“‘Then the “glove” was dropped and the struggle began.’”
[CHAPTER IV—WASHINGTON THE GENERAL]
“I think the rain will soon stop—the sun seems to be breaking through. While we wait for it to clear shall I read about the first battle of the Revolution for the boys?” said Mrs. Parke.
“Now that you’ve got us as far as the Boston Tea Party, keep right on and finish it up, even if the sun does shine,” remarked Jack.
“Don’t go through all those meetings and letters that everybody exchanged with Washington, but skip over to the fight!” requested George, curling up on the couch, ready and waiting to enjoy the war.
“Then I’ll read to you about Lexington and Concord,” replied Mrs. Parke, turning the pages of the book till she found the one that recorded the Revolution.
“‘Great Britain took arbitrary measures with the American colonists, and when Boston stood upon the rights of an independent colony, she was immediately punished by having the government removed to Salem, and the harbor closed. There were other unfair measures made and acted upon, so that finally the colonists decided to hold a general assembly at Philadelphia, to consider ways and means of protecting themselves and property.
“‘When the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776, was issued, the colonists were prepared for it, and hailed it as the first step in their upward march. About the same time the Earl of Chatham did everything in his power to make the English Parliament understand certain things to which they stubbornly closed their eyes and minds; but all intervention and measures for conciliation were of no avail.
“‘In this gathering storm no one felt the solemnity of the crisis more than did George Washington. He had been a loyal subject of Great Britain, but his sense of justice and right was too true to be blinded by sentiment. Thus he came out firmly for his own country—America.
“‘In his many letters and messages sent to every influential personage in England or the colonies, it will be seen that he moved heaven and earth to obtain honorable rights to the colonists without resorting to force. But the individuals holding the reins of government refused to recognize or think of any other result from this outbreak than suppression by might and power of the human will.