The Broadside for the Betrayed Inhabitants - Research Paper Example

To the Betrayed Inhabitants of the and Colony of New York By Alexander McDougall In what can easily go down as one of the most stirring messagesof 1769, McDougall’s famous wakeup call to his fellow citizens to rally behind him can never be slighted in the task of documenting the history of New York City. One of the most prominent merchants of his time, Alexander McDougall was thirty-seven when he wrote his famous message, which led to his even more famous arrest by the authorities who swiftly acted on a tip. But no arrest or detention could alter the effect he had caused – his broadside message had already inspired millions of his compatriots to an entirely new call of action. In the times of 1769, when various political factions were swiftly turning the tables on each other, and were interested in finding parties to blame rather than reconstruct their countries, the people of the New York were in deep trouble, and were among the most oppressed classes in the world. McDougall wrote that the people of New York were being tyrannized by evil forces and factions working overtime to see that their vested interests were fulfilled rather than ensuring that the country was insulated from disasters. The message clearly breathed the spirit of reconstruction rather than retribution, and was easily more constructive than destructive. McDougall’s message was not only powerful, but as any historian can make out, it was a wakeup call, a call to liberty and freedom, and not a baleful message addressed to the masses, giving them false hope and instigating wanton and unnecessary violence. In his message to the people of New York, McDougall wanted to warn them to beware of “the minions of tyranny and despotism.” These words written at the very outset of his message, we can very well appreciate his deepest interest in his fellowmen – the people of New York to whom he had addressed his message. In the message, McDougall praised the efforts of all his fellow merchants, who like himself, had solely sidestepped their personal egos and ambitions in favor of public welfare. The initial bearing of his message is more about the efforts taken by the Massachusetts and South Carolina assemblies towards collecting and dispatching money for the troops: which is an act he felt extremely unreasonable from the very beginning. McDougall’s message communicated the words: Our granting money to the troops, is implicitly acknowledging the authority that enacted the revenue acts, and their being obligatory on us, as these acts were enacted for the express purpose of taking money out of our pockets without our consent; and to provide for the defending and support of government in America; which revenue we say by our grant of money, is not sufficient for the purpose aforesaid; therefore we supply the deficiency. These words clearly specify the reason why McDougall felt that the money sent to the troops by the two assemblies testify the fact that colonies still were oppressed by corrupt sources in the assembly, and that they had to break free as soon as they could. The entire message was revolutionary in its truest sense but must not be confused with instigating anti-British and revolutionary feelings among the people. That was the entire beauty of McDougall’s broadside message. Upon a close analysis, we will find that his call was to rally the people, make them realize their rights, and look up to the English “friends of liberty,” as he addressed them, and to help them stand on their own feet. He also wrote that the sorry state of the New Yorkers could be attributed only to the oppressive and corrupt elements present in the assembly and he fervently pleaded with his countrymen to assert themselves the way they should have. Even as we read the text we can clearly observe McDougall’s fantastic expression. Using that persuasive tone, McDougall had touched the most sensitive of topics, and yet made it look as if he was teaching to inspire, and not plotting to revolt. In this context, we can observe the manner in which he wrote about sending money to the troops - it was carefully planned, analyzed and delivered. McDougall’s words gave the people the impression that the money sanctioned to the troops could have been misused for “further slavery,” instead of protection. McDougall gave an example of an act that further reiterated his position: Has not the truth of this remark been lately exemplified in the audacious, domineering and inhuman Major Pullaine, who ordered a guard to protect a sordid miscreant, that transgressed the laudable non-importation agreement of the merchants, in order to break that, which is the only means left them, under God to baffle the designs of their enemies to enslave this continent? This consideration alone ought to be sufficient to induce a free people, not to grant the troops any supply whatsoever, if we had no dispute with the mother country, that made it necessary not to concede anything that might destroy our freedom; reasons of economy and good policy suggest that we ought not to grant the troops money. After this carefully constructed portion on why the money sent to the troops was a dangerous sign and had to be stopped for the betterment of the colonies, McDougall wrote a great deal about the magnitude of corruption that was prevailing in the assemblies. He gave anecdotes of how leaders present in the assembly worked for filling their own pockets, and how they were concerned in nothing else other than their fat salaries. His views were that the members of the assembly were completely devoid of national fervor and stressed on exactly why the colonies must gather, work together to stand on their own feet, and rid themselves of this bondage. But what was most surprising is that McDougall called upon his countrymen to applaud the efforts of the English and asked them to base their movements on the English movement. However, it is difficult to say why the message was not a revolutionary instigator, but a sensible rallying call by a leader to his people. However, the message was entirely that. For McDougall the focus of his countrymen should have been liberty, and the courage to live in a pure, corruption-free environment. If we talk of the strong language employed we must admit that such a tone is used only by leaders, and McDougall was indeed a powerful, rallying leader, as evidently seen from his words. At the end of his message, McDougall called himself “A SON OF LIBERTY” – which entirely validated and specified the complete and true nature of his message. His extremism was directed towards the corrupt forces prevailing in the assemblies, and their contagious nature. In the end, McDougall’s broadside message to his people of New York boiled down to just this: a loud call to liberty. Read More