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by
Thomas Paine
These are the
times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot
will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he
that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.
Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation
with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What
we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives
every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its
goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as
FREEDOM should not be highly rated. Britain, with an army to enforce her
tyranny, has declared that she has a right (not only to TAX) but ``to BIND
us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER'', and if being bound in that manner, is not
slavery, then is there not such a thing as slavery upon earth. Even the
expression is impious; for so unlimited a power can belong only to God.
Whether the
independence of the continent was declared too soon, or delayed too long,
I will not now enter into as an argument; my own simple opinion is, that
had it been eight months earlier, it would have been much better. We did
not make a proper use of last winter, neither could we, while we were in a
dependent state. However, the fault, if it were one, was all our own2.1;
we have none to blame but ourselves. But no great deal is lost yet. All
that Howe has been doing for this month past, is rather a ravage than a
conquest, which the spirit of the Jerseys, a year ago, would have quickly
repulsed, and which time and a little resolution will soon recover.
I have as little
superstition in me as any man living, but my secret opinion has ever been,
and still is, that God Almighty will not give up a people to military
destruction, or leave them unsupportedly to perish, who have so earnestly
and so repeatedly sought to avoid the calamities of war, by every decent
method which wisdom could invent. Neither have I so much of the infidel in
me, as to suppose that He has relinquished the government of the world,
and given us up to the care of devils; and as I do not, I cannot see on
what grounds the king of Britain can look up to heaven for help against
us: a common murderer, a highwayman, or a house-breaker, has as good a
pretence as he.
'Tis surprising
to see how rapidly a panic will sometimes run through a country. All
nations and ages have been subject to them. Britain has trembled like an
ague at the report of a French fleet of flat-bottomed boats; and in the
fourteenth [fifteenth] century the whole English army, after ravaging the
kingdom of France, was driven back like men petrified with fear; and this
brave exploit was performed by a few broken forces collected and headed by
a woman, Joan of Arc. Would that heaven might inspire some Jersey maid to
spirit up her countrymen, and save her fair fellow sufferers from ravage
and ravishment! Yet panics, in some cases, have their uses; they produce
as much good as hurt. Their duration is always short; the mind soon grows
through them, and acquires a firmer habit than before. But their peculiar
advantage is, that they are the touchstones of sincerity and hypocrisy,
and bring things and men to light, which might otherwise have lain forever
undiscovered. In fact, they have the same effect on secret traitors, which
an imaginary apparition would have upon a private murderer. They sift out
the hidden thoughts of man, and hold them up in public to the world. Many
a disguised Tory has lately shown his head, that shall penitentially
solemnize with curses the day on which Howe arrived upon the Delaware.
As I was with the
troops at Fort Lee, and marched with them to the edge of Pennsylvania, I
am well acquainted with many circumstances, which those who live at a
distance know but little or nothing of. Our situation there was
exceedingly cramped, the place being a narrow neck of land between the
North River and the Hackensack. Our force was inconsiderable, being not
one-fourth so great as Howe could bring against us. We had no army at hand
to have relieved the garrison, had we shut ourselves up and stood on our
defence. Our ammunition, light artillery, and the best part of our stores,
had been removed, on the apprehension that Howe would endeavor to
penetrate the Jerseys, in which case Fort Lee could be of no use to us;
for it must occur to every thinking man, whether in the army or not, that
these kind of field forts are only for temporary purposes, and last in use
no longer than the enemy directs his force against the particular object
which such forts are raised to defend. Such was our situation and
condition at Fort Lee on the morning of the 20th of November, when an
officer arrived with information that the enemy with 200 boats had landed
about seven miles above; Major General [Nathaniel] Green, who commanded
the garrison, immediately ordered them under arms, and sent express to
General Washington at the town of Hackensack, distant by the way of the
ferry = six miles. Our first object was to secure the bridge over the
Hackensack, which laid up the river between the enemy and us, about six
miles from us, and three from them. General Washington arrived in about
three-quarters of an hour, and marched at the head of the troops towards
the bridge, which place I expected we should have a brush for; however,
they did not choose to dispute it with us, and the greatest part of our
troops went over the bridge, the rest over the ferry, except some which
passed at a mill on a small creek, between the bridge and the ferry, and
made their way through some marshy grounds up to the town of Hackensack,
and there passed the river. We brought off as much baggage as the wagons
could contain, the rest was lost. The simple object was to bring off the
garrison, and march them on till they could be strengthened by the Jersey
or Pennsylvania militia, so as to be enabled to make a stand. We staid
four days at Newark, collected our out-posts with some of the Jersey
militia, and marched out twice to meet the enemy, on being informed that
they were advancing, though our numbers were greatly inferior to theirs.
Howe, in my little opinion, committed a great error in generalship in not
throwing a body of forces off from Staten Island through Amboy, by which
means he might have seized all our stores at Brunswick, and intercepted
our march into Pennsylvania; but if we believe the power of hell to be
limited, we must likewise believe that their agents are under some
providential control.
I shall not now
attempt to give all the particulars of our retreat to the Delaware;
suffice it for the present to say, that both officers and men, though
greatly harassed and fatigued, frequently without rest, covering, or
provision, the inevitable consequences of a long retreat, bore it with a
manly and martial spirit. All their wishes centred in one, which was, that
the country would turn out and help them to drive the enemy back. Voltaire
has remarked that King William never appeared to full advantage but in
difficulties and in action; the same remark may be made on General
Washington, for the character fits him. There is a natural firmness in
some minds which cannot be unlocked by trifles, but which, when unlocked,
discovers a cabinet of fortitude; and I reckon it among those kind of
public blessings, which we do not immediately see, that God hath blessed
him with uninterrupted health, and given him a mind that can even flourish
upon care.
I shall conclude
this paper with some miscellaneous remarks on the state of our affairs;
and shall begin with asking the following question, Why is it that the
enemy have left the New England provinces, and made these middle ones the
seat of war? The answer is easy: New England is not infested with Tories,
and we are. I have been tender in raising the cry against these men, and
used numberless arguments to show them their danger, but it will not do to
sacrifice a world either to their folly or their baseness. The period is
now arrived, in which either they or we must change our sentiments, or one
or both must fall. And what is a Tory? Good God! what is he? I should not
be afraid to go with a hundred Whigs against a thousand Tories, were they
to attempt to get into arms. Every Tory is a coward; for servile, slavish,
self-interested fear is the foundation of Toryism; and a man under such
influence, though he may be cruel, never can be brave.
But, before the
line of irrecoverable separation be drawn between us, let us reason the
matter together: Your conduct is an invitation to the enemy, yet not one
in a thousand of you has heart enough to join him. Howe is as much
deceived by you as the American cause is injured by you. He expects you
will all take up arms, and flock to his standard, with muskets on your
shoulders. Your opinions are of no use to him, unless you support him
personally, for 'tis soldiers, and not Tories, that he wants.
I once felt all
that kind of anger, which a man ought to feel, against the mean principles
that are held by the Tories: a noted one, who kept a tavern at Amboy, was
standing at his door, with as pretty a child in his hand, about eight or
nine years old, as I ever saw, and after speaking his mind as freely as he
thought was prudent, finished with this unfatherly expression, ``Well!
give me peace in my day.'' Not a man lives on the continent but fully
believes that a separation must some time or other finally take place, and
a generous parent should have said, ``If there must be trouble, let it be
in my day, that my child may have peace;'' and this single reflection,
well applied, is sufficient to awaken every man to duty. Not a place upon
earth might be so happy as America. Her situation is remote from all the
wrangling world, and she has nothing to do but to trade with them. A man
can distinguish himself between temper and principle, and I am as
confident, as I am that God governs the world, that America will never be
happy till she gets clear of foreign dominion. Wars, without ceasing, will
break out till that period arrives, and the continent must in the end be
conqueror; for though the flame of liberty may sometimes cease to shine,
the coal can never expire.
America did not,
nor does not want force; but she wanted a proper application of that
force. Wisdom is not the purchase of a day, and it is no wonder that we
should err at the first setting off. From an excess of tenderness, we were
unwilling to raise an army, and trusted our cause to the temporary defence
of a well-meaning militia. A summer's experience has now taught us better;
yet with those troops, while they were collected, we were able to set
bounds to the progress of the enemy, and, thank God! they are again
assembling. I always considered militia as the best troops in the world
for a sudden exertion, but they will not do for a long campaign. Howe, it
is probable, will make an attempt on this city [Philadelphia]; should he
fail on this side the Delaware, he is ruined. If he succeeds, our cause is
not ruined. He stakes all on his side against a part on ours; admitting he
succeeds, the consequence will be, that armies from both ends of the
continent will march to assist their suffering friends in the middle
states; for he cannot go everywhere, it is impossible. I consider Howe as
the greatest enemy the Tories have; he is bringing a war into their
country, which, had it not been for him and partly for themselves, they
had been clear of. Should he now be expelled, I wish with all the devotion
of a Christian, that the names of Whig and Tory may never more be
mentioned; but should the Tories give him encouragement to come, or
assistance if he come, I as sincerely wish that our next year's arms may
expel them from the continent, and the Congress appropriate their
possessions to the relief of those who have suffered in well-doing. A
single successful battle next year will settle the whole. America could
carry on a two years' war by the confiscation of the property of
disaffected persons, and be made happy by their expulsion. Say not that
this is revenge, call it rather the soft resentment of a suffering people,
who, having no object in view but the good of all, have staked their own
all upon a seemingly doubtful event. Yet it is folly to argue against
determined hardness; eloquence may strike the ear, and the language of
sorrow draw forth the tear of compassion, but nothing can reach the heart
that is steeled with prejudice.
Quitting this
class of men, I turn with the warm ardor of a friend to those who have
nobly stood, and are yet determined to stand the matter out: I call not
upon a few, but upon all: not on this state or that state, but on every
state: up and help us; lay your shoulders to the wheel; better have too
much force than too little, when so great an object is at stake. Let it be
told to the future world, that in the depth of winter, when nothing but
hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at
one common danger, came forth to meet and to repulse it. Say not that
thousands are gone, turn out your tens of thousands; throw not the burden
of the day upon Providence, but ``show your faith by your works,'' that
God may bless you. It matters not where you live, or what rank of life you
hold, the evil or the blessing will reach you all. The far and the near,
the home counties and the back, the rich and the poor, will suffer or
rejoice alike. The heart that feels not now is dead; the blood of his
children will curse his cowardice, who shrinks back at a time when a
little might have saved the whole, and made them happy. I love the man
that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and
grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but
he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will
pursue his principles unto death. My own line of reasoning is to myself as
straight and clear as a ray of light. Not all the treasures of the world,
so far as I believe, could have induced me to support an offensive war,
for I think it murder; but if a thief breaks into my house, burns and
destroys my property, and kills or threatens to kill me, or those that are
in it, and to ``bind me in all cases whatsoever'' to his absolute will, am
I to suffer it? What signifies it to me, whether he who does it is a king
or a common man; my countryman or not my countryman; whether it be done by
an individual villain, or an army of them? If we reason to the root of
things we shall find no difference; neither can any just cause be assigned
why we should punish in the one case and pardon in the other. Let them
call me rebel and welcome, I feel no concern from it; but I should suffer
the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul by swearing
allegiance to one whose character is that of a sottish, stupid, stubborn,
worthless, brutish man. I conceive likewise a horrid idea in receiving
mercy from a being, who at the last day shall be shrieking to the rocks
and mountains to cover him, and fleeing with terror from the orphan, the
widow, and the slain of America.
There are cases
which cannot be overdone by language, and this is one. There are persons,
too, who see not the full extent of the evil which threatens them; they
solace themselves with hopes that the enemy, if he succeed, will be
merciful. It is the madness of folly, to expect mercy from those who have
refused to do justice; and even mercy, where conquest is the object, is
only a trick of war; the cunning of the fox is as murderous as the
violence of the wolf, and we ought to guard equally against both. Howe's
first object is, partly by threats and partly by promises, to terrify or
seduce the people to deliver up their arms and receive mercy. The ministry
recommended the same plan to Gage, and this is what the tories call making
their peace, ``a peace which passeth all understanding'' indeed! A peace
which would be the immediate forerunner of a worse ruin than any we have
yet thought of. Ye men of Pennsylvania, do reason upon these things! Were
the back counties to give up their arms, they would fall an easy prey to
the Indians, who are all armed: this perhaps is what some Tories would not
be sorry for. Were the home counties to deliver up their arms, they would
be exposed to the resentment of the back counties who would then have it
in their power to chastise their defection at pleasure. And were any one
state to give up its arms, that state must be garrisoned by all Howe's
army of Britons and Hessians to preserve it from the anger of the rest.
Mutual fear is the principal link in the chain of mutual love, and woe be
to that state that breaks the compact. Howe is mercifully inviting you to
barbarous destruction, and men must be either rogues or fools that will
not see it. I dwell not upon the vapors of imagination; I bring reason to
your ears, and, in language as plain as A, B, C, hold up truth to your
eyes.
I thank God, that
I fear not. I see no real cause for fear. I know our situation well, and
can see the way out of it. While our army was collected, Howe dared not
risk a battle; and it is no credit to him that he decamped from the White
Plains, and waited a mean opportunity to ravage the defenceless Jerseys;
but it is great credit to us, that, with a handful of men, we sustained an
orderly retreat for near an hundred miles, brought off our ammunition, all
our field pieces, the greatest part of our stores, and had four rivers to
pass. None can say that our retreat was precipitate, for we were near
three weeks in performing it, that the country might have time to come in.
Twice we marched back to meet the enemy, and remained out till dark. The
sign of fear was not seen in our camp, and had not some of the cowardly
and disaffected inhabitants spread false alarms through the country, the
Jerseys had never been ravaged. Once more we are again collected and
collecting; our new army at both ends of the continent is recruiting fast,
and we shall be able to open the next campaign with sixty thousand men,
well armed and clothed. This is our situation, and who will may know it.
By perseverance and fortitude we have the prospect of a glorious issue; by
cowardice and submission, the sad choice of a variety of evils - a ravaged
country - a depopulated city - habitations without safety, and slavery
without hope - our homes turned into barracks and bawdy-houses for
Hessians, and a future race to provide for, whose fathers we shall doubt
of. Look on this picture and weep over it! and if there yet remains one
thoughtless wretch who believes it not, let him suffer it unlamented.
COMMON SENSE.
December 23, 1776
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