Jeremiah Wynkoop -- III.
Jeremiah Wynkoop -- III.

An Alleged 'Manuscript'

    This is the third installment of an essay by one of America's great historians, Carl Becker. It was published in 1927 under the title, "The Spirit of '76." He described it as "an old and imperfect manuscript" which he "found" by rummaging among some of his papers.
    Professor Becker's skillfully written chronicle shows the slowly changing viewpoint of middle-class merchants in Revolutionary times and why they finally lined up with the "radicals." It is reprinted by The Christian Science Monitor with the permission of the Brookings Institution.
    The story up to now: Jeremiah Wynkoop, educated at Kings College (now Columbia), has become a successful businessman in New York City. Proud of the great milestones of English liberty from Magna Carta to John Locke, he was glad when the Stamp Act was repealed.
    When Parliament followed this with other taxes and countered the Boston Tea Party with the coercive acts he found that he had become more and more deeply involved in the opposition to Great Britain. He had helped organize the Merchants' Association for an embargo against British goods, and he had agreed to be a delegate to the first Continental Congress despite the protests of old Nicholas Van Schoickendinck, his father-in-law. Above all, he was now concerned "to prevent the firebrands from carrying the province into violent measures." 1

Bell Ringer.

Understanding Our Freedoms 10

    In this installment Bettina Barwell speaks up to Professor Hermann in defense of Samuel Adams and his role as revolutionary propagandist. Her outburst sparks a discussion of free speech and what limits, if any, should be put on it.
    At the same time, our fictional hero, Jeremiah Wynkoop, finally convinced conciliation is impossible, sides with "radicals" like Adams in advocating revolution.

'America is my country, and yours too, sir'

'America is my country, and yours too, sir'

Jeremiah Wynkoop -- III
__________

Illustrations by Gene Langley

    IN FEBRUARY Lord North introduced his famous Resolution on Conciliation.
    I thought the Resolution signified little or nothing, and when in April the news came from Lexington I was not much surprised. It meant war to a certainty, and my first thought was to learn what Mr. Wynkoop would make of it.
    Curiously enough, with that faculty he had for moulding the world close to the heart's desire, Mr. Wynkoop found some satisfaction in this untoward event. War with Great Britain--no, he would not pronounce the word prematurely. He spoke of the Lexington affair as a repetition of the Boston Massacre, seemingly more serious only because America was now prepared to defend its liberties with arms in its hands. I was delighted that he could take it so; for it convinced me that we might still carry him along with us.
    The Assembly of New York was too lukewarm to be depended on, half the members or more being frankly Tory, so that we found it convenient to organize a Provincial Congress, composed of delegates elected under the supervision of the Committees, in order to take charge of affairs and keep New York in line with the continent.
    The most advanced party was already suspicious of Mr. Wynkoop's loyalty; but the moderate men saw the wisdom of winning his support if possible. Mr. Jay and Mr. Alsop were especially keen to have Mr. Wynkoop serve in the Provincial Congress, and they asked me to do what I could to obtain his consent to stand as a candidate.
    I did what I could, and I flatter myself that my representations had some influence with him. Knowing his admiration for Mr. Jay, I put it to him as a thing strongly urged by that gentleman.

*     *     *

    Mr. Wynkoop had a great respect for Mr. Jay's judgment--had always had. He consented to stand, and was elected. Throughout the summer of 1775 he attended the sessions of the Provincial Congress faithfully, giving his support to those who were endeavoring to hold the province to a sane middle course--enforcing the Association; raising a militia for defense; keeping the door carefully open for conciliation.
    Old Nicholas charged him with being too much led about by Mr. Jay. Mr. Wynkoop naturally replied that the notion was ridiculous. What kept him to the mark I feel sure

Nicholas Van Schoickendinck.

was the feeling that his views and his conduct had been hitherto justified by events, and were now justified by Lord North's Resolution on Conciliation. On this he placed all his hopes....
    Meantime the policy adopted by the Philadelphia Congress Mr. Wynkoop thought eminently satisfactory; the Resolution on Taking up Arms was admirably phrased to convince Britain that America would defend her rights; the Petition to the King admirably phrased to prove her loyalty. Throughout the summer and autumn Mr. Wynkoop therefore held the same language to men of extreme views--to the over timid and to the over zealous: the Petition's the thing, he said; it will surely effect the end desired.
    Hope delayed makes the heart sick, it has been said. But I think this was not the effect on Mr. Wynkoop. On the contrary, I am sure that for four months he found peace of mind by looking forward to the happy day when the King would graciously make concessions.

*     *     *

    I had little expectation of any concessions, and it was no great shock to me when the news arrived in November that the King had not even deigned to receive the Petition, much less to answer it. But I knew it would be a heavy blow to Mr. Wynkoop; and when the British Government, placing an embargo on American trade, proclaimed America to be in a state of rebellion, it is not too much to say that Mr. Wynkoop's little world of opinion and conduct, held together by recollection of the past and hope for the future, was completely shattered.
    For a month I saw him scarcely at all. He rarely went abroad, even to attend the Provincial Congress. He must have sat at home in seclusion, endeavoring to adjust his thought to the grim reality, gathering together as best he could the scattered fragments of a broken faith.
    During the winter of '76 I saw him more frequently. We often discussed the situation at length. The time for discussion, for discussion of the past, that is, seemed to me to be over. But Mr. Wynkoop was seemingly more interested in discussing what had happened than in discussing what ought now to be done.
    At first this puzzled me; but I soon found the explanation, which was that he knew very well what had to be done; or at least what he had to do, and was only engaged in convincing himself that it had been from the first inevitable, that the situation that now confronted him was not of his making. His one aim from the first, he said, and he said it many times, was to prevent the calamity now impending.

*     *     *

    I know not how many times he reviewed his past conduct. Short of tamely submitting to the domination of Parliament, he was forever asking, what other course could America have followed but the one it had followed? What other course could he have followed? If America had appealed, not to force but to reason, was this not due to the efforts of men of substance and standing, men of Mr. Wynkoop's class? If Mr. Wynkoop and all his kind had washed their hands of the affair, would not the populace and their hot-headed leaders long since have rushed America into violence, and so have given Britain's measures the very justification which they now lacked?
    In all this I quite agreed with Mr. Wynkoop. I assured him that his conduct had always been that of a wise and prudent man, and that if events had disappointed the expectations of prudent men, the fault was clearly not his.
    Responsibility lay with the British Government, with those mad or unscrupulous ministers who, wittingly or unwittingly, were betraying the nation by doing the will of a stubborn King. Mr. Wynkoop found consolation in the thought that since ministers had appealed to the sword, the decision must be by the sword. Fight or submit, they had said. The alternative was not of America's choosing, nor of Mr. Wynkoop's choosing....
    War with Great Britain! Mr. Wynkoop was forced to pronounce the word at last. But independence! That was the hardest word of all. Yet the word was in the air, passing from mouth to mouth behind closed doors and in the open streets. I had long since accustomed myself to the idea, but Mr. Wynkoop hated the thought of it, said he had never desired it, did not now desire it--"unless," he admitted as a kind of after thought, "the Britain I have always been loyal to proves an illusion."
    It was this notion, I think, that enabled Mr. Wynkoop to reconcile himself to the policy of separation. The Britain of his dreams was an illusion. The Britain he had known did not exist. In those days we were all reading the fiery papers of Mr. Paine entitled "Common Sense." I know that Mr. Wynkoop read them, and I fancy that they helped him to see Britain in her true colors....
    Thus in the long winter of '76 Mr. Wynkoop repaired the illusions by which he lived, reconciling himself to the inevitable step. At this time he saw little of Mr. Van Schoickendinck--it was too painful for both of them, I dare say. At least their last conversation I know (it was by Jeremiah's express invitation that I was present) was a trying one. It was on the 30th of May that we found old Nicholas in the hall of his house, standing, leaning on his cane, evidently much moved.
    "I asked you to come," old Nicholas said after greeting us a little stiffly, "because I must kpow what you purpose to do. General Howe is about to take New York. The Philadelphia Congress is about to declare a separation from Great Britain. The so-called Provincial Congress of New York will hesitate, but it will probably support the measure. Am I to understand that you will burn your bridges and side with the rebels?"
    With great seriousness and gravity, Mr. Wynkoop replied:
    "I wish you to believe, sir, that I have given the matter every consideration in my power; and it seems to me that I can't do other than go with America. America is my country, and yours, too, sir."
    "America is my country." The voice of old Nicholas was shrill. "I have no great love for Britishers, as you know. But I am too old to meddle with treason. Especially when it can't come to any good. Either we shall be crushed, in which case our last state will be worse than our first; or we shall succeed, in which case we shall be ruled by the mob. Which is better, God knows. What I can't see is why you have allowed the fanatics to run away with the cart. Fight if you must, but why close the door to reconciliation by declaring an independency?"
    "We can't fight without it, sir. That's the whole truth of the matter. I was much against it, and so were most. But the necessity is clear.... To fight we must have supplies and munitions. We must have money. We can get none of these things without reviving trade; and to revive trade we must have allies, we must have the support of France. But will France aid us so long as we profess our loyalty to Britain? France will give money and troops to disrupt the British empire, but none to consolidate it. The act of separation will be the price of a French alliance."

*     *     *

    "Am I to understand that the act of separation is not to be seriously made, except to buy French assistance? That you will let France go by the board as soon as Britain is willing to negotiate?"
    Mr. Wynkoop did not at once reply. After a moment he said,
    "No, I would not say that, sir. The act of separation is intended for Britain's benefit, too.

Profile.

It will make it plain that we mean what we say--that we mean to defend our liberties, to the last ditch if necessary. Yet, I hope, and believe, in spite of all, that it will not come to that."
    For a long moment old Nicholas stood stiff and silent. Suddenly extending his hand, but turning his face away, he said,
    "Well, good bye. Our ways part then."
    "Don't say that, sir."
    "I must say it. I must remain as I began--a loyal British subject. You have ceased to be one. I am sorry to have seen this day. But I must submit to necessity, and you must, too."
    Slowly old Nicholas ascended the stairs, tapping each tread with his cane. Halfway up, he cried out, as if in anger,
    "Good bye, I say!"
    "God keep you, sir," was all Mr. Wynkoop could find to reply.
    Mr. Wynkoop afterwards told me that he spent a sleepless night in his half-abandoned house. In anticipation of General Howe's arrival he had already begun to move his effects out of the city, into Westchester County, near White Plains, where the Provincial Congress was adjourned to meet on July 2.
    With the business of settling his personal affairs to the best advantage he was so fully occupied that he did not attend the Congress on the opening days. But on the afternoon of the 9th of July he took his place, a little late.
    Slipping quietly into a vacant chair just in front of me, he was handed a copy of "A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress Assembled." The chairman of a committee, appointed to report on the validity of the reasons given for separation from Great Britain, was reading the document. We listened to the felicitous and now familiar phrases--"hold these truths to be self-evident"--"just powers from the consent of the governed"--"right of the people to alter or abolish it."
    "Who are the people?" I heard Mr. Wynkoop murmur to his neighbor.
    His neighbor, not hearing or not understanding him, whispered behind his hand,
    "This is not an easy time for you, I dare say. Mr. Van Schoickendinck can't be induced to join us." The last a statement rather than a question.
    "No," Mr. Wynkoop said. "He will go Tory. He will not oppose us. His sympathies are with us really, I think. He is thoroughly American, with no great love for Britain. But he is old--he will go Tory."

*     *     *

    "The Declaration will carry, I think."
    "Yes."
    "It seems well phrased. Jefferson's pen, I understand."
    Presently the chairman, having finished the reading of the Declaration, read the report of the committee. "While we lament the cruel necessity which has made that measure unavoidable, we approve the same, and will, at the risk of our lives and fortunes, join with the other colonies in supporting it."
    The report of the committee was carried, unanimously, a bare majority being present.
    Whereupon a member begged leave, before proceeding to other routine business, to make a few remarks. Permission being granted, the member spoke of the decisive step which had just been taken; of the solemn crisis which confronted all America; of the duty of meeting that crisis with high courage, with the indomitable perseverance of freemen fighting for their liberties. "The time for discussion is over," he said. "The time for action has come. Once thoroughly united, we cannot fail, and if we triumph, as we shall, a grateful posterity will recall these days, and do honor to the patriotic men whose conduct was inspired by the spirit of freedom. God grant we may so act that the spirit of freedom will ever be synonymous with the spirit of '76!"
    In the perfunctory applause which greeted these remarks, Mr. Wynkoop joined, as heartily, I think, as ....

    Here, most unfortunately, the manuscript ends. What the conclusion of the story may have been, if indeed it ever was concluded, will probably never be known. 2


Sources:

    1. Anonymous, "An Alleged 'Manuscript'," The Christian Science Monitor, Boston, Mass., Tuesday, 19 June 1956, p. 9.

    2. Becker, Carl, [With Illustrations by Gene Langley,] "Understanding Our Freedoms 10, Jeremiah Wynkoop -- III," The Christian Science Monitor, Boston, Mass., Tuesday, 19 June 1956, p. 9.

Created July 13, 2005; Revised July 13, 2005
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~wynkoop/index.htm
Comments to [email protected]

Copyright © 2005 by Christopher H. Wynkoop, All Rights Reserved

This site may be freely linked to but not duplicated in any fashion without my written consent.

Site map

The Wynkoop Family Research Library
Home