Mecklenburg Resolves
Encyclopedia
The Mecklenburg Resolves, or Charlottetown (Charlotte Town) Resolves, and sometimes referred to as the "Mecklenburg Declaration", was a list of statements reputed to have been introduced in Mecklenburg County
, North Carolina
to the Mecklenburg Committee of Safety
on or after March 20, 1775 and adopted by the committee on May 31, 1775. The document may have proclaimed that all laws originating from the British King or Parliament are null and void, and that the only legitimate government over the American colonies was the Continental Congress
, then meeting in Philadelphia. Further, it is purported to have stated that royal authority in America
was suspended and crown officials were to be detained, ostensibly becoming the "first" declaration of independence by a colonial entity. More likely it was simply a list of resolves as was somewhat common that year in the months following the British military action in Lexington and Concord. The actual document text, however, is somewhat in dispute, as there exists no known original copy of these resolves or of any declaration.
Captain James Jack is reputed to have relayed the resultant document to the North Carolina delegation at the Continental Congress
where the delegates received it, but opted not to present it to Congress as a whole. These resolves were drafted only a month following the outbreak of war at Lexington and Concord, but over a year earlier than the United States Declaration of Independence
.
Some proof of the Mecklenburg Resolves existence was acquired in 1847, with the uncovering of an archival newspaper copy of the text which had been published in the South Carolina Gazette
of June 13, 1775. The article gave the date of adoption of the Resolves as May 31, 1775. No similar publication of a Declaration, purported to have been adopted eleven days earlier and by then considered a separate document, has been uncovered.
and some claim it to be the first 'declaration of independence" in America. This declaration would have antedated the less freedom-seeking resolves by eleven days, a contradiction in logic.
Conclusive evidence of that document, however, has not been forthcoming. The original version of the "Mecklenburg Declaration", plus the five official copies, was said to have all burned together in a fire in 1800. Attempts at that time to re-create the text of the document just added to the confusion and controversy, especially because some of this re-created text borrowed actual passages from the United States Declaration of Independence
. What has since been published is a reconstruction made decades later from the memories of supposed surviving signers. Many believe the story of a declaration of freedom was concocted by some old-timers many years after the event, who were simply embellishing or mis-remembering the actual events surrounding the adoption of the Mecklenburg Resolves.
Nonetheless, the North Carolina government has endorsed the story, and the date of the Mecklenburg Declaration is memorialized on the state seal and the North Carolina Flag.
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Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
-Air:The county's primary commercial aviation airport is Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte.- Intercity rail :With twenty-five freight trains a day, Mecklenburg is a freight railroad transportation center, largely due to its place on the NS main line between Washington and Atlanta...
, North Carolina
Province of North Carolina
The Province of North Carolina was originally part of the Province of Carolina in British America, which was chartered by eight Lords Proprietor. The province later became the U.S. states of North Carolina and Tennessee....
to the Mecklenburg Committee of Safety
Committee of Safety (American Revolution)
Many Committees of Safety were established throughout Colonial America at the start of the American Revolution. These committees started to appear in the 1760s as means to discuss the concerns of the time, and often consisted of every male adult in the community...
on or after March 20, 1775 and adopted by the committee on May 31, 1775. The document may have proclaimed that all laws originating from the British King or Parliament are null and void, and that the only legitimate government over the American colonies was the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
, then meeting in Philadelphia. Further, it is purported to have stated that royal authority in America
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...
was suspended and crown officials were to be detained, ostensibly becoming the "first" declaration of independence by a colonial entity. More likely it was simply a list of resolves as was somewhat common that year in the months following the British military action in Lexington and Concord. The actual document text, however, is somewhat in dispute, as there exists no known original copy of these resolves or of any declaration.
Captain James Jack is reputed to have relayed the resultant document to the North Carolina delegation at the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
where the delegates received it, but opted not to present it to Congress as a whole. These resolves were drafted only a month following the outbreak of war at Lexington and Concord, but over a year earlier than the United States Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
.
The Resolves
The impetus of the Mecklenburg Resolves required Great Britain to "resign its unjust and arbitrary pretensions with respect to America", in which case the county's self-governing authority manifest in those resolves would become moot. Although a radical display of defiance, the Mecklenburg Resolves were not by any means a declaration that the people of Mecklenburg County were "free and independent."Some proof of the Mecklenburg Resolves existence was acquired in 1847, with the uncovering of an archival newspaper copy of the text which had been published in the South Carolina Gazette
South Carolina Gazette
The South Carolina Gazette was South Carolina's first successful newspaper. The paper began in 1732 under J. Whitemarsh in Charlestown . but within only 2 years he died of yellow fever. In 1734 another former printer with Benjamin Franklin, Lewis Timothy, revived the Gazette and ran it until...
of June 13, 1775. The article gave the date of adoption of the Resolves as May 31, 1775. No similar publication of a Declaration, purported to have been adopted eleven days earlier and by then considered a separate document, has been uncovered.
The Resolves vs. The Declaration
According to North Carolinian folklore, citizens of Mecklenburg County assembled in Charlotte on May 20, 1775, and wrote a declaration of independence from Britain. This is known as the Mecklenburg Declaration of IndependenceMecklenburg Declaration of Independence
The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is allegedly the first declaration of independence made in the Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolution. It was supposedly signed on May 20, 1775, at Charlotte, North Carolina, by a committee of citizens of Mecklenburg County, who declared...
and some claim it to be the first 'declaration of independence" in America. This declaration would have antedated the less freedom-seeking resolves by eleven days, a contradiction in logic.
Conclusive evidence of that document, however, has not been forthcoming. The original version of the "Mecklenburg Declaration", plus the five official copies, was said to have all burned together in a fire in 1800. Attempts at that time to re-create the text of the document just added to the confusion and controversy, especially because some of this re-created text borrowed actual passages from the United States Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
. What has since been published is a reconstruction made decades later from the memories of supposed surviving signers. Many believe the story of a declaration of freedom was concocted by some old-timers many years after the event, who were simply embellishing or mis-remembering the actual events surrounding the adoption of the Mecklenburg Resolves.
Nonetheless, the North Carolina government has endorsed the story, and the date of the Mecklenburg Declaration is memorialized on the state seal and the North Carolina Flag.
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