Williamsburg, Virginia May 15, 1776
If the British government was looking for a little sympathy, they weren’t going to get it from Virginia. The colony of Rhode Island had already told Parliament to “find a long pier … go to the end and JUMP!” Previously that month, May 4th, Rhode Island was the first colony to renounce its allegiance to the guy across the big pond. King George III could take his crown and …
But anyone who looks at a map can see that Rhode Island doesn’t carry a lot of weight in either geographic size, or number of colonists.
It was going to take more than one small colony seceding from the EMPIRE to impress Parliament into thinking twice about THEIR actions!
Welcome to Virginia!
Today, their tourism slogan is, Virginia Is For Lovers. In 1776, the state tourism slogan would have been, Virginia Is For Fighters! Virginia, and its capitol, Williamsburg, were the Massachusetts and the Boston of the South! Lots of radical thinkers and a governor who, in their opinion, was on the wrong side of history!
Governor Dunmore fled the capitol less than a year earlier on June 8, 1775, leaving the colonists to their own devices, never to see British rule again.
Less than a year after Dunmore’s “departure,” the Fifth Virginia Convention, a group of elected Virginia leaders, met at the Capitol building in Williamsburg on May 15, 1776 to essentially “vote on instructions.” Those instructions were unanimous.
There was already a meeting of the colonies going on up north in Philadelphia known as the Second Continental Congress. Delegates from each of the colonies were trying to decide what to do about their problems with Parliament and the King. There was still hope that they could draft some sort of document that would lead to an understanding … a compromise on how to fix the rift between the British government and the colonies.
They would soon decide that would not work, and a document was about to be written that would put any chance of reconciliation to rest forever!
18th – Century Virginia Capitol Building – House of Burgesses
Williamsburg, Virginia
By the end of the day, May 15,1776, the Fifth Virginia Convention voted for its Continental Congress delegates “to declare the United Colonies free and independent states absolved from all allegiance to or dependence upon the crown or Parliament of Great Britain.”
Pretty bold move! Actually, Virginia was the first colony to approve that pretty bold move! Things were moving toward independence, but no colony had yet stepped over the line. Yes, Rhode Island had said it, but they hadn’t signed any documents … any Declarations. There was one coming up in less than 60 days that they would get their chance to put their names on.
Virginia had taken the first step toward what would become a revolution. No more “war of words.” No more “hoping” Parliament would get its ego in check. No more wondering what “bumpkin” in Parliament would come up with a “NEW” tax on the colonies.
Not everyone loved the resolution at the Virginia Congress. But, it wasn’t because of the idea, it was due to their belief it wasn’t a masterpiece of writing.
“Tedious” – “Poor composition”
Evidently, that didn’t stop them from unanimously voting for the less than a masterpiece of writing. They voted for YEA! for the IDEA!
This was all a risky proposition. It was called … TREASON in most parts of the 18th-century world. Followed quickly by DEATH!
But if the colonies could put together some sort of DECLARATION, France, Spain, or any other country could finally, and officially, choose sides.
Nefarious Parchment
Franklin’s name was on a parchment, and it wasn’t one that he was happy about being mentioned on. He, along with several other Founding Fathers, were marked for elimination before this silly conflict turned into an all-out war!
This was Franklin’s second time visiting Williamsburg, Virginia, but this would be his strangest visit. He had missed about 250 years of his past and was now in 2025! And there was one minor issue that he and his soon-to-be new friend would have to unravel.
250 years ago, the British had won the American Revolution!
