The first American Declaration of Independence? : the disputed history of the Mecklenburg Declaration of May 20, 1775 /
"This is a comprehensive history of one of the greatest mysteries in American history--did Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, declare independence from Great Britain more than a year before anyone else? This book sets out all of the evidence, pro and con"--
Saved in:
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| Format: | Electronic eBook |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Jefferson, North Carolina :
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers,
2014.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | CONNECT |
Table of Contents:
- Prologue: "One of the deepest mysteries"
- Part I. Life in the Carolina backcountry (1663-1775)
- "Always insolent to their governors" : the rule of the Lords Proprietors
- "People of desperate fortune" : the Scots-Irish settle Mecklenburg County
- "Highly injured and aggrieved" : Alexander Craighead and the Presbyterians
- "Brutal sons of bitches" : Thomas Polk and the Sugar Creek War
- Part II. High treason (1775-1781)
- "General frenzy" : Polk summons a meeting
- "Fury and revenge" : May 19, 1775
- "There was not a dissenting voice" : the Mecklenburg Declaration is made
- "A rash act" : treason and second thoughts
- "I set out the following month, say June" : the ride of Captain James Jack
- The empire strikes back : "A most treasonable publication ... in Mecklenburg"
- Part III. Opening arguments (1817-1829)
- From beyond the grave : the "copy in an unknown hand"
- "He has copied the spirit, the sense, and the expressions of it verbatim" : John Adams accuses Thomas Jefferson of plagiarism
- "I believe it spurious" : Thomas Jefferson, original Mecklenburg Declaration skeptic
- Part IV. The Mecklenburg controversy (1829-2012)
- "Solemn proof" : John McKnitt Alexander's version of the story
- "Independence lang before any body else" : eyewitnesses and local legends
- "All former laws are now wholly suspended" : the Mecklenburg Resolves confuse everybody
- Tampering with the evidence : Charles Phillips and the Davie copy
- Death by a thousand cuts : the case against the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence
- "The faithful disperse" : the controversy fizzles out
- Part V. Clues and explanations
- Red herrings, forgery and the case against Jefferson
- "Frey u. independent von England" : the Moravian explanation
- Occam's razor : summing up the case for the Mecklenburg Declaration.
