t negotiate with the pope until the Church endorsed the French king’s plans to invade England. John didn’t have the resources or support to refute an invasion, so he accepted the pope’s authority.

The barons revolted in May 1215. By early summer the barons had taken London and cornered the king at Windsor Castle. They refused to withdraw until the king signed a document guaranteeing their rights. On June 15, 1215 the parties met at Runnymede, a meadow by the Thames River. Reluctantly, the king placed his seal on what became known as Magna Carta.

The document has sixty-three clauses, most of which confirmed the barons in their feudal contractual rights. But there are glimmers of modern liberal thoughts. The king’s rights were limited by custom in his relations with all levels of society, and the term “Englishmen” occasionally included women.

• A widow would not be compelled to marry against her wishes. The king could, however, forbid a match. Though not exactly granting women their choice of marriage partner, the clause was a radical concept when marriage was about property, not personal preference.
• No free man could be arrested, imprisoned, or have his property confiscated without the legal judgment of his peers or the law of the land.
• The king could not claim feudal scutage, aids, or reliefs unless in keeping with common counsel.

Bottom Line – The law no longer came out of the “king’s mouth.” Instead, the king for the first time was placed under the law. And to keep the king honest, the barons appointed a watch-dog committee of twenty-five barons. If the king violated his agreement, they would inform him of the breach. If he continued the behavior, the committee would summon the people to “distrain and distress him in every way possible” except killing him.

It was and is a great document. But John had no intention of keeping his word. He immediately complained to the pope that he had signed under duress. The pope was quick to recognize the potential threat to all rulers “appointed by God,” and issued a bull absolving John from his oath. The barons went back to war. The French king invaded England, and by the time John died in 1216, the French held London.

After John’s death, the barons ended their rebellion to support young Henry III. The French were drive out. Henry III and his advisors reissued Magna Carta, and English government began its evolution to Parliamentary rule.

Fast-forward five hundred years to 1776 British America. The colonists believed King George III had overstepped his authority by levying taxes and controlling commerce. When Thomas Jefferson sat down to compose a document outlining the American case against Britain, the longest section outlined the king’s crimes against his American subjects. Such being the case, they had no choice but to invoke the right of rebellion first set out in Magna Carta.

Next Saturday Americans celebrate the Declaration of Independence first proclaimed on July 4, 1776. In so doing, we also declare the continued relevance of Magna Carta.

Acknowledgements:

Featured Image: John and Barons. 1868. By Joseph Martin Kronheim. US Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons.

Image of Magna Carta, 1297 version. Owned by David M. Rubinstein and on public display in the West Rotunda Gallery of National Archives Building. US Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons.

The post MAGNA CARTA – A STILL LIVING DOCUMENT first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

Last Monday, June 15th, the Magna Carta was 800 years old. Yeah, I know. It’s not a date on the tip of your tongue. But, without the Magna Carta there wouldn’t have been a Declaration of Independence, and without the Declaration we wouldn’t celebrate the 4th of July. And without the 4th of July, we’d miss our summer fireworks. So, it’s worth taking a trip back in time to see what all the fuss is about.

Okay, what’s the Magna Carta? And where did it come from?
So glad you asked.

The colorful story leading up to Magna Carta features some of the most famous players in medieval England, because in medieval England the personal was entirely political. The movers and shakers in our story are Henry II, Eleanor of Acquitaine, their five rebellious sons (including John the Tyrant), and Robin Hood. Well, Robin Hood isn’t actually that important but he is well known.

Henry was an ambitious man. In 1152 he married Eleanor of Aquitaine, the greatest heiress in western Europe. She was a beautiful woman. More importantly, she controlled a great deal of land. In 1153, Henry made good his claim to the English throne and became king in 1154. Turned out he was good at his job. King Henry established the king’s justice and asserted the crown’s claim to rule over the claims of his knightly barons.

Henry’s marriage Eleanor was less than idyllic, though in the early years they produced eight children: five sons and three daughters. As the boys became men, they rebelled against their father, often with their mother’s support. Henry finally placed Eleanor under house arrest.

Relations between the barons and the ruling king began to deteriorate in an elaborate game of Whose got the Power?

When Henry died in 1189, his son Richard became king. Richard left England to join the French king on the Third Crusade, appointing his brother John to serve as regent. This turned out to be an unpopular choice, giving rise to Robin Hood’s career of allegedly robbing the rich to give to the poor.

Although John was not a pleasant regent, the troubles of England weren’t entirely his fault. King Richard managed to be captured and held for ransom twice, which nearly bankrupted England.

In 1199, John got to rule in his own right. He wasn’t a popular king. Indeed, after his death, Matthew Paris famously commented,“Foul as it is, hell itself is made fouler by the presence of King John.” Ouch!

Yet the epitaph wasn’t not without cause. When asked to mediate a dispute involving the engagement of Isabella of Angoulame to Hugh de Lusignan, John divorced his wife and married Isabella himself. This violated the knightly code of conduct. When the French king Philip II called on John to explain his actions, John declined the summons and went to war.

This was a bad choice. By 1206 John lost almost all the English holdings in France. (Normandy, Anjou, Maine and parts of Poitou) No doubt his mother was rolling in her grave. John wasn’t prepared to concede. He needed money to continue the war, so he squeezed the English as never before. Taxes went through the roof, and John began to charge for everything. You want to inherit your father’s land – pay up.

John also annoyed the pope. Pope Innocent III appointed Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury. John refused to accept the appointment. The pope excommunicated John and placed England under and Interdict, which meant no church functions, could take place in England – no baptisms, marriages, funerals. A pretty stiff penalty for everyone in England. And, John’s barons no longer had to obey him. This created a severe threat to John’s job as king. In 1212, John agreed to make England accountable to the pope. This gave John new leverage with the implication that if the barons defied him, God would punish them. This was a more serious threat in the thirteenth century than it would be today.

But John never recognized when it was time to make compromises. He continued to fight in France, trying to regain the lost territories. Under feudal law, John had the right to demand soldiers or gold. When the barons refused to comply, John attacked their castles. Not surprisingly, the barons began to think about taking matters into their own hands. Making a bad situation worse, John lost the war against France a second time and agreed to pay the French king a massive crime in exchange for a truce. John imposed more taxes and fines. By this time the barons had an extensive list of grievances against King John.

Specifically, and not necessarily in order of importance, King John had violated the feudal contract with his barons.

1. He repudiated his first wife, Isabella of Gloucester, in 1200.
2. He married Isabella of Angouleme who was betrothed to his vassal High of Lusignan. This offended King John’s lord, King Philip Augustus of France who confiscated his French holdings.
3. He fought the French king and lost almost all English holdings in France
4. He quarreled with Pope Innocent III.
5. He launched a new unsuccessful war against France and demanded military service and funds to pay for the war.
6. He imposed what the barons viewed as steep, arbitrary fines for alleged violations.

In 1215 the barons did the unthinkable. They rebelled against the king – and they won. Now what?

Next Week: King John capitulates with Magna Carta

Acknowledgements:

Featured Image: John and Barons. 1868. By Joseph Martin Kronheim. US Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons.

The post Happy Birthday, Magna Carta! first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.