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On Feb. 23, 1776, John Adams offered resolutions in the Continental Congress with the intent of boosting domestic production of saltpeter, a main ingredient in gunpowder, and gunpowder mills. Domestic production never really took off during the war, only accounting for a small percentage of total gunpowder. Instead, the colonies imported or smuggled supplies in from the French and the West Indies.
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I chuckled at this, from planter and pamphleteer Landon Carter's diary and letters, which describe his very critical thoughts on "Common Sense" and his relief that Gen. Lee had not written it. He also recounts trying to get his grandson a slot in the army and how that ends embarrassingly for him and the grandson thanks to the young man's mother's breakdown.
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On Feb. 19, 1776, Ben Franklin wrote to Gen. Charles Lee, an admirer of Thomas Paine's to connect the two. Just a month after its publication, Paine's 47-page pamphlet is making waves all over the colonies.
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-22-02-0214
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On Feb. 18, 1776, John Adams writes to Abigail and confides in her about a delicate diplomatic mission to Canada. He throws a little shade at the Catholic leadership in Canada and Southerners and admires his wife's mastery of the French language.
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/04-01-02-0229
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In this episode, Mary Katharine Hamm and Vic Matus discuss sexual harassment training and AOC, and somewhat surprisingly, the two are not related. They delve into the recent Munich Security Conference, highlighting key speeches and the responses from various political figures. The conversation also touches on the ongoing redistricting controversy in Virginia and the implications of new laws on representation. Finally, they explore the Olympics and then the rising costs of cocktails.
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Written in John Adams' hand, these notes from the Continental Congress catalogue the debate over whether to do trade with foreign entities. The colonies needs supplies, but engaging with foreign countries while at war with Great Britain creeps pretty close to acting like a country, not a colony. Hence, the debate.
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/01-02-02-0006-0002-0001
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At a meeting of his war councilF eb, 16, 1776,, George Washingon suggests a complex, amphibious assault on Boston on frozen waterways, but the council says "nope." What they decide instead will change the course of the war and the fight for America's freedom.
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-03-02-0229
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On Feb. 12, 1776, the journals of the Continental Congress reveal that Major Gen. Lee is very worried about New York and that troops should be sent form Pennsylvania and New Jersey to aid him. The Congress also works on distribution of salt peter for the purposes of making gunpowder and blankets for a batallion. John Hancock urges Pennsylvania Delegate John Dickinson to get to Congress on time to vote the next day.
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n February of 1776, John Adams has taken one of many hard trips from Braintree, Mass. to Philadelphia to rejoin the Continental Congress. In this short letter to his wife, he tells of his travels, his worries, and his hopes for the colonies and their future.
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