Free Republic

The American Revolution changed the way Americans viewed one of the world’s great tragedies: the African slave trade. The long march to end the slave trade and then slavery itself had to start somewhere, and a strong argument can be made that it started with the thirteen American colonies gaining independence from Great Britain, then the world’s leading slave trading country.

So now they're going to conduct a reparations commission in congress. Where is everybody pointing out that Britain's Empire was the one who brought the slaves here? The Founders didn't ignore their role across the ocean. Why do we? Shouldn't we do what our Founders did? That's all.

On this day in 1775, King George III speaks before both houses of the British Parliament to discuss growing concern about the rebellion in America, which he viewed as a traitorous action against himself and Great Britain. He began his speech by reading a “Proclamation of Rebellion” and urged Parliament to move quickly to end the revolt and bring order to the colonies. The king spoke of his belief that “many of these unhappy people may still retain their loyalty, and may be too wise not to see the fatal consequence of this usurpation, and wish to resist it, yet...

•President Calvin Coolidge was born in Plymouth, Vt., on July 4, 1872. He is the only president born on July 4; however, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe all died on the Fourth of July. •One lucky Philadelphian purchased a $4 picture at a flea market. Behind the picture was an original 1776 printing of the Declaration of Independence. It was sold to TV producer Norman Lear for $8.1 million. •After the war, King George III rationalized that Washington would become a dictator and make the Americans yearn for royal rule. When he was told that Washington planned to...

The French and Indian War ended in 1763 with the French losing Canada and all their land east of the Mississippi River. King George III decided to leave troops in the American colonies in case of future French incursions or native uprisings. British troops were to be paid with taxes collected from the colonies: the Sugar Tax of 1764 the Stamp Tax of 1765 the Townshend Acts of 1767, taxing glass, paint and paper As the Colonies had no representative in Parliament, the cry arose, “No taxation without representation.” The king imposed Writs of Assistance in 1765 allowing British authorities...

Who was Lee of Fort Lee, Votee of Votee Park and Merritt of Camp Merritt? The Name-Dropper gives you the lowdown on some of the people whose names you see on public statues, memorial plaques, park signs, highways and even some local streets around North Jersey. Have suggestions? Email them to features@northjersey.com and put Name-Dropper in the subject field.Everybody knows that Franklin Turnpike was named for the grand old man of the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin, right?You remember Ben, the heavyset guy who flew that kite in the electrical storm, who invented bifocals and the concept of the lending library....

We declared our independence from Great Britain 236 years ago next week. It was a declaration long in coming, brought about by the overreaching rule of King George III and Britain's insistence on taxation without representation. The taxation began in the 1760s, the Boston Massacre occurred in 1770, the Boston Tea Party in 1773, and the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April of 1775. Patrick Henry's call to action, "Give me liberty, or give me death," was the first strong public statement that, if we were to be free, if we were to have liberty, then we would have...

The Boston Tea Party, 1773 Victory in the French and Indian War was costly for the British. At the war's conclusion in 1763, King George III and his government looked to taxing the American colonies as a way of recouping their war costs. They were also looking for ways to reestablish control over the colonial governments that had become increasingly independent while the Crown was distracted by the war. Royal ineptitude compounded the problem. A series of actions including the Stamp Act (1765), the Townsend Acts (1767) and the Boston Massacre (1770) agitated the colonists, straining relations with the mother...

There was an appalling lack of historical perspective in the House debate Friday night on the Murtha Resolution. It called for the immediate withdrawal of American troops from Iraq (to a safe haven from which they could return). What would have happened to the United States, had France held a similar debate in 1781? Let’s set the stage. The American Revolution was then four years old. French officers and soldiers under the leadership of General Lafayette, had fought along side General Washington. The French fleet under Admiral de Grasse had recently entered the conflict, and blocking the mouth of the...

Ex-president Bill Clinton sounded confident on Monday when he told a Philadelphia crowd that John Kerry would win the White House and "make America the comeback country." But yesterday in Florida, the recuperating heart patient sounded a little less certain. "I think it is slightly more likely that he will win, but this thing is tight as a tick," Clinton told the Magazine Publishers of American gathering in Boca Raton. One reason for the uncertainty: Dubya enjoys "negative campaigning" in a way his father, who Clinton defeated 12 years ago, never did. "It was a pretty negative campaign, but I...

If only King George III had been sane. He could have paid a royal visit across the Atlantic and calmed those pesky American freedom-lovers, and the United States would be under British rule today. That’s the sentiment Prince Charles expressed about the ruler commonly referred to as the "Mad Monarch,” on the Timewatch television documentary recently. The prince said George III could have influenced the revolutionaries determined to win independence from the Mother County. But, as portrayed in the film "The Madness of King George,” it is believed the monarch had a condition called porphyria, a genetic disorder. In spite...

<p>Through a spy, the British were tipped off that George Washington would be making his famous Christmas night crossing of the Delaware, but the information went unheeded, according to newly reviewed papers of the British commander.</p> <p>The papers from the archive of Gen. James Grant were found in the tower of his Ballindalloch Castle, northwest of Aberdeen, Scotland.</p>

Monmouth Battlefield State Park Mail address: 347 Freehold Road, Manalapan, New Jersey 07726 Phone: (732)-462-9616 Fax: (732)- 577-8816 Site of the longest battle of the American Revolution Where will you be on June 28th & 29th of 2003. We at Monmouth will be holding a little celebration commemorating the 225th anniversary of the Battle of Monmouth. We are hoping that about 10,000 of our closest friends will come out on that weekend to witness a spectacle of truly awesome proportions! Monmouth Battlefield State Park will host over 2,300 reenactors as they, the real stars of the day, will present a...