Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms

The Olive Branch Petition

Adopted by the Second Continental Congress July 1775; excerpted from Documents of American History

"We are reduced to the alternative of chusing an unconditional submission to the tyranny of irritated ministers, or resistance by force.—The latter is our choice."

From the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms

In London, when King George III (1738–1820) heard of the goings-on in the colonies, he wrote to Lord Frederick North (1732–1792), his prime minister: "The New England governments are in a state of rebellion, blows [war] must decide whether they are to be subject to this country or independent."

George's declaration that "blows must decide" the issue of the colonies' relationship with England ensured that a Second Continental Congress would meet. Since the king would not listen to the colonists' grievances, members of...