In  December  the  Maryland  convention  de
clared  that  the  people  of  that  province
"never  did  nor  do  entertain  any  views  or
desires  on  independency."  New  York  and
Delaware  followed  with  similar  statements ;
and  we  hear  the  same  voice  from  the  provin
cial  congresses  of  New  Hampshire  and  North
Carolina.
1  See   Frothingham's  "  Rise  of  the  Republic,"  p.  466.
DECLARATION   OF   INDEPENDENCE  5

George  Washington  wrote  a  letter  the  pre
ceding  year,  in  which  we  find  this  expres
sion,  "  I  am  well  satisfied  that  no  such  thing
as  independence  is  desired  by  any  thinking
man  in  all  North  America."  Years  later  he
said  that  when  he  took  command  of  the  army
at  Boston  he  still  abhorred  the  idea  of  inde
pendence.  Many  more  examples  could  be
given,  but  these  show  the  general  feeling  dur
ing  the  first  year  of  the  Revolutionary  War.
