What Caused The Olive Branch Petition
The olive branch petition was adopted by congress on july 5 1775.
What caused the olive branch petition. Americans had hoped that parliament had curtailed colonial rights without the. The olive branch petition was a final attempt by the colonists to avoid going to war with britain during the american revolution. This petition commonly known as the olive branch petition asked the king to find a way to resolve the crisis and offered the king some possible settlement options for his consideration. In july 1775 congress sent a petition to the king seeking a way to end the crisis between the british government and her american colonies.
The olive branch petition was championed by john dickinson who held much influence in congress and was a pacifist. The letter was also very critical of john dickinson. It was followed by the july 6 declaration of the causes and necessity of taking up arms howev. He wanted to avoid war at all cost but he had already gained his reputation by his scathing editorial about the british stamp act.
When george iii refused. Some delegates to the continental congress wanted to break with england at this time but they yielded to the majority who weren t ready yet. The olive branch petition was adopted by the second continental congress on july 5 1775 and signed on july 8 in a final attempt to avoid war between great britain and the thirteen colonies in america. The day congress approved the olive branch petition july 8 john adams wrote two letters in disgust one to his wife abigail and the other to general james warren.
Patriots had hoped that parliament had curtailed colonial rights without the kings full knowledge and that the petition would cause him to come to his subjects defense. It was a document in which the colonists pledged their loyalty to the crown and asserted their rights as british citizens. The letter to general warren in particular expressed his disapproval of the petition and revealed certain war preparations. The olive branch petition was the last effort of the continental congress to avoid war with great britain in 1775.
The american colonists drafted the olive branch petition in an effort to reconcile matters of tax and trade with george iii of england in lieu of revolution. The king s rejection of the petition. The olive branch petition as a cause of the revolutionary war the letter clearly states many times that the colonists were loyal to the king and guaranteed that they were not seeking independence.