PORTFOLIO: 2ND ESSAY

A Petition to the Hearts and Minds of the People of Massachusetts


Dear Friends, it has come to my concern the nature and state of our colony. The recent events which have plagued us cannot be disguised under any mask that causes them to appear less dangerous. We must guard our colony, guard our thoughts, lest they soon become a hook in our sides. For those among us who have openly shown their beliefs in their actions, we must now as a body realizes the grievances we have committed. It is my firm belief that it is our utmost duty to remain loyal to our King and to England, for only with this can we as a people survive.


It is foolish to believe that our actions of rebellion are not treason against our king. We have tricked ourselves into believing that our actions have not crossed the line of open treason against our sovereign. We have, in our complaints, not only come against the British parliament, as we have supposed in our cries, but against the King himself. For our King is the guardian of Parliament and to commit crimes against parliament are to commit crimes against our King. I tell you, my friends that this is the most dangerous mistake that we can make, is to not realize the consequences and weight of our thoughts or our actions. Our actions are treason. Are we or are we not British? A house cannot stand divided; if we are as colonists, members of the British Empire, then it is our duty to act as members of the British Empire. And if we are in fact, members of the British Empire, then we are subject to the jurisdiction of this empire.


If we as colonists demand protection from our sovereign, we then also owe to our sovereign tribute. We cannot be quick to forget the sacrifices that our sovereign bore in order to protect us from our enemies. The burden that our sovereign took for us in our struggle was one that we as colonists have the right to demand from our protector. But, if we have this right, then so our protector has the right to demand tribute for their sacrifice. With the stamp act that was imposed against us as colonists was enacted for the British Empire to gain revenue for the loss they felt during the seven years war. Through our continuance of bickering over our rights for legislation, we have forgotten our duty that we have towards our protector. We have continued to argue our right for representation and forget so clearly the very nature of our situation. For a whole body of ocean rests between our colony and England, thus can we argue so for representation when nature so clearly has prevented this?


Finally, I must request of you, my friends, that we must remain steadfast to our mother country. We cannot forget our duty as Englishmen to our King and we must realize that our actions are leading us to treason against our sovereign. We cannot forget that our King was chosen by God and we must remain loyal to our country and to our King. I entreat ye, my fellow countrymen, let us not forget our place as Englishmen, let us not be taken away with these sweep of rebellious treason against our King, but let us remember who we are.

James Lewis