Who Was the First Englishman to Propose American Independence 250 Years Ago?
Major John Cartwright and his ‘Letters on American Independence’ (1774)
When we think of American independence, we tend to think of Great Britain as our antagonist and 1776 as the liberating year. Names like John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington come to mind immediately. Maybe that of Thomas Paine too, whose bestselling Common Sense convinced the colonists to declare independence.
And for the most part, you would be right.
However, did you know that one of the earliest and most comprehensive arguments made for independence was not by an American but a Briton? Or more specifically, an Englishman by the name of Major John Cartwright?
He was so committed to the American cause in the 1760s that he declined a lieutenancy to the Duke of Cumberland when called to fight in the war against the thirteen colonies. Instead, he chose a low-profile position as a major of the Nottinghamshire militia.
Why did he care so much? As he explains, it was the right thing to do:
it is the dictate of my conscience; the same as it would be to warn any individual against ignorantly or heedlessly acquiescing in any selfish, crafty, or unjust pretensions of…
