Letter Tied to Fight for Independence Is Found in Museum’s Attic

This is perhaps a history-changing discovery in terms of authorship. What a twist of fate that such a document destined for destruction in the 1970s was inadvertently filed with some old doctors' bills in the museum attic!

...the document was the draft of an urgent plea for reconciliation from the Continental Congress. It was addressed to the people of Britain, not King George III and his government, and began by mentioning “the tender ties which bind us to each other” and “the glorious achievements of our common ancestors.”

That was followed by a long list of complaints about the infringement of colonists’ rights, the restrictions on trade and the “rigorous acts of oppression which are daily exercised in the Town of Boston.”

“That once populous, flourishing, commercial Town is now Garrisoned by an army sent not to protect, but to enslave its inhabitants,” the document said.

According to a consultant at Yale, the author of the document was a New York jurist named Robert R. Livingston, who had been on the fence about whether to support independence.

The following year, Congress tapped Livingston to draft the Declaration of Independence along with Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Roger Sherman. Livingston went on to swear in Washington as the first president. Other historians who have reviewed the document Ms. Gruchow found say her discovery explains why he was chosen. It could also change the perception of Livingston’s role in the push for independence because it had always been assumed that the document at the mansion was the work of another prominent colonial figure, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia.

The museum believes there is no proof the king of England ever saw the document. The draft document will be put up for auction on Jan 26th and is expected to sell for between 1-4 hundred thousand.

Source

reply to post by aboutface


Wow, I can't believe they almost threw it away back in the 70's....whew
What a find indeed

reply to post by snarky412

You'd be absolutely amazed by what is forgotten in the storerooms of libraries and museums. I was once fortunate enough to be part of the Duke University Student Labor force. My job was dusting 'the stacks' ... with unlimited access and time to browse.

Those were truly the good old days for me.

reply to post by Snarl


It sounds so wonderful!

Do you remember any particular item-s you discovered?

reply to post by aboutface

An armory ... that was a shock, but the coolest (and right up ATS alley) was an original translation of Nostradamus' Quatrains.