July 4, 2021 — 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
JEFFERSONIAN PICNIC:
Was the Continental Congress amiss in offering the Olive Branch Petition?
We live in a new era of political apologists. Politicians are eager to express their loyalty to party and causes and sometimes this loyalty defies reason or even their own best interests but this is not a new behavior in American politics. In on July 5, 1775 the Continental Congress send an apologetic letter pleading for Parliament and the King to reconcile with the colonies. The King never responded and is rumored to have refused to even read it. Was sending this letter a necessary step in creating the resolve of Congress to declare independence 12 months later or was this a vain attempt at preserving the self-interests of the delegates? Should Congress have sent this petition or taken a stronger stance against the Crown? Could the Revolution have been avoided or had the actions in Boston put the Colonies on an ineluctable path toward separation from the British Empire?
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