Mecklenburg Resolves facts for kids
The Mecklenburg Resolves, also known as the Charlotte Town Resolves, were important statements made by people in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. These statements were agreed upon on May 31, 1775, in the town of Charlotte. This happened just a month after the first battles of the American War for Independence at Lexington and Concord.
Many other local groups in the colonies made similar lists of statements around this time. However, none of these other lists actually asked for complete independence from Great Britain. The Mecklenburg Resolves are believed to be connected to a document called the "Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence", though that one has not been fully proven.
Even though the Resolves were not a full declaration of independence, they were very bold. They said that all laws from the King or the British Parliament were no longer valid. They also stopped recognizing the King's power in North Carolina and other American colonies. North Carolina was the first colony to officially do something like this. It happened about a year before the Halifax Resolves were passed by the Fourth North Carolina Provincial Congress.
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Creating the Mecklenburg Resolves
The Mecklenburg Resolves document was put together by a local group called the Mecklenburg County Committee of Safety. This committee was a group of citizens who took charge of local government during the early days of the American Revolution. They created the document on or after May 20, 1775, and then officially adopted it on May 31, 1775. This was only a few weeks after the first battles of the American War for Independence in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts.
The Resolves clearly stated that "all Laws...derived from the Authority of the King or Parliament, are annulled and vacated." This meant they believed these laws were no longer in effect. The document also said that the local government, working under the larger Continental Congress, now had all the power to make laws and run things. It added that "no other Legislative or Executive does or can exist, at this time, in any of these Colonies."
Captain James Jack is said to have carried the Resolves document to the North Carolina representatives who were meeting at the Continental Congress. These representatives included Richard Caswell, William Hooper, and Joseph Hewes. They received the document but decided not to show it to the entire Congress at that time. Other areas also made similar statements, like the Tryon Resolves in nearby Tryon County. However, none of these statements actually called for full independence from Britain.
What the Resolves Meant
The Mecklenburg Resolves left a way open for peace if the British Parliament would "resign its unjust and arbitrary Pretentions [sic] with respect to America." This meant that if Parliament gave up its unfair demands on America, the Resolves would no longer be needed. So, while the Mecklenburg Resolves showed a strong challenge to British rule, they were not a declaration that the people of Mecklenburg County were completely free and independent from the King.
The Mystery of the Lost Document
The original, official document of the "Mecklenburg Resolves" (or the supposed "Mecklenburg Declaration") was thought to have been destroyed. People believed it burned in a fire in 1800 at a private home where it was being kept. For a long time, there were no other published records from that time that showed the exact words of the document.
Who Signed the Resolves?
There are no published records from the time that tell us who signed the Mecklenburg Resolves.
Finding the Resolves Text
Proof that the Mecklenburg Resolves really existed was finally found in 1838. A historian named Peter Force discovered a shorter list of resolutions that were adopted in Mecklenburg County on May 31, 1775. This discovery helped prove that the Mecklenburg Resolves were real, even though they were different from the longer "declaration of independence" that some people talked about.
Then, in 1847, the full text of the Resolves was found. It was in the old records of the South Carolina Gazette newspaper. The newspaper had reported on the committee's decisions and published the full text on June 13, 1775. This newspaper article confirmed that the Mecklenburg Resolves were adopted on May 31, 1775. However, it did not list any names of people who signed it.
