The Orangetown Resolutions were adopted on July 4, 1774, exactly two years prior to the adoption of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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 resolutions were part of a widespread movement of town and county protests of the Intolerable Acts

Intolerable Acts

The Intolerable Acts or the Coercive Acts are names used to describe a series of laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 relating to Britain's colonies in North America...

 passed by the British Parliament in 1774.

The Resolutions were adopted at the home and inn of Yoast Mabie, a Dutch colonial house in Tappan

Tappan, New York

Tappan is a hamlet in the Town of Orangetown, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of Old Tappan, New Jersey; east of Nauraushaun and Pearl River; south of Blauvelt and west of Palisades and Sparkill...

, New York in Rockland County

Rockland County, New York

Rockland County is a suburban county 15 miles to the northwest of Manhattan and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area, in the U.S. state of New York. It is the southernmost county in New York west of the Hudson River, and the smallest county in New York outside of New York City. The...

. In 1780, "Mabie's Inn" was the place of confinement of British Major John André

John André

John André was a British army officer hanged as a spy during the American War of Independence. This was due to an incident in which he attempted to assist Benedict Arnold's attempted surrender of the fort at West Point, New York to the British.-Early life:André was born on May 2, 1750 in London to...

, conspirator with American General Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...

 to surrender West Point

United States Military Academy

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...

 to the British. The house is still standing and is operating daily as the The Old 76 House

The Old 76 House

The 76 House was built with the founding of Tappan in 1686 and was expanded by the Mabie family to include additional tavern space in 1755. The earliest town meetings where held in this Dutch tavern and it remains the oldest example of Dutch public architecture in America...

 restaurant.

At a meeting of the Freeholders and inhabitants of Orangetown

Orangetown, New York

Orangetown is a town in Rockland County, New York, United States located in the southeast part of the county. It is northwest of New York City; north of New Jersey; east of the town of Ramapo; south of the town of Clarkstown; west of the Hudson River. The population was 47,711 at the 2000 census.-...

 and Province of New York

Province of New York

The Province of New York was an English and later British crown territory that originally included all of the present U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Vermont, along with inland portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine, as well as eastern Pennsylvania...

, on Monday, the fourth day of July,1774, at the house of Mr. Yoast Mabie in said town, the following resolves were agreed upon and passed, viz:

• 1st, That we are and ever wish to be, true and loyal subjects to his Majesty George the Third, king of Great Britain.

• 2nd, That we are most cordially disposed to support his majesty and defend his crown and dignity in every constitutional measure, as far as lies in our power.

• 3rd, That however well disposed we are towards his majesty, we cannot see the late acts of Parliament imposing duties upon us, and the act for shutting up the port of Boston, without declaring our abhorance of measures so unconstitutional and big with destruction.

• 4th, That we are in duty bound to use every just and lawful measure to obtain a repeal of acts, not only destructive to us, but which, of course, must distress thousands in the mother country.

• 5th, That it is our unanimous opinion that the stopping of all exportation and importation to and from Great Britain and the West Indies would be the most effectual method to obtain a speedy repeal.

• 6th, That it is our most ardent wish to see concord and harmony restored to England and her colonies.

• 7th, That the following gentlemen, to wit: Colonel Abraham Lent, John Haring
  John Haring
  John Haring was an American lawyer from New York City. He was a delegate for New York to the Continental Congress....
  
  , Esquire, Mr. Thomas Outwater, Mr. Gardner Jones, and Peter T. Haring, may be a committee for this town to correspond with the City of New York, and to conclude and agree upon such measures as they shall judge necessary in order to obtain a repeal of said acts.

External links

• Text of the Resolutions as published in the American Archives, presented online by the Northern Illinois University
  Northern Illinois University
  Northern Illinois University is a state university and research institution located in DeKalb, Illinois, with satellite centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895 by Illinois Governor John P...
  
  Libraries.