🚀 go-pugleaf

Mike Smith (mws@wt.net) wrote:
: On 30 Jun 2002 22:45:24 GMT, Merlin Dorfman <dorfman@rahul.net> wrote:

: >Mike Smith (mws@wt.net) wrote:
: >: Come on, Jeffrey..... Paine's an imbecile; you have "some" sense. Did
: >: you miss the "in Congress" part? Congress was a part of our government
: >: back in 1776.
: >
: >     Mike, you surprise me.  You usually have your facts more or less
: >correct though your interpretations and conclusions are screwed up.
: >But the Continental Congress, in which the DoI was written, was not an
: >instrument of government at all; it was a debating society.  To the
: >extent to which the colonies had self-government (which wasn't much, 
: >they were mostly run by governors appointed by the king of England),
: >the representatives to the Continental Congress may or may not have
: >been any part of that self-government, but if so, those were
: >completely separate duties.  The Continental Congress made no laws,
: >enforced no laws, interpreted no laws...if you saw the musical
: >"1776," the phrase "piddle, twiddle, and resolve" was used.

: Ummm Merlin..... They thought they were an instrument of government.
: Here's the last paragraph in the declaration:

: We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in
: General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the
: world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by
: Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and
: declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free
: and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to
: the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and
: the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and
: that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War,
: conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all
: other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And
: for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the
: protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our
: Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
: <end of quote>

: Representatives..... in General Congress........... Assembled.........

: Sure sounds like they thought they were "an instrument of government".

     I disagree.  Clearly if you are fomenting a revolution you are
objecting to the current government, and you would not do that unless
you believe you represent the views of the people.  But assembled
representatives don't in and of themselves have any governmental
authority, nor do I see any evidence that they were attempting to
assume any.  They said the colonies should be independent states, but
I don't see any evidence either that there was to be a central
government or that the Continental Congress would become such a
government.
     Do you have any evidence of governmental actions taken by the
Continental Congress?

: Mike Smith

: FYI: I never even heard of the "musical" 1776.

     It's really excellent!  It's often on TV on the fourth of July,
try to catch it.