VOYAGERS! - The Voyager Chronicles
TASTES OF FREEDOM - BOOK 2
(Sequel to Discoveries)
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)
March 2007 (Revised 05/2009)
Previous disclaimers apply
Chapter 8 – A DECLARATION IN JEOPARDY
"Mr. President! I must object!"
"Not again Mr. Adams. What is it this time?"
"In response to the delegate from North Carolina, I respectfully submit that if you strike the aforementioned words from the paragraph in question, it will become vague and its meaning unclear. Wouldn't you agree Mr. Jefferson?" Adams said boldly.
"Respectfully, Mr. Adams. I believe the paragraph could be re-written, allowing for the omission of those words and still retain its integrity. Mr. President, I have no problem making that correction." Jefferson replied undaunted by the demands of the group.
"Mr. Jefferson!" Adams yelled as he jumped to his feet. "This is the eighth correction you have agreed to so far today, and we haven't even completed half the reading yet. Why ARE YOU allowing the strength of this document to be slowly whittled away?"
Jefferson stood behind the podium, silent, contemplating an answer that would appease his long-time friend and colleague. Adams walked out from behind his desk and made his way toward the front of the assembly.
"My learned colleagues." Adams spoke with one hand on his hip and the other outstretched in front of him. "We have spent the good part of this month developing this Declaration of our independence. It is a document that describes in detail the outright tyranny being imposed upon these thirteen colonies and conveys in no uncertain terms our intent to be free and independent states. Now, after some three hours of sitting here, listening to the lot of you nit-pick each and every word, I have come to one obvious conclusion. If we continue on our current path, we might as well write a love letter to old King George and ask him 'When is the wedding?'" Adams walked back to his desk and sat down.
At this point, some of the delegates began to laugh. Dr. Franklin injected some of his rather bawdy wit into the conversation.
"Yes, and we all know what happens after the wedding…THE HONEYMOON!" Franklin said with a laugh. Suddenly the entire room burst into laughter.
Hancock pounded his gavel. "May we have order, please!"
After the group calmed down, Hancock redirected the delegates back to the business of the day. "If there are no objections, shall we continue with the reading?"
Upon sensing no objections, he turned to Jefferson and said, "Please continue, Mr. Jefferson."
Jefferson continued his reading. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…"
While Jefferson had his audience held captive inside, outside, Bogg and Jeff had come to the end of another journey. As usual, they came to a hard landing near the steps of Independence Hall.
"Owww! Where's that haystack when you need it?" Bogg said as he stood up and rubbed his backside.
"I don't know, but we sure could have used it on this landing. This ground is hard as concrete." Jeff replied.
Jeff stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants.
"Bogg, look! Behind you! It's Independence Hall! We're back in Philadelphia!"
Bogg turned to have a look. "Well, it's back! Let's see if everything is ok now." He said as he retrieved the omni and opened it.
"What's the date, Bogg?" Jeff asked.
"June 20th, 1776. But, I'm afraid I have some bad news for you kid." Bogg said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.
"Let me guess…another red light!"
"Right the first time, kid!"
As they stood outside, a storm of fury erupted from within the great hall.
"Bogg, listen! Did you hear that?" Jeff asked.
"Yea, sounds like a real battle going on inside."
"Bogg, this is where the first Continental Congress met. They must be in session today. As I recall, the founding fathers would have been discussing the first draft of the Declaration of Independence."
"Discussing??? If what we just heard is any indication, I would say they are sluggin' it out." Bogg said wryly.
"C'mon! Let's go inside and see what's going on." Jeff exclaimed as he ran toward the door.
"Hey, there's no time like the present. Wait for me, kid!"
The two climbed the steps and made their way inside the historic structure. Once inside, they quietly took a seat at the back of the room and began to observe the current discussion.
One of the delegates jumped to his feet and shouted. "Mr. President, I must object once again!"
The room, once quiet and solemn, burst into a state of pandemonium.
Bogg leaned over to Jeff and whispered, "Who's he?"
After striking his gavel on his desk several times, Hancock stood up and exclaimed. "Delegates, please come to order!" After a few moments, the delegates settled down and Hancock continued. "The President recognizes the delegate from Massachusetts."
"That's John Adams. He will eventually become our second President." Jeff whispered.
"Again, I must strongly object to the correction being placed before us. Once more, we are about to diminish the intensity of this document. My fellow delegates. Our good King has stripped us of our rights, our wealth, our crops and our land. Our tea has been taxed, our taxes have been taxed and yet we sit here on its laurels and cannot agree on the wording of the most important document ever to be written. My God! I just cannot fathom this." Adams yelled as he threw his hands into the air.
As the Voyagers continued their observation, Adam's speech had brought the delegates to their feet as the entire room was now in an uproar. Hancock with gavel in hand, once again attempted to call the group to order.
"Shall we come to order!!! DELEGATES! PLEASE COME TO ORDER!" Hancock shouted as he continued pounding his gavel. "DELEGATES, PLEASE, WE HAVE BUSINESS TO ATTEND TO HERE! PLEASE COME TO ORDER AND TAKE YOUR SEATS!"
After several moments of unrest, the entire delegation quieted down and returned to their seats.
"Mr. Adams. If you will please continue." Hancock said, somewhat unnerved by the prospect.
Adams again jumped to his feet and paraded around the room.
"Gentlemen, if we are going to declare our independence from Old King George, our words must be strong and concise. We must show our determination to become a free and independent state and be resolute in our actions. We cannot accomplish this by changing every other word to suit our own interests."
Upon hearing this, the delegates once again showed their objection and became unruly.
Hancock pounded his gavel. "May we please have order here!"
"Mr. President, may I address the room?" Franklin asked, with dignity and poise.
"The President recognizes the delegate from Pennsylvania." Hancock acknowledged.
Franklin stood up. "Mr. President…My learned colleagues. As you well know, I am not one to stand in this chamber and bore you with long oratorios, especially when it's this hot and when my gout is acting up…"
The delegation began to laugh then quieted down just as Hancock started to raise his gavel.
"We have sat here for almost an entire day now and listened to the writings of our colleague, Mr. Jefferson. We have discussed, debated and picked apart each and every syllable of every word he has read thus far. Well, I say 'we', but in actuality, the argument has been between you and Mr. Adams. There has been so many arguments, that God forbid, I believe that Mr. Adams is about to l lose his voice due to laryngitis."
The room burst into laughter as a smile came across Adams' face.
"In so much as I do not always agree with my learned colleague from Massachusetts, I do agree, this document needs to be concise, forceful and straight to the point. However, the more changes we make to it, I feel, the less meaningful it will become."
"Seriously, I believe before we can proceed further, we all need to stop for a moment and re-examine the reasons for our actions thus far. First, we came to this land to seek those freedoms which God has granted unto us all. The freedom to speak freely, the freedom of religion, and the freedom to govern ourselves are just a few of those freedoms we risked our lives for. However, for all our efforts, we now have less and less to show for them. Old King George has put one restriction after another upon us. He has taxed us unfairly, denied us the ability to represent ourselves and put restrictions on or taken away totally the freedoms we came here to seek."
"For months, we as a united group of thirteen colonies have taken one small step after another toward becoming independent. At this point, can we afford not to take this most important next step? Are we ready to declare our independence from Old King George and to foster the birth of a new nation? We must not allow the creation of this document to divide us. We must continue as one united group in our efforts for independence, for if we don't hang together, we most assuredly will hang separately."
Franklin, upon completion of his speech, returned to his seat.
Adams again stood up. "Mr. President, may I address the Congress, once again." He asked.
"Oh well, if you must." Hancock said as he resigned to his fate. "The President once again recognizes Mr. Adams."
"With regard to the writings of our learned colleague, Mr. Jefferson, I must say they were quite good before we began here today. But now, this document, with its never-ending list of corrections has been turned into something that could best be described as a wimpy piece of prose. In light of this, I would like to make a motion that we adjourn this meeting and reconvene again tomorrow afternoon. This will give the committee of five some time to meet and discuss the changes, which have been recommended thus far.
Upon hearing this, a loud rumbling came from the room as the delegates began talking amongst themselves.
"May we have order!!!" Hancock exclaimed.
"Mr. President. May I address the Congress." Jefferson asked.
"Kid, who is he?" Bogg whispered.
"That Bogg…is Thomas Jefferson, the author of Declaration of Independence and our 3rd President. From the expression on his face, I would say things are not going as he had planned." Jeff explained.
"The President recognizes the delegate from Virginia."
"My fellow delegates. I took on the task of creating this document at the request of the committee of five as well as the remainder of the delegates here. I agreed to this since you had determined, I was the one and only person who could put our thoughts and intentions onto parchment. As I stand here today, I must express to you my sincerest apologies, as obviously I have failed to come up with a document that best describes the intentions of all those present. In so much as I am disappointed with mine own work; I too am disappointed in the response I have received from this body. Upon reflection, I have determined the task of writing this Declaration is, according to the events that have occurred here today, a lesson in futility. As a result, it is with great regret that I must now excuse myself from this burden. With regard to Mr. Adams, who has defended my work and voiced objection to most if not all of the changes discussed here, I would like to make a recommendation that he be appointed to complete the writing."
Once Jefferson finished his remarks, he bowed his head and proceeded out of the room.
Adams jumped to his feet. "What? You want ME to complete this document? " Adams exclaimed. "Jefferson! Where are you going? Come back here at once!"
"Home, Mr. Adams. Home!" Jefferson said with a weary tone.
In the great hall, there was silence, as the assembly sat there dumbfounded by what they just heard. Out of respect for their colleague, the delegates stood up as Jefferson walked out the door.
Hancock, in a solemn voice spoke to the group. "Gentlemen, I believe a recess is in order at this time." He struck his gavel on the desk, walked over and took Franklin by the arm. The two hurriedly left the Hall in an attempt to catch up with their colleague.
Jeff looked over at Bogg and tugged his sleeve. "Bogg, this was not supposed to happen. He HAS to complete the Declaration. If he doesn't, this country will never come into existence. We have got to go after him."
The two rose from their seats and walked outside, unnoticed by the delegates, who were still in a state of shock. Once they reached the steps of the Hall, they noticed Jefferson, now on horseback, his friends Franklin and Hancock standing by his side.
"Mr. Jefferson, wait! Where are you going?" Hancock asked.
"Home! My task is done here, and besides, I miss my bride." Jefferson replied wearily.
"You can't leave. You are the only person who can finish this document." Franklin said with a bit of apprehension.
"What about Adams?" Jefferson asked.
"What about him?" Franklin quipped.
"Mr. Adams has the ability and the knowledge to complete the document."
"Yes, but he doesn't have your obvious vision and poetic license." Franklin said as he attempted to stroke his ego.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Franklin, but I must be off. I have a long ride ahead of me." Jefferson exclaimed. "So long, Dr. Franklin, Mr. Hancock." In a cloud of dust, he turned and rode off down the street.
Just as Jefferson departed, Bogg and Jeff arrived outside. They walked over to where Franklin and Hancock, somewhat despondent, now stood.
"What are we to do now?" Hancock asked.
Franklin shook his head. "I don't know…I really don't know!" He said.
Jeff spoke up. "Mr. Franklin! Mr. Hancock! Maybe we can help?"
"My dear sirs, I believe you have us both at a disadvantage. Who might you be?" Hancock asked.
"Gentlemen. My name is Phineas Bogg. This lad beside me is my son Jeffrey. We couldn't help but observe the events that occurred inside. We know you are in quite a predicament here. Maybe we could lend a hand to help you with your problem."
"Thank you kind gentlemen for offering your assistance in this matter, but, I believe it would take an act of the good Lord above to get Jefferson to come back." Franklin said grimly.
"Why don't you let us go after him?" Jeff asked. "Bogg and I are pretty good when it comes to persuading people to do things our way."
"But what can the two of you do?" Hancock asked.
Bogg and Jeff stood there for a moment. "Well, we have a plan." Bogg said.
Jeff looked at Bogg, somewhat puzzled. "We do?" He asked.
Bogg elbowed his partner. "Oh…yea!" Jeff replied. "Do we ever have a plan."
"Well, what is it, gentlemen?" Franklin asked.
"First, can the two of you arrange some transportation for the two of us?" Bogg asked.
Hancock turned to face the two Voyagers. "Yes. Is a horse-drawn carriage ok, or would you rather go on horseback?" He asked.
"Sir, a carriage would be ideal." Bogg replied.
"Ok, now that the transportation arrangements have been finalized, what is your plan, Mr. Bogg?" Franklin asked impatiently.
"Well, it is simple, really. Jeff and I will follow him to his home. We will get close to him and attempt to persuade him to come back and complete his task."
"Your plan is very simplistic don't you think Mr. Bogg? What will you do if it fails?" Hancock asked curiously.
Bogg paused for a time, attempting to come up with an alternate plan of action. Suddenly, Jeff responded. "We will use the alternate plan, that is, to enlist the help of his wife to convince him to come back."
Franklin looked over at his colleague. "Mr. Hancock, it sounds like a good plan and on such short notice it's the only working plan we have. Besides, my gout is acting up again, which would keep me from making the journey myself. Why not let these gentlemen ride to Monticello and put their plan into action?"
"Dr. Franklin. I agree. And I cannot go because I have the Congress to keep under control. I say at this point, let's allow these two to proceed. What do we have to lose?" Hancock said fearlessly.
"First, we need to acquire some clothing, suitable for distinguished gentlemen, for you both." Hancock stated. "Dr. Franklin, if you are up to it, why don't you take these men over to the clothier and have them properly attired. Have the clothier put anything they need on my account."
"I am up to the task Mr. Hancock. If my gout starts acting up again, they can just pick me up and carry me there." Franklin said with a chuckle.
"In the meantime, I'll send my assistant to get my carriage and you both can be on your way." Hancock stated..
"Thank you sir. We hope we won't let you down." Bogg said humbly as he shook Hancock's hand.
"Thank you and good luck to you both." Hancock replied before he turned and went back inside the Hall.
"Gentlemen, we must proceed quickly." Franklin urged. "Come, let us be on our way."
Bogg, Jeff and Franklin walked down the street until they reached the clothier's shop. The three went inside and the clothier began to outfit them. After some time, Hancock's carriage arrived at the front steps of the shop and the three exited the establishment.
"Gentlemen, your previous attire did not do you justice. You look very handsome and distinguished."
"Thank you, Dr. Franklin." Bogg said as he adjusted his cuffs.
"Gentlemen, your carriage awaits to take you to the ball…and the driver looks a little bit anxious. I guess you had better get going, before it turns back into a pumpkin." Franklin teased.
Bogg and Jeff opened the door and climbed inside. Franklin reached over, closed the door and fastened it.
"It's time for you both to be on your way. God speed and good luck to you both. I look forward to seeing you again…with Jefferson by your side." Franklin said.
"Thank you, again sir." Bogg said
"Thank you Dr. Franklin." Jeff said.
Franklin yelled up at the driver. "My good sir, you may proceed!"
The driver snapped the reins and the Voyagers were now on their way.