In 1775, the Colonies proposed the Olive Branch Petition to reconcile
with Britain and avert war, but King George III denied the petition.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Describe the relationship between the colonies and Great Britain in the year before the Declaration
of Independence
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
The Second Continental Congress, guided by Pennsylvaniadelegate John Dickinson, swore loyalty to
the Crown and requested tax reforms in the Olive Branch Petition. This petition was a final effort by
the Congress to avoid a war with Great Britain.
Specifically, the Olive Branch Petition vowed allegiance to the Crown and claimed that
the colonies did not seek independence—that they merely wanted to negotiate trade and
tax regulations with Great Britain.
The petition asked for one of two alternatives: free trade and taxes equal to those levied on the
people in Great Britain or, alternatively, no taxes and strict trade regulations.
Dickinson's petition was not unanimously accepted by Congress. John Adams, leading a
smaller faction of delegates, opposed Dickinson: he and his followers viewed war as inevitable.
However, after the Battle of Bunker Hill, in which the British suffered massive casualties, King
George III issued a Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition in August 1775.
The King's Proclamation declared the Thirteen Colonies to be in a state of revolt. He ordered British
officers and loyal subjects to suppress this uprising.
The hostility of King George III weakened the colonists' attachment to Great Britain and
strengthened the movement for independence.
TERMS [ edit ]
Proclamation of Rebellion
The Proclamation of Rebellion, officially titled A Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and
Sedition, was the response of George III of Great Britain to the news of the Battle of Bunker Hill at
the outset of the American Revolutionary War.
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during
the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War.
Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was adopted by the Continental Congress in July 1775 in an attempt to
avoid a full­blown war with Great Britain.
Give us feedback on this content: FULL TEXT [ edit ]
In the period of uncertainty leading up to the formal declaration of war, the Second Congress
attempted to pacify the British and declare allegiance to the Crown, while simultaneously
asserting independence and engaging British forces in armed conflict.
The Olive Branch Petition was adopted by the Continental Congress in July 1775 in an
attempt to avoid a full­blown war with Great Britain. The petition affirmed American loyalty
to Great Britain and entreated the king to prevent further conflict. The petition was rejected,
and in August 1775 theProclamation of Rebellion formally declared that the colonies were in
rebellion.
When the Second Continental Congress convened in May 1775, most delegates supported
John Dickinson in his efforts to reconcile with George III of Great Britain; however a small
faction of delegates, led by John Adams, argued that war was inevitable.
The Olive Branch Petition vowed allegiance to the Crown, and claimed that the colonies did
not seek independence but merely wanted to negotiate trade and tax regulations with Great
Britain. The petition asked for free trade and taxes equal to those levied on the people in
Great Britain, or alternatively, no taxes and strict trade regulations. The letter was sent to
London on July 8, 1775.
In August 1775, upon learning of the Battle of Bunker Hill, King George III issued a
Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition. This document declared the North
American colonies to be in a state of rebellion and ordered British officers and loyal subjects
to suppress this uprising .
Proclamation of Rebellion, 1775
The Proclamation of Rebellion was King George III's response to the Olive Branch Petition.
The proclamation was written before the Olive Branch Petition reached the British. When it
arrived, it was rejected unseen by King George III, and the second Congress was dismissed as
an illegal assembly of rebels. At this time, the British also confiscated a letter authored by
John Adams, which expressed frustration with attempts to make peace with the British. This
letter was used as a propaganda tool to demonstrate the insincerity of the Olive Branch
Petition.
The King's rejection gave Adams and others who favored revolution the opportunity they
needed to push for independence. The rejection of the "olive branch" polarized the issue in
the minds of many colonists, who realized that from that point forward the choice was
between full independence or full submission to British rule.
On October 26, 1775, King George III expanded on the Proclamation in his Speech from the
Throne at the opening ofParliament. The King insisted that rebellion was being fomented by
a "desperate conspiracy" of leaders whose claims of allegiance to him were not genuine. King
George indicated that he intended to deal with the crisis with armed force.
The Proclamation and the Speech from the Throne undermined moderates such as
Dickinson. When it became clear that the King was not inclined to act as a conciliator,
colonial attachment to the Empire was weakened, and a movement towards independence
became a reality.
The Second Continental Congress issued a response to the Proclamation on December 6,
1775, saying that despite their unwavering loyalty to the Crown, the British Parliament did
not have a legitimate claim to authority over the colonies while they did not have democratic
representation. Congress maintained that they still hoped to avoid a "civil war. "
Olive Branch Petition, 1775
The Olive Branch Petition, issued by the Second Congress, was a final attempt at reconciliation with
the British.