is probable that no one contributed more than he
did--possibly no one contributed so much--towards forcing the adoption
of the Declaration of Independence.

Washington, though a member of Congress, was by no means conspicuous in
the agitation which preceded the actual outbreak of hostilities. His
entry in his uniform among his civilian comrades was indeed dramatic;
but his important public career really began with his acceptance of the
position of commander in chief. In this capacity he achieved the
overthrow of the British supremacy, and brought to a successful close
the period of destruction.

This first group is a small one, for the first Congress brought no new
men to the front. Indeed, that body lost its own prestige very soon
after independence was declared; thereafter it was no stage on which
new men could win distinction, or men already famous could add to their
store; indeed, members were lucky if they escaped without diminution of
their reputations, by very reason of being parts of so nerveless and
useless a body. The fact is, that the civilians, after they had set the
ball going, did little more. They contributed almost nothing to the
Revolution in any practical way during its actual progress. Perhaps they
could not; but certainly they did not. Washington and his officers and
soldiers deserve all the credit for making independence a reality
instead of an assertion. They were not very strenuously or generously
backed by the mass of the people after the first fervor was over. The
truth is that that grand event was the work of a small body of heroes,
who presented freedom and nationality to the people of the thirteen
colonies. John Adams and Congress said that the colonists were free, and
there left the matter, _functi officio_. Washington and the troops took
up the business, and actually made colonists into freemen. Those upon
whom this dignity and advantage were conferred were, for the most part,
content somewhat supinely to allow the new condition to be established
for them.

JOHN T. MORSE, JR.

September, 1898.

CONTENTS

I. EARLY YEARS 1

II. A CITIZEN OF PHILADELPHIA: CONCERNMENT IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS 17

III. REPRESENTATIVE OF PENNSYLVANIA IN ENGLAND: RETURN HOME 59

IV. LIFE IN PHILADELPHIA 86

V. SECOND MISSION TO ENGLAND: I.