Achilles
12-14-2007, 07:56 AM
The Liberty Tree
A Celebration of Independence Day
It was a cold grey day in December 1773 when about one hundred fifty Sons of Liberty dressed up as Native Americans and dumped a few crates of tea into the frigid Boston harbor. They were indignant about Great Britain's decision to impose a tax on most everything, including documents and tea. Britain, trying to pay off debts incurred during the French and Indian war, was desperate for cash. England pointed out quite reasonably that much of the war in North America was fought on behalf of the colonists, so the Colonies should bear the cost. Parliament resorted to requiring a stamp of approval (and proof of paid taxes) on playing cards, marriage certificates, newspapers, etc. The colonists were not particularly cooperative, and the aforementioned Sons, egged on by one Samuel Adams were theatrical in their discontent.
Tax collectors had not just been unpopular in the colonies, but despised for at least a decade. In August of 1765 a particularly notorious tax collector for the British crown, one Andrew Oliver was hung in effigy from the stout branches of an elm tree in the front yard of Deacon Jacob Elliott of that unctuous town - Boston. Poor Mr. Oliver had recently made the unwise choice of agreeing to collect stamp-act taxes for the Crown. Bostonians were piqued, and whipped into a near frenzy by Sam Adams. The elm tree from which Oliver's mock-up was hanged became thence something of a symbol itself as people started placing all sorts of symbolic tokens and messages on and around the tree. The leavings were as random as notes, banners, boots and dolls, but they were all about freedom, political voice and liberty. Occasionally, particularly reviled agents of the Crown were stripped, tarred and feathered under the tree. The shade of the tree also served as a gathering place for folk to discuss their discontent and toss around ideas for tossing out the oppressive British. Soon, other towns throughout the Colonies took up the practice of designating and decorating their own trees, and the icon known as the Liberty Tree was born.
Each colony had in particular a single iconic Liberty tree, and the British were so disgusted by these trees that they were known to have purposefully searched for and destroyed them. The Britsh soldiers garrisoned in Boston to quell popular resistance just prior to the Revolution cut down the original Tree in 1775 and obtained from it 14 cords of firewood (1792 cubic feet). Despite the British attempts to uproot the Tree of Liberty, as the world well knows, the colonists persisted in and formalized their rebellion - with a Declaration and a war. During the Revolution in one case of arboreal revulsion in Charleston South Carolina, after hewing one such secularly revered tree, the British took the trouble to burn and hack apart the stump until virtually no trace remained. After the Revolution a judge named William Johnson dug up the root of the South Carolina tree, and had it made into the heads of walking canes – one of which was given to then President Thomas Jefferson. Some colonial military regiments in the Revolution defiantly carried flags with images of a Liberty Tree into battle against the British and their mercenaries. Yet over time the reverence for, and even the memory regarding these living symbols of liberty dissipated in American popular culture. Perhaps it would be at least as appropriate for Americans to have Independence Day trees as Christmas Trees!
http://netcogito.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/07/CRW_7098.jpg
The last surviving liberty tree from the time of the Revolution was cut down in 1999 after the remnants of hurricane Floyd buffeted Maryland, and severely damaged the 400 year-old tree. Until recently, there was a beautiful strong elm tree making a singularly impressive stand in the front lawn of the White House. Although this tree was not recognized as a Liberty Tree (being only about 100 years old), for me it was a poignant reminder of the old Boston elm and the struggle against tyranny that it came to symbolize. This same photogenic White House tree is represented on the back of every $20 bill. The rains in the D.C. area during the first days of summer in 2006 unbound its roots from the ground, and toppled this grand tree on Sunday the 25th of June. I wonder if they will remove its image from new bills?
Weather toppled the last original Liberty tree, and the White House tree. The weather during the Revolutionary era was noteworthy for another reason: Returning to December 1773, note that it was bitterly and in fact unusually cold. This cold was associated with the "Little Ice Age" which was at its worst during the 1700s and early 1800s. The cause of this decades and hemisphere-spanning climatic cooling (there is continuing debate about whether if affected the southern hemisphere) is still being investigated. Phenomena as varied as solar activity, volcanism, and human activity are seriously considered candidate instigators. In any case, most climate scientists conclude the cold was clearly amplified by the occasional eruption of volcanos during this era. At the time of the Little Ice Age, with one documented exception, nobody had made the link between climate and large atmospheric-impacting phenomena like megatons of dusty ash and gasses gushing from a mountain, or human-driven changes in heat absorbing or reflecting gasses. Some scientists speculate the climatic chill was amplified in intensity because of changes in cultivation patterns (and thus vegetation patterns) arising from labor shortages following the Black Death in Europe. As an aside, it is interesting to ponder that many of the notions of social equality and the first organized clamoring for removal of legal differentiation between class boundaries can be traced to the yeomen and peasant farmers still alive after the Black Death. These folks suddenly realized they were valuable to and valued by society because they were scarce. This realization of economic self-worth by manual and agricultural laborers led to a degree of activism, an activism the governments of Europe found they could ill-afford to ignore. It was one of the earliest movements toward universal liberty in the pre-modern West, and it came about largely due to a plague and some harsh winters.
One fellow who was very interested in weather in the late 1700's was our most avuncular founding father: Benjamin Franklin. Franklin empirically determined that storms move from west to east, and first charted the direction, temperature and speed of the ocean Gulf Stream. Ben was the first person known to have speculated on a link between volcanism and climate change, as well as the impact of deforestation on climate. He was in Europe in 1783 and noted the continuously hazy air and persistent and bitterly cold winter. Ingeniously speculative, Franklin proposed the cause of the "universal fog" was either a volcano or a meteor strike and that the fog blocked enough sunlight to amplify the winter.
Identifying (and verifying) connections between events, objects and processes, even when intuition would have us see them as disconnected, is a hallmark of genius and science. Now-days, we have growing expertise in identifying connections within and between highly complex systems. Simultaneously with this advancing expertise comes recognition of the growing relevance of human society's activities on the environment. As a modern example, an overwhelming majority of climatologists recognize global warming as having a real and current impact on the planet's hydrological and ecological cycles. Whether this is due mostly to human activities is slightly more debatable- even so a clear majority conclude that our burning of fossil fuels is a major (if not the major) contributor. In any case, contemporary climatologic data support that we are likely now experiencing the beginnings of a "Little Heat Wave". One wonders whether this weather too will inspire a clamoring for liberty, trees or no.
While in London in 1774, Ben Franklin made the acquaintance of an impassioned and surprisingly eloquent Englishman who shared his conviction regarding the value and universality of personal liberty: Thomas Paine. In 1774 Parliament gave Ben a caustic and public dressing-down for the unseemly behavior of his American compatriots in Boston, for which he was suspected of being at least complicit and potentially an instigator. Ben had finally had enough of trying to foster brotherhood and equality between Britain and America, and with a glowing letter of recommendation, sent the disenchanted Paine to Philadelphia where his revolutionary ideas might find a welcome audience. Among his copious and influential writings, Tom wrote a stirring poem concerning the Liberty Tree. ( http://www.4literature.net/Thomas_Paine/Liberty_Tree/)
Another eloquent patriot, this one a native of America, used the imagery of the Liberty Tree to great effect. In what has become a famous quote, Thomas Jefferson once said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." This was a clear reference to the then-prominent symbolism of the Liberty Trees. Now, he wasn't talking about human sacrifice under one of the afore-mentioned Trees, but he was talking about the occasional need to resort to deadly force to overcome tyranny. His specific fear was that tyranny would reassert itself from time to time in his beloved America, especially in the person of an overly powerful executive. It was a fear shared by many of the Founding Fathers. A contrary fear was that of mob rule and the tyranny of the majority. The task our Founders took upon themselves in 1887 was to strike an optimal balance between these two likely tyrannies, and keep both at bay. So far, their method has proved amazingly successful. With masterful skill and astonishing selflessness, the fifty-five Constitutional Convention delegates (especially James Madison) designed a fantastically balanced political machine for legislating, executing and judging the laws of the land. Never before had a political entity as world-changing as the United States been brought into being with such precision of balance, forethought and self-consistency. The constitution however, being the creation of man and a prescription for delicate balances, has created a political machine which is slightly imperfect, and prone to swinging out of balance from time to time. The nation thus finds itself in constant need of course and agenda corrections, some minor and some major. From little laws to a civil war, America strives constantly to deal with loop-holes, injustices and abuses of power which human nature en masse and over time will find a way to exploit. The major corrections, those requiring force to compel, are thankfully rare and in no case as common as Jefferson feared they would be – the Liberty Tree at the heart of our Nation has an anorectic appetite for blood.
http://netcogito.com/blog/2006/07/18/the-tree-of-liberty/
A Celebration of Independence Day
It was a cold grey day in December 1773 when about one hundred fifty Sons of Liberty dressed up as Native Americans and dumped a few crates of tea into the frigid Boston harbor. They were indignant about Great Britain's decision to impose a tax on most everything, including documents and tea. Britain, trying to pay off debts incurred during the French and Indian war, was desperate for cash. England pointed out quite reasonably that much of the war in North America was fought on behalf of the colonists, so the Colonies should bear the cost. Parliament resorted to requiring a stamp of approval (and proof of paid taxes) on playing cards, marriage certificates, newspapers, etc. The colonists were not particularly cooperative, and the aforementioned Sons, egged on by one Samuel Adams were theatrical in their discontent.
Tax collectors had not just been unpopular in the colonies, but despised for at least a decade. In August of 1765 a particularly notorious tax collector for the British crown, one Andrew Oliver was hung in effigy from the stout branches of an elm tree in the front yard of Deacon Jacob Elliott of that unctuous town - Boston. Poor Mr. Oliver had recently made the unwise choice of agreeing to collect stamp-act taxes for the Crown. Bostonians were piqued, and whipped into a near frenzy by Sam Adams. The elm tree from which Oliver's mock-up was hanged became thence something of a symbol itself as people started placing all sorts of symbolic tokens and messages on and around the tree. The leavings were as random as notes, banners, boots and dolls, but they were all about freedom, political voice and liberty. Occasionally, particularly reviled agents of the Crown were stripped, tarred and feathered under the tree. The shade of the tree also served as a gathering place for folk to discuss their discontent and toss around ideas for tossing out the oppressive British. Soon, other towns throughout the Colonies took up the practice of designating and decorating their own trees, and the icon known as the Liberty Tree was born.
Each colony had in particular a single iconic Liberty tree, and the British were so disgusted by these trees that they were known to have purposefully searched for and destroyed them. The Britsh soldiers garrisoned in Boston to quell popular resistance just prior to the Revolution cut down the original Tree in 1775 and obtained from it 14 cords of firewood (1792 cubic feet). Despite the British attempts to uproot the Tree of Liberty, as the world well knows, the colonists persisted in and formalized their rebellion - with a Declaration and a war. During the Revolution in one case of arboreal revulsion in Charleston South Carolina, after hewing one such secularly revered tree, the British took the trouble to burn and hack apart the stump until virtually no trace remained. After the Revolution a judge named William Johnson dug up the root of the South Carolina tree, and had it made into the heads of walking canes – one of which was given to then President Thomas Jefferson. Some colonial military regiments in the Revolution defiantly carried flags with images of a Liberty Tree into battle against the British and their mercenaries. Yet over time the reverence for, and even the memory regarding these living symbols of liberty dissipated in American popular culture. Perhaps it would be at least as appropriate for Americans to have Independence Day trees as Christmas Trees!
http://netcogito.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/07/CRW_7098.jpg
The last surviving liberty tree from the time of the Revolution was cut down in 1999 after the remnants of hurricane Floyd buffeted Maryland, and severely damaged the 400 year-old tree. Until recently, there was a beautiful strong elm tree making a singularly impressive stand in the front lawn of the White House. Although this tree was not recognized as a Liberty Tree (being only about 100 years old), for me it was a poignant reminder of the old Boston elm and the struggle against tyranny that it came to symbolize. This same photogenic White House tree is represented on the back of every $20 bill. The rains in the D.C. area during the first days of summer in 2006 unbound its roots from the ground, and toppled this grand tree on Sunday the 25th of June. I wonder if they will remove its image from new bills?
Weather toppled the last original Liberty tree, and the White House tree. The weather during the Revolutionary era was noteworthy for another reason: Returning to December 1773, note that it was bitterly and in fact unusually cold. This cold was associated with the "Little Ice Age" which was at its worst during the 1700s and early 1800s. The cause of this decades and hemisphere-spanning climatic cooling (there is continuing debate about whether if affected the southern hemisphere) is still being investigated. Phenomena as varied as solar activity, volcanism, and human activity are seriously considered candidate instigators. In any case, most climate scientists conclude the cold was clearly amplified by the occasional eruption of volcanos during this era. At the time of the Little Ice Age, with one documented exception, nobody had made the link between climate and large atmospheric-impacting phenomena like megatons of dusty ash and gasses gushing from a mountain, or human-driven changes in heat absorbing or reflecting gasses. Some scientists speculate the climatic chill was amplified in intensity because of changes in cultivation patterns (and thus vegetation patterns) arising from labor shortages following the Black Death in Europe. As an aside, it is interesting to ponder that many of the notions of social equality and the first organized clamoring for removal of legal differentiation between class boundaries can be traced to the yeomen and peasant farmers still alive after the Black Death. These folks suddenly realized they were valuable to and valued by society because they were scarce. This realization of economic self-worth by manual and agricultural laborers led to a degree of activism, an activism the governments of Europe found they could ill-afford to ignore. It was one of the earliest movements toward universal liberty in the pre-modern West, and it came about largely due to a plague and some harsh winters.
One fellow who was very interested in weather in the late 1700's was our most avuncular founding father: Benjamin Franklin. Franklin empirically determined that storms move from west to east, and first charted the direction, temperature and speed of the ocean Gulf Stream. Ben was the first person known to have speculated on a link between volcanism and climate change, as well as the impact of deforestation on climate. He was in Europe in 1783 and noted the continuously hazy air and persistent and bitterly cold winter. Ingeniously speculative, Franklin proposed the cause of the "universal fog" was either a volcano or a meteor strike and that the fog blocked enough sunlight to amplify the winter.
Identifying (and verifying) connections between events, objects and processes, even when intuition would have us see them as disconnected, is a hallmark of genius and science. Now-days, we have growing expertise in identifying connections within and between highly complex systems. Simultaneously with this advancing expertise comes recognition of the growing relevance of human society's activities on the environment. As a modern example, an overwhelming majority of climatologists recognize global warming as having a real and current impact on the planet's hydrological and ecological cycles. Whether this is due mostly to human activities is slightly more debatable- even so a clear majority conclude that our burning of fossil fuels is a major (if not the major) contributor. In any case, contemporary climatologic data support that we are likely now experiencing the beginnings of a "Little Heat Wave". One wonders whether this weather too will inspire a clamoring for liberty, trees or no.
While in London in 1774, Ben Franklin made the acquaintance of an impassioned and surprisingly eloquent Englishman who shared his conviction regarding the value and universality of personal liberty: Thomas Paine. In 1774 Parliament gave Ben a caustic and public dressing-down for the unseemly behavior of his American compatriots in Boston, for which he was suspected of being at least complicit and potentially an instigator. Ben had finally had enough of trying to foster brotherhood and equality between Britain and America, and with a glowing letter of recommendation, sent the disenchanted Paine to Philadelphia where his revolutionary ideas might find a welcome audience. Among his copious and influential writings, Tom wrote a stirring poem concerning the Liberty Tree. ( http://www.4literature.net/Thomas_Paine/Liberty_Tree/)
Another eloquent patriot, this one a native of America, used the imagery of the Liberty Tree to great effect. In what has become a famous quote, Thomas Jefferson once said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." This was a clear reference to the then-prominent symbolism of the Liberty Trees. Now, he wasn't talking about human sacrifice under one of the afore-mentioned Trees, but he was talking about the occasional need to resort to deadly force to overcome tyranny. His specific fear was that tyranny would reassert itself from time to time in his beloved America, especially in the person of an overly powerful executive. It was a fear shared by many of the Founding Fathers. A contrary fear was that of mob rule and the tyranny of the majority. The task our Founders took upon themselves in 1887 was to strike an optimal balance between these two likely tyrannies, and keep both at bay. So far, their method has proved amazingly successful. With masterful skill and astonishing selflessness, the fifty-five Constitutional Convention delegates (especially James Madison) designed a fantastically balanced political machine for legislating, executing and judging the laws of the land. Never before had a political entity as world-changing as the United States been brought into being with such precision of balance, forethought and self-consistency. The constitution however, being the creation of man and a prescription for delicate balances, has created a political machine which is slightly imperfect, and prone to swinging out of balance from time to time. The nation thus finds itself in constant need of course and agenda corrections, some minor and some major. From little laws to a civil war, America strives constantly to deal with loop-holes, injustices and abuses of power which human nature en masse and over time will find a way to exploit. The major corrections, those requiring force to compel, are thankfully rare and in no case as common as Jefferson feared they would be – the Liberty Tree at the heart of our Nation has an anorectic appetite for blood.
http://netcogito.com/blog/2006/07/18/the-tree-of-liberty/