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Tryon Resolves

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The Tryon Resolves were a brief declaration adopted by the citizens of Tryon County in the Province of North Carolina in the early days of the American Revolution. In the Resolves, the county vowed resistance to coercive actions by the British Empire against its North American colonies. The document was signed on August 14, 1775.

Contents

Background

The Tryon Resolves "association" was created in response to the Battle of Lexington, and the Resolves were among the earliest of many local colonial declarations against the policies the British government had instituted in the colonies, which were considered oppressive by the colonists. Other similar declarations from the same period included the Mecklenburg Resolves (adopted in nearby Mecklenburg County, North Carolina) and the Suffolk Resolves (adopted in Suffolk County, Massachusetts). The Tryon Resolves predated the United States Declaration of Independence by almost 11 months, but stopped short of proscribing independence from Britain, instead supporting armed resistance until a resolution with England could be made.

As tensions between the North American colonies and the British government continued to increase, county residents began forming Committees of Safety to prepare militia companies for a potential war. On September 14, 1775, many of the signers of the Tryon Resolves formed the Tryon County Militia in preparation for British retaliation against American revolutionaries.

Text summary and effect

In the Tryon Resolves:

  • The county residents refer to "the painful necessity of having recourse to arms in defense of our National freedom and constitutional rights, against all invasions;
  • Vow to take up arms and risk our lives and our fortunes in maintaining the freedom of our country..."
  • The colonists declare they will continue to follow the Continental Congress or Provincial Conventions in defiance of British declarations that these were illegal;
  • The signers warn that force will be met with force until such a time as a "reconciliation" can be made between the colonies and Britain.

    • Signers

    The signatories of the Tryon Resolves were:

    References

    Tryon Resolves Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA