. The magazine of American history with notes and queries. a flock of sheep. More accurate study ofthe original records has shown the futility of these stereotyped views. * Bishop Meade, in his Old Churches, makes the remarkable statement : From our exami-nation of the old vestry books, we are convinced that there are not three on this list (of themembers of the Convention of 1776) who were not vestrymen of the Episcopal Church. THE VIRGINIA DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 373 Those old Virginians were not pieces of perfection, and had a great manyfaults, like other people ; but the historians oug
. The magazine of American history with notes and queries. a flock of sheep. More accurate study ofthe original records has shown the futility of these stereotyped views. * Bishop Meade, in his Old Churches, makes the remarkable statement : From our exami-nation of the old vestry books, we are convinced that there are not three on this list (of themembers of the Convention of 1776) who were not vestrymen of the Episcopal Church. THE VIRGINIA DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 373 Those old Virginians were not pieces of perfection, and had a great manyfaults, like other people ; but the historians ought to have understood thatthey were neither ciphers nor butterflies, and that the high pride justlyattributed to them was the origin of their resistance to wrong. No menoppose an invasion of their rights more stubbornly than those who possessthis personal pride ; the habit of command makes them the last people tosubmit to it. The Virginia planters were English subjects, and until theend of 1775 never wished to be anything else. Even Jefferson, the revo-. BERKELEY Residence of Benjamin Harrison. Birthplace 0/ President William Henry Harrison. lutionist, preferred dependence, he said, on Great Britain rather than onany other nation, or than on no nation, if the rights of the Americanswere respected. When it was seen that these rights were to be dis-regarded by the Mother Country, the compound slaves, cyphers andbutterflies, of the historical imagination, not only resisted the wrong, butbecame the leaders of the revolutionary movement which resulted in theindependence of the whole country. These facts are so plain from the records that it is surprising to findwriters asserting the contrary. The explanation is personal prejudice,either of race or opinion—but neither should be an apology for distorting 374 THE VIRGINIA DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
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