As the British retreated from Boston, the war had already spread into Virginia. In the spring of 1775, local militias had forced Lord Dunmore, Virginia’s royal governor, to take refuge on British ships in Norfolk harbor. Dunmore encouraged white servants and black slaves to join him there, and thousands did so. When Dunmore led his army back into Virginia in November 1775, hundreds of black men fought with British troops at the Battle of Great Bridge. Once he reclaimed the governor’s mansion in Williamsburg, Dunmore issued an official proclamation that declared “all indent[ur]ed Servants, Negroes or others (appertaining to Rebels)” to be free if they were “able and willing to bear Arms” for the British.
Dunmore’s Proclamation, which offered freedom to slaves willing to fight for the crown, heightened concerns among patriot leaders about the consequences of declaring independence. Although they wanted liberty for themselves, most did not want to disrupt the plantation economy or the existing social hierarchy. Could the colonies throw off the shackles of British tyranny without loosening other bonds at the same time? Given these concerns, many delegates at the Continental Congress, which included large planters, successful merchants, and professional men, hesitated to act.
Moreover, some still hoped for a negotiated settlement. But the king and Parliament refused to compromise in any way with colonies that they considered to be in rebellion. Instead, in December 1775, the king prohibited any negotiation or trade with the colonies, adding further weight to the claims of radicals that independence was a necessity. The January 1776 publication of Tom Paine’s Common Sense, which sold more than 120,000 copies in three months, helped turn the tide toward independence as well.
Paine rooted his arguments both in biblical stories familiar to American readers and in newer scientific analogies, such as Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity. It was Paine’s ability to wield both religious and scientific ideas—appealing to the spirit and the intellect—that made Common Sense attractive to diverse groups of colonists. Within weeks of its publication, George Washington wrote to a friend that “the sound Doctrine and unanswerable reasoning containd [in] Common Sense” would convince colonists of the “Propriety of a Separation.” Farmers and artisans also applauded Common Sense, debating its claims at taverns and coffeehouses, which had become increasingly popular venues for political discussion in the 1760s and 1770s.
Read Paine’s words and a rebuttal in Documents 6.1 and 6.2.
By the spring of 1776, a growing number of patriots believed that independence was necessary. Colonies began to take control of their legislatures and instruct their delegates to the Continental Congress to support independence. The congress also sent an agent to France to request economic and military assistance for the patriot cause. And in May, the congress advised colonies that had not yet done so to establish independent governments.