The Tryon Resolves were a brief declaration adopted by the citizens of Tryon County

Tryon County, North Carolina

Tryon County is a former county which was located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It was formed in 1768 from the part of Mecklenburg County west of the Catawba River, although the legislative act that created it did not become effective until April 10, 1769. Due to inaccurate and delayed...

 in the Province of 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....

 in the early days of the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

. In the Resolves, the county vowed resistance to coercive actions by the British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

 against its North American colonies

British colonization of the Americas

British colonization of the Americas began in 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia and reached its peak when colonies had been established throughout the Americas...

. The document was signed on August 14, 1775.

Background

The Tryon Resolves "association" was created in response to the Battle of Lexington, and the Resolves were among the earliest of many local colonial declarations against the policies the British government had instituted in the colonies, which were considered oppressive by the colonists. Other similar declarations from the same period included the Mecklenburg Resolves

Mecklenburg Resolves

The Mecklenburg Resolves, or Charlottetown 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...

 (adopted in nearby Mecklenburg County, North Carolina

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...

) and the Suffolk Resolves

Suffolk Resolves

The Suffolk Resolves was a declaration made on September 9, 1774 by the leaders of Suffolk County, Massachusetts, of which Boston is the major city. The convention that adopted them first met at the Woodward Tavern in Dedham, which is today the site of the Norfolk County Courthouse...

 (adopted in Suffolk County, Massachusetts

Suffolk County, Massachusetts

Suffolk County has no land border with Plymouth County to its southeast, but the two counties share a water boundary in the middle of Massachusetts Bay.-National protected areas:*Boston African American National Historic Site...

). The Tryon Resolves predated 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...

 by almost 11 months, but stopped short of proscribing independence from Britain, and, in fact, seeking a resolution to the problems that had grown between the colonies and England.

As tensions between the North American colonies and the British government continued to increase, county residents began forming Committees 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...

 to prepare militia companies for a potential war. On September 14, 1775, many of the signers of the Tryon Resolves formed the Tryon County Militia in preparation for British retaliation against American revolutionaries.

Text summary and effect

In the Tryon Resolves:

• The county residents refer to "the painful necessity of having recourse to arms in defense of our National freedom and constitutional rights, against all invasions;
• Vow to take up arms and risk our lives and our fortunes in maintaining the freedom of our country..."
• The colonists declare they will continue to follow the Continental Congress or Provincial Conventions in defiance of British declarations that these were illegal;
• The signers warn that force will be met with force until such a time as a "reconciliation" can be made between the colonies and Britain.

External links

• Journeys Through Time: Nixon’s History of Lincoln County: The Revolutionary War Period.
• Library of Congress: Adventures of the American Mind: Student Activity Page
• Library of Congress: Adventures of the American Mind : Teachers Page
• Whiteside family signers of the Tryon Resolves
• Revolutionary Dig Saving Local History http://www.ncdot.org/news/dailyclips/2002/02_07/2002-07-24o.html