Benedict Arnold's letter To the Inhabitants of America
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[edit] Summary
Benedict Arnold's "To the Inhabitants of America" was an open letter he wrote and published after his defection to the Kingdom of Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War.
In the letter, dated October 7, 1780, Arnold attempts to explain his actions and encourages his readers to work to rejoin with Great Britain rather than ratifying the Articles of Confederation.
He objected strongly to the alliance with France, calling France the enemy of the Protestant faith, and a country fraudulently avowing an affection for the liberties of mankind.
[edit] Patriot to Traitor
Benedict Arnold entered the American Revolution as a Patriot fighting for American independence. In September and October of 1777 he was a Major General in the American army leading a division against British General John Burgoyne at the Battle of Saratoga. In October of 1777, American General Horatio Gates arrived in time to lead the end of the battle and take full credit for the American victory while relieving Arnold of command of his division. Thus, Arnold did not receive proper credit for a victory that he largely orchestrated.[1]
Arnold became even further disillusioned after the alliance with France in 1778. Arnold makes it clear in his letter that this was a key point of contention leading to his treason. Not only did the French represent an imperial monarchy that seemed in tension for the republican ideals of the revolution, but they were also seen as the traditional enemies of Britain and, thus, of the Americans. In addition to these factors, Arnold was, like many New Englanders, adamantly anti-Catholic; therefore, the alliance with a Catholic state proved to be another contentious issue.
These factors disillusioned and angered Arnold and provided the justification for him to shift his alliance back to Britain.
[edit] The Letter
In order to explain and justify his actions, Arnold published an open letter dated October 7, 1780 that was published October 11, 1780 in New York by the Royal Gazette. This letter to “The Inhabitants of America” outlined what Arnold saw as the corruption and lies and tyranny of the Second Continental Congress and the Patriot leadership and encouraged Americans to reject the Articles of Confederation and return to the British Empire.
Arnold also argues in this letter that the war was a defensive action prior to the French involvement and that this alliance has changed the entire nature of the conflict. Rather than entangling in an alliance with the deceptive French, Arnold asserts that America should return to the virtuous British. He also depicts Catholic France as “the enemy of the Protestant faith” and accuses France of speaking of liberty while holding its people in bondage. In his argument, Arnold makes a plea to the “common sense” of this action.[2] His choice of words references Thomas Paine’s pamphlet, Common Sense, which had been circulating in America since 1776.
Arnold was living in British controlled New York when his letter was published and had been given a commission as a British officer. The letter “To the Inhabitants of America” was the first in a series of letters directed at different groups in America. He followed it with “A Proclamation to the Officers and Soldiers of the Continental Army” dated October 20, 1780. These letters essentially echoed common Loyalist opinion.[3]
[edit] Patriot Reactions
Many New England newspapers published responses to Arnold’s letter. The Connecticut Courant published a response by Noah Webster that answered Arnold with “patriotic ardor.”[4] Washington’s reaction to Arnold’s treason was very bitter; he saw Arnold as villainous, misguided, and completely evil.[5]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Willard M. Wallace, Traitorous Hero: The Life and Fortunes of Benedict Arnold (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1954), 1-3.
- ^ “To the Inhabitants of America,” London Chronicle, 14 November 1780.
- ^ Willard M. Wallace, Traitorous Hero, 263.
- ^ Spaulding E. Wilder, “The Connecticut Courant, a Representative Newspaper in the Eighteenth Century,” New England Quarterly, 3d Ser., III (July, 1930), 458.
- ^ Willard M. Wallace, Traitorous Hero, 270.
