The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 27, 1926, Page 13

tom Dictatorship in the By Gertrude Brown, puE American War of Independence has usually been pictured as a spontaneous uprising of the whole liberty-loving American people against British tyranny; an event in which “liberty, fraternity, equality” were the watchwords, and oppression could have no part. No wonder that many ' have been led, or rather misled, into thinking that there*is an American way of making revolutions democrati- cally—as against the Russian Dicta- torship of the Proletariat. But this conception is as false as it is mis- chievous. It is the result of myth- making, not history. The truth is that the Revolution was a bitter civil war as well as a war for independ- ence. From the very first there was as large a faction against the Revo- ‘lution as for it. And how were these anti-revolutionists treated by the patriots? They were beaten, suppres- sed, routed out of the country. Their property was heavily taxed and later confiscated. Loyalists, or Tories as they were called, “were social lepers.” They had neither rights nor privileges. A journal of the time so defines one: A Loyalist is a thing : Whose body is in America Whose head is in England, and Whose neck ought to be stretched.* As stated, the Loyalists were no small number. They were chiefly composed of the following classes: (i) the royal governors and their coteries (2) those merchants who needed British protection, (3) the large landholders of New York and .the middle colonies, (4) the clergy and all their followers, (5) the aris- tocracy of “culture” and professions. But these classes were playing a los- ing game. With their adherence to royalty, feudalism, to the dying sys- tem of social castes and jegal privi- leges, they were harking back to the past. Their institutions were disin- tegrating, their power for progress nil. On the other hand the revolutionaries a. Were of the rising class. They re- popresented, the,»merchants and manu- facturers. They stood for capitalism, constitutional government, freedom of trade. And, tho they fought for their own interests entirely, they repre- sented the needs of the time. Their day was dawning. Thus they were more aggressive, better organized, more Conscious of their aims and ful- ly determined to realize them. The Patriotic Dictatorship. yy the struggle became definite and the opposition crystallized, the revolutionists -began organizing to crush it: In their struggle for liberty they utterly ignored the rights of any- one who did not identify himself with their aims, “The machine for sup- pression of the anti-revolutionists,” acording to S. G. Fisher, (“The Strug- gle for Independence”) “was fully as well-organized and systematic as Washington’s army!” As early. as April, 1772, two years before ‘the dec- laration of Independence, Boston or- ganized the Committee of Correspond- ence. This body sent out appeals to other colonies to follow their exam- ple. And in a short time there were similar committees everywhere. Later many others were formed. There were then Correspondence Commit- tees, Committees of Safety, Commit- tees of Sixty, Committees of One Hundred, Committees of Inspection, of Observation, Town Committees, Precinct Committees, County and Dis- trict Committees, Some were tempo- rary, others permanent. For every Loyalist demonstration there was or- potic in the extreme, the Loyalists were in a clear majority they were so roundly defeated, per- secuted, and hounded out of the coun- heads again.” First, and most impor- they were disarmed. Revolution- } went from house to house and took away all Loyalist weapons. _ They were urged by the Continental perform this task with t * Quoted b » Fi a for Por tea. By 5 rate oot ure did more than anything else to weaken the opposition: Illegal Elections, i eo revolutionaries were never de- terred from action because they were in the minority. Committees were appointed at county meetings where sometimes not more than one- fourth of the freeholders attended. In the elections for delegates to the first Continental (inter-Colonial) Con- gress—in Boston—Samuel Adams had the key of the assembly-hall’in his pocket, allowing no one in or out; in Georgia five out of twelve parishes sent deputies; in South Carolina ten out of thirty-four counties sent none; in New York there were heavy ma- jorities: against sending delegates, but deputies were sent nevertheless by small groups of revolutionaries who taxed themselves to pay the expenses. In some counties only one-twentieth of the voters were present. As one editor expressed it—“Two men met, and one appointed the other a del- egate to the Congress.”* Another said, “The Continental Congress is a law-making body, unknown to the law or the constitution of the coun- try.” #* Civil Liberty Abolished. NTI-REVOLUTIONISTS had no rights. They had no vote. They could hold no offices, could not re- ceive valid title to land, act as jury- men, or use the courts to sue for damages to person or property. - In some cases Loyalists could not be apothecaries. Freedom of speech, press or assem- blage was absolutely unknown. One Tory said, “There is more liberty in Turkey than in the dominions of Con- gress.” Tory publishers were assail- ed, their presses broken, their lives threatened if they dared offend again, many could find safety only by leav- ing the country. Disparaging the congress or the states was interdic- ted. Citizens were persecuted for drinking the king’s health, for dis- couraging enlistments .in the, patriot army. One man was arrested because he called his dog “Tory,” thus inti- mating that a Tory led a dog’s life. A preacher was haled into court be- cause he baptized a child “Thomas Gage,” the name of an English gen- eral. This man was accused of using a religious maneuver to insult the cause of liberty. In all these pro- ceedings mere suspicion was sufficient to lead to imprisonment. The com- mittees called what witnesses they chose and freely condemned suspects to prison in their absence. Even neutrality was a crime, Fami- lies were roughly dealt with because they had not prevented their relatives from joining the British service. Some were compelled to hire substitutes for any of their relatives who had fled to evade service and were held responsible for any misdeeds of the substitutes so hired. Property of the Tories Fair Game. HE possessions of the Tories were at all times insecure, High fines were imposed for every. kind of of- fense. If they were wealthy they were heavily taxed for war expense. Some were compelled to pay stipula- ted sums daily to the guards station- ed at their homes. In New York and South Carolina, Loyalists were obliged to make good all robberies committed within their country, while men tried for theft were condoned if their vic- tim had been mistaken for a Tory, and altogether excused if he actually was one. In most of the colonies the lands of the Loyalists could be freely used for war purposes—as appropriating their timber to build Continental ves- sels, And in towns containing a mi- nority of Tories, their property was quite freely disposed of. Desirable articles of their personal property were often raffled off by the authori-|~ ties. They were deprived of kitchen utensils and wearing-apparel. And—shades of Russian emigres!— thére is @ pathetic instance of “two aristocratic ladies using their coach- * Quoted by Van Tyne, “The Loyal- ists.” ** Westchester Farmer, 1775, house as their dining-room and thes fowl-house as their bedschamber.” * As the struggle progressed, the states realized how valuable the prop- erty of the thousands of refugees was for revolutionary war purposes. The authorities then began to protect the property from vandalism and to con- fiscate it “legally.” The legislatures passed laws to this effect, specifying in the preambles just how it was to be disposed of. This was systemati- cally carried on till many years after the treat¥ of peace. New York alone is said to have derived more than $6,000,000 from this source. Wash- ington expressed his hearty approval of these measures saying that “the state of affairs demanded such sever- ity.” Mob Action Everywhere Legally Sanctioned, YNCHING originated at this time. “It was called “Lynch’s Law,” after the name of Charles Lynch of Virginia who took the punishment of Tories in his district into his own hands. His example was widely fol- lowed, and there was no limit beyond which this summary punishment might not go. Tories were ridden on rails, left tied to trees in the woods, pelted with stones mercilessly. Groups were led through villages and tormented in every gruesome way until they shouted, “Hurrah for Lib- erty.” Hundreds were put to hard labor of all kinds. A novel form of rooms in which a fire was burning, with the chimney stopped up. Tarring and feathering became a recognized form of punishment, in- flicted upon the slightest suspicion. There were victims by the thousands. One man in @ letter to a friend asks a certain paper in his pocket. In fact, the practice was so well recognized that an official record in describing the tarring and feathering of several ‘Tories says: “and the whole was con- ducted ‘with’ that ‘regularity and de- corum which ought to be observed i all public punishments.” = The législatures and courts sanc- tioned all violence committed, holding that the motives justified the deeds. In the case of a suit for damages against Judge Lynch, for example, the court ruled that as he “had suppres- sed-conspiracy by timely and effectual measures which although not strictly warranted by law, were justifiable from the imminence of the danger, he and and persons whatsoever con- cerned in suppressing the same con- spiracy . . . stand indemnified and * Van Tyne, “The Loyalists.” American Revolution exonerated from all pains, actions, and suits.”* The public sentiment in this case is well reflected in sev- eral ditties sung at the time, in which Lynch and his aides are. extol- led. Here is one for example: Hurrah for Colonel Lynch Captain Bob and Calloway! They never turned a Tory loose Until he shouted “Liberty.” Persecution Continued After the War. J'HOUSANDS of refugees were de- barred from returning to the coun- try after the treaty of peace. For one reason because it was a serious mat- ter to have been tainted with treason. For another, it was extremely difficult for many to re-establish themselves, as all their possessions had been con- fiscated and would not be returned. Many thousands were legally debar- red even if they could have returned unmolested because, as was well ex- pressed by Samuel Adams, the patriot, “They could scarcely fail to treat with contempt the new order of things, and try secretly to undermine it.” * This measure was particularly im- portant because for several years it was feared that Great Britain would try to re-establish herself in America. Thus they did not hesitate legally or otherwise to hold the reins tightly in their hands as tong as there was dan- ger of overthrowing their new order. Conclusion. yaw value of knowing that the American war for independence was torture was to lock victims up in| no saintly affair lies not in belittling its achievements. It ‘was no doubt historically necessary to throw off the British yoke, to establish capitalism in this country, to create a proletariat. The Dictatorship of the Patriots too was necessary, since no ruling class giyes up without a struggle. But if if it would be “featherable” to carry | ‘#8 rigid control over the opposition | was essential and justifiable in the American Revolution, it is a thousand times more so in the proletarian revo- lution, in which the opposition is world wide and unrelenting, and the vanguard small. The American revo- lutionaries saw clearly that if they did not oppress the Tories, the Tories would oppress them. So too we work- ers must know that if we do not down the bourgeois opposition, it will down us. It is up to the working class to bring to success the real Revolution. For as Marx so well puts it, in the Communist Manifesto, “All preyious revolutions were revolutions of mi- norities in the interest of minorities; the proletarian revolution is the self- conscious independent act of the im- mense majority inthe interest of the immense majority.” ~* Quoted by Cutler, “Lynch Law.” * J. Hosmer, “Samuel Adams.” — “Settled” A Poem on the A nthracite Strike By ADOLF WOLFF. BAck to the treadmill slaves! Back to the tunneled night Back to your cavern graves The mines of anthracite. Beaten and betrayed Pes By those you pay to lead ’ Heavily you’ve paid Profusely you bleed. You dared like men to stand Against abuses frowned. To force your just demand ‘ Your busy tools you downed. Hunger you defied, , Despair, and biting cold, Most bravely you tried, Th». battle line to hold, You lost, and lose you must Like doomed and beaten slaves . Until you cease to trust ' Your leadership to knaves.