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Life without Liberty
“Who can prize life without Liberty?” That was
the question posed by John Morin Scott (1730-1784), founder
of the New York Sons of Liberty, as he waited for the American
Revolution to reach the city in November 1775. After shots
rang out at Lexington and Concord months earlier, the likelihood
that a full-blown war might tear through the colonies increased.
The situation was especially tense in New York, where the
political turmoil fueled disorder. Colonial grievances smoldered
in a population rich with both Whigs and Tories. Mobs in the
streets and British war ships off shore threatened the city
from both inside and out. As fear mounted, Scott watched storefronts
shutdown and homes abandoned. War began to seem inevitable,
a shift recorded in this letter fragment (GLC09061) from Scott
to Richard Varick (1753-1831), the future mayor of New York,
among whose papers this last and only surviving page was preserved.
Scott captures the flight of a panicked citizenry and alludes
to the rise of the Whigs in the newly elected Second New York
Provincial Congress, of which he was a member. The most pressing
news came from across the Atlantic: “Nothing –
from t’other side of the Water but a fearful looking
for of Wrath.” This was a veiled reference to the rejection
of the Continental Congress’s Olive Branch Petition
— a last-ditch, direct appeal to King George III for
reconciliation through the repeal of the Intolerable Acts.
In Scott’s eyes, the petition’s failure meant
war. He accurately predicted a campaign would begin against
New York the following summer and welcomed the fight with
an answer to his own question: “Who can prize life without
Liberty? - It is a Bauble only fit to be thrown away.”
Robert Lee, Manuscript Cataloger
Gilder Lehrman Collection
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Click to see the document.
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GLC 09061, Autographed letter from John Morin
Scott to Richard Varick,
15 November 1775.
For more information or to obtain copies, contact Ana Ramirez-Luhrs
at reference@gilderlehrman.com
or call (212) 787-6616 ext. 209.
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John Morin Scott to Richard Varick
New York, New York, 15 November 1775.
Autograph letter signed, 1 page.
Every Office shut up almost but Sam: Jones’s who will
work for 6) a day & Live accordingly – All Business
stagnated the City half deserted for fear of a Bombardment
– A new Congress elected – Those for new York,
You will see by – the papers are changed for the better
– All staunch Whigs now – How it is with the Counties
I know not we have [text loss] Returns – Yesterday the
new Congress was to meet but I believe they did not make a
House – my Doctors say I must not attend it nor any
other Business in some Weeks; but I hope they will be mistaken
– Nothing – from t’other side of the Water
but a fearful looking for of Wrath – Our continental
petition most probably contemned the Bulk of the Nation (it
is said agt. Us) and a bloody – Campaign next Summer
– But let Us be prepared for the worst – Who can
prize life without Liberty? - It is a Bauble only fit to be
thrown away – Lewis whom has returned to College after
Vacation desired to be remembered to You – Mrs Scott
& my Daughter do the same I am sorry your Generals most
unfortunate Sickness has not permitted You to gratify that
Ardor You have expressed for the Service of your Country –
All your relations – are well – Your Uncle McAdam
is my neighbor for the – Winter – We are very
friendly for opposites in politics – This is a long
Letter for the first after returning from death’s Door
Adieu most affectionately
Jn:o Morin Scott
Greenwich 15.th Nov.r 1775
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Countryman, Edward. A People In Revolution: The American
Revolution and Political Society In New York, 1760-1790.
New York, New York: W.W. Norton, 1989.
Dillon, Dorothy Rita. The New York Triumvirate: A Study
of The Legal and Political Careers of William Livingston,
John Morin Scott, William Smith, Jr. New York, New York:
Columbia University Press, 1949.
Ketchum, Richard M., Divided Loyalties: How the American
Revolution Came to New York. New York, New York: Henry
Holt, 2002.
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