Samuel Langdon Quotes
… every nation, when able and agreed, has a right to set up over themselves any form of government which to them may appear most conducive to their common welfare.
Although opposed to monarchy himself, Langdon argued that a people had a right to select monarchical government if they chose. See {634001} for Rev. Dan Foster’s similar argument at in that period.
Samuel Langdon, 1723-1797, President, Harvard University Sermon, Government Corrupted By Vice, 1775
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
While he thought a people had a right to have a king, he also made radical statements regarding the British and their monarchy. See {633999}. The right of a people to have a king was also stated by the President of Harvard in that period— {633996}.
During the early days of the American independence movement, many were preoccupied with the philosophical and theological issues of whether the Almighty approved of monarchy or not. Parker urged concentration on assuring independence first.
While this has been one of the great American principles of political philosophy, in reality we have on many occasions interfered when a people chose an enemy of the United States or made a choice of a government which would seize power and not allow any further free choices. However, from the time JFK made this statement to today, our foreign policy record has become much better on implementing this principle.
This was the first contact between the colonists and the French government. The French agent was very non committal and the parties were just feeling each other out. Franklin made it perfectly clear that the colonists would not trade the English King for a French one and become part of the French empire.
The view was considered so radical at the time that Fox's name was erased from the Privy Council.
In Philadelphia, the state delegates had just started to vote for independence. The majority of each state delegation determined the vote for the state. Delaware had three delagates, but only two were in Philadelphia. Rodney, the third delegate from Delaware, had been attending a meeting in Dover when he received word that the other two Delaware delagates Thomas McKean and George Read were split—McKean for and Read against independence. Rodney immediately left for Philadelphia late on July 1. He rode all night in a thunderstorm to traverse the 80 miles to Philadelphia. He arrived in his spurs and riding boots and cast his famous vote and thus Delaware voted for Independence. After the vote, the next 2 days were spent drafting the Declaration of Independence and Rodney signed it on July 4. After Rodney returned to Delaware, he was ousted in the next election by conservative loyalists who felt that Rodney had betrayed them and England.
Originally it was published in Boston under the name “A Columbian Patriot.” The “principles to which she referred were the principles set out in our Constitution of 1787.
- Born: January 12, 1723
- Died: November 29, 1797
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Samuel Langdon was an American Congregational clergyman and educator. After serving as pastor in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, he was appointed president of Harvard University in 1774. He held that post until 1780.
