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 15 – THE UNVEILING
It was a sunny, warm day in Philadelphia. Unlike the delegates currently meeting inside the sweltering heat and stuffiness of Independence Hall, most of the people of the town were out and about taking advantage of the beautiful mid-summer weather.
Mr. Hancock, now some two hours into the current session of Congress, pounded his gavel on the desk to regain order and to move on with the business of the day.
"May we come to order! " Hancock exclaimed as he sat down in his chair.
The loud and boisterous group reluctantly began to quiet down. After a while, only a few whispers could be heard coming from the back of the room.
Hancock continued with the agenda.
"The last item on today's agenda is the reading of the final draft of the Declaration. I have put this item at the end of the agenda, since I believe it is an item of great importance and will take quite a bit of time to work our way through it. Delegates, if you will, please hold your comments and concerns until the complete document has been read. If there are no objections, we shall now proceed. Mr. Jefferson, if you will be so kind as to begin the reading."
Jefferson walked to the front of the room, document in hand, and stood behind the podium.
Bogg and Jeff had found a comfortable place to sit at the side of the room, out of the line of fire, but near an open window. As Jefferson prepared to begin the reading, the two looked at each other with a bit of apprehension.
"Well, Bogg. Here it comes." Jeff whispered.
"What do you mean, kid?"
"You know. He's going to read that paragraph and the southern delegates are going to walk out."
"Oh, yea! Oh…this is not going to be good." Bogg said reluctantly.
"We better be prepared to do damage control." Jeff warned.
Jefferson cleared his throat and took a sip of water from a glass conveniently placed near him.
"Thank you, Mr. President." Jefferson said cordially.
"When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."
As Jefferson continued the reading, Bogg sat motionless in his seat, held totally captive by Jefferson's powerful words. Jeff shifted in his seat and quickly noticed his partner's intense concentration.
"Bogg! Hey! Are you ok?" Jeff whispered as he waved his hand in front of Bogg's face.
"Yea kid. He's quite a writer." Bogg replied to his partner.
"Not only that…he'll go on to be a great President, too. " Jeff said pointedly. "Oh, if my dad could be here now… to be a part of all this. He would just eat it up."
"He's here with us kid." Bogg said as he smiled and put his hand on Jeff's heart. "And also in there, too. Your mom and dad would be extremely proud of you now, having taken part in the birth of the country."
"Bogg don't forget…you have a part in this too."
Bogg hugged his young companion. "Yea, I know."
Jefferson continued to read his draft document to the delegates. In anticipation of the reading of the offensive paragraph, Jeff nudged his partner to get his attention.
"Bogg, get ready!" Jeff whispered. "Here it comes!"
Jefferson continued his reading, uninterrupted.
"He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither. This piratical warfare, the opprobrium of infidel powers, is the warfare of the king of Great Britain determined to keep open a market where men should be bought and sold. "
Upon hearing the beginning of this passage, the delegates began to converse amongst themselves in a low rumble.
Hancock pounded his gavel. "Please excuse me Mr. Jefferson. Delegates! May we have order here!"
The delegates once again became silent. "Please continue Mr. Jefferson."
"Thank you, Mr. President." Jefferson said before continuing.
"He has prostituted his negative for suppressing every legislative attempt to prohibit or to restrain this execrable commerce; and that this assemblage of horrors might want no fact of, he is now exciting those very people to rise in arms among us, and to purchase that liberty of which he has deprived them, by murdering the people upon whom he also obtruded them; thus paying off former crimes committed against the liberties of one people, with crimes which he urges them to commit against the lives of another."
Upon hearing this, the entire room burst into an uproar. One of the southern delegates stood up and demanded an explanation.
"Mr. Jefferson, sir. To all those in attendance here, it is quite obvious where you stand on the subject of slavery. However, I do not understand how you can stand there and recite such a notion, knowing that the southern colonies will not and cannot agree to such verbiage being included in this document."
Jefferson, undaunted by the delegate's cutting remarks, took no exception. Before continuing with the reading, he addressed the delegate and his concerns.
"Sir, I understand your concern." He said humbly. "However, if we are ever to become a free and independent nation, then, as I stated earlier, all men must be considered equal in the eyes of the law and of God."
The delegates broke out into a frenzy. Once again, Mr. Hancock attempted to regain control.
"Gentlemen, GENTLEMEN, PLEASE BE SEATED AND COME TO ORDER!"
Another of the delegates from the south stood up and began to attack Mr. Jefferson.
"My dear Mr. Jefferson. I wholeheartedly agree with my learned colleague. I have only one question to ask of you. Sir. We commissioned you to take to task the writing of a document which would stand to form the basis of a free and independent government. What gives you the right to apply your personal beliefs to it? And above all, how can you stand there and attack the slave trade, when you yourself own slaves? Slavery is a necessity. Without it, the economies of this land will fail."
As Jefferson attempted to respond to the question, he was rudely interrupted by several other delegates. Again he attempted to respond, he was cut off in mid-sentence. After his patience had been stretched to its limit, he bowed his head, stepped out from behind the podium and walked out of the room.
"Bogg! We've got to do something!" Jeff shouted to his partner over all the commotion.
"Yea, kid. I'll go after Jefferson. You see what you can do here." Bogg yelled as he rose from his seat.
At that moment, Dr. Franklin and Mr. Adams quickly ran after Jefferson as he left the room. Dr. Franklin, who had taken notice of Bogg as he rose from his seat, motioned for him to follow. Bogg nodded and swiftly ran after them both.
With all the mayhem going on throughout the room, Hancock jumped to his feet and started yelling at the delegates in an attempt to bring some order to the room. He pounded his gavel on the desk several times until finally the head of it broke off and like a bullet, zoomed across the room.
"DAMN! It would have to break at a time like this!" Hancock exclaimed as he slung the handle across the room in disgust.
"GENTLEMEN, PLEASE COME TO ORDER!" He yelled.
The delegates continued on in a state of uproar. With his gavel now broken, he had to find some way to get the delegates attention. Out of desperation, Hancock stood on top of his desk and let out a whistle that could have shattered the window panes. Suddenly the room calmed down.
"GENTLEMEN!" Hancock yelled with contempt. "If I may indeed call you that after this latest bit of pandemonium. Please be seated and come to order!"
A voice came from the back of the room. "Mr. President, Mr. President."
"Yes, Mr. Jones. What is it?" Hancock quipped as he got down off his desk.
"May… May I ad---dress the Congress?" Jeff asked nervously.
"Sir. In light of what just transpired, I cannot see any harm in you doing so." Hancock acknowledged as he straightened his collar and sat down.
Jeff slowly made his way to the front of the room. He paused for a moment in front of Hancock, who smiled and nodded as if to say "Go get'um kid!" Jeff winked at him and then walked over to the podium.
For a time, he stood there trying his best to calm his legs which were now trembling from fright. He cleared his throat and then looked up at the delegates. Hancock then introduced him to the assembly.
"Delegates, this is Mr. Jones. He and his partner Mr. Bogg were solely responsible for convincing Mr. Jefferson to return to Philadelphia. Mr. Jones, the floor is yours."
"Thank you…uh… thank you sir." Jeff said as he stumbled a bit on his words.
"It's been well over a hundred years since the first explorers ventured out across the oceans to find these undiscovered lands we now stand upon. These men put forth every effort and risked life, limb and wealth to make this discovery a reality. Some hundred years later, in 1607, the first settlers arrived at Jamestown. They also risked life and limb to cross the Atlantic and settle there. "
Jeff continued. "And let us not forget, the Pilgrims, in 1620, who bravely risked their lives to sail from Holland to England and then again from England to arrive at Plymouth to start yet another new colony in this land. They, along with those living in the Jamestown settlement, lived through harsh and perilous times until their colonies were firmly established."
As Jeff was speaking to the delegates inside, Bogg, Mr. Adams, and Dr. Franklin were outside trying to calm the now agitated Jefferson.
"I won't! I will not go back inside and allow these madmen to continue their wonton verbal abuse of me. It's unprofessional and I'm not going to stand for it any longer." Jefferson yelled as he paced incessantly.
"Calm down, Thomas. Calm yourself." Franklin urged. "You cannot let this setback get the best of you."
Adams chimed in. "Jefferson. Don't let it get to you. Your document is a great piece of work. If they don't understand that, then that is their loss."
"Mr. Jefferson?" Bogg prompted as he walked toward Jefferson. Upon getting his attention, Jefferson stopped in his tracks and turned his ear to the Voyager.
"What is it, Mr. Bogg?" Jefferson asked.
"Sir… When I was a little boy, my father in all his great wisdom passed on some rather sage advice to me. At that time, I didn't quite understand, but as I grew older, its meaning became ever so clearer to me."
"Mr. Bogg, please enlighten me." Jefferson urged.
"What he said was this… 'There will be times when you find yourself in the midst of troubled waters, feeling there is no hope. Whatever you do, don't ever give up. Summon up all the strength and power you can muster and fight. Fight as if your very life depended on it.'" Bogg said as he now pictured that moment vividly in his mind.
Jefferson nodded his head as he looked at Bogg. "Mr. Bogg, your father was a wise man. Very wise indeed."
"I agree, sir." Bogg replied. "What I'm trying to say is this. Don't give up! You must summon up the strength and the courage to go back inside and fight this, for the sake of all those in these colonies. You must do whatever it takes to overcome this obstacle. Even if that means, putting aside your own beliefs for a time for the greater good."
Jefferson paused for a moment as he pondered the meaning of his friend's words.
"Mr. Bogg. Like I said once before, you always seem to say the right words at just the right time."
"Yes sir, I know." Bogg replied.
Adams turned to his colleague and attempted to soothe his wounds.
"Jefferson, I know the feelings you have toward the abolishment of the slave trade. I agree with you wholeheartedly on the subject. However, we must take things one-step at a time. First we must declare ourselves independent, then we can take on the issue of slavery. What we must do at this point, Jefferson as much as I hate to do it, is to implement our alternate plan. Based on the response minutes ago, I'd say that's the only way we will get the southern delegates to agree to ratify it."
Jefferson stood there, silent, contemplating the words of his colleagues.
"What do you say, Thomas?" Franklin asked. "Isn't it time for the alternate plan? We can always take on the slavery issue at a later date."
Jefferson smiled and responded with a sense of relief.
"Thank you gentlemen. You all are of course correct. If the boat has a hole in it, jumping overboard will not solve the problem. At this juncture, we must remove the offensive paragraph."
"I see his sense of humor is back." Franklin teased.
"Shall we all proceed inside?" Adams asked.
"By all means." Jefferson agreed.
Jefferson made his way inside, with Bogg, Adams and Franklin following closely behind him. As they stood for a moment in the vestibule, Franklin heard a somewhat unfamiliar voice inside the hall, speaking to the group.
Franklin put his finger aside his lips. "Shhhh! Gentlemen!" He whispered. "Who is that speaking?"
The four grew silent as they listened intently to the voice coming from within. Unlike his three friends, Bogg promptly recognized that all too familiar tone of his young partner and began smiling like a Cheshire cat.
"Who IS that?" Adams asked in a state of bewilderment. "That's not one of the delegates."
Jefferson turned to his colleagues. "Instead of standing here asking questions, why don't we go inside and find out."
"Good idea, Thomas." Franklin replied.
The three founding fathers along with Bogg quietly opened the door to the hall and stepped inside.
Surprised by what he saw next, Jefferson reached back and grabbed Bogg's arm and pointed to the front of the room.
"Mr. Bogg! Look! It's Jeffrey!" Jefferson whispered excitedly. "He's addressing the delegates!"
Even though Bogg already knew Jeff was addressing the delegates, he played along with Jefferson and attempted to act surprised.
"It's…it's Jeffrey! " Bogg exclaimed in a whisper. "What's he doing up there?"
Adams stepped over to Jefferson and whispered in his ear.
"What's that child doing up there?" Adams asked skeptically.
"That child…as you so put it is Mr. Bogg's son Jeffrey." Jefferson quipped. "And what he's doing is speaking to the whole of the delegation."
"What's he saying to them?" Adams asked curiously.
"John…If you will be quiet for a moment, we just might be able to determine that." Franklin quipped.
Meanwhile, inside the hall, Jeff continued his speech to the delegates. Unbeknownst to him at the moment, Bogg and the three founding fathers were standing just inside the door listening to his every word.
"From the time Columbus set foot on this continent until the present day, what is the one common thread that binds all these people? Let me tell you. Freedom! They all came in search of a new world, in search of opportunity and in search of freedom. Freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of speech, freedom to live, work, worship and play as God had intended."
"Consider this… Are you willing to throw away all the hard work of all those who came before you? You know, those who came here in search of these freedoms. Are you also willing to cast aside what so many have paid the ultimate price for? And for what? A 100 word paragraph declaring slavery to be evil."
"I'm just a kid. And you may say, what does this kid know about government, laws, freedoms and liberty? Well, I'll tell you. I know very little about these subjects. But, there's one thing I do know even at my age. What's that you may ask? There is more at stake here than you realize. You, as appointed representatives of the 13 colonies, by not standing together, are allowing a golden opportunity to pass you by. It's one that may never present itself again. Gentlemen, this is your chance to become a free and independent nation, to govern yourselves and above all, to enjoy those rights which are given to all men. The way I see it, you can go forward and take advantage of this opportunity or you can sit here and let King George continue to whittle away at your freedoms until you have none. The choice…is yours."
The delegates began to applaud Jeff's short speech. Hancock stood up and called the group to order.
"Delegates, may we come to order." Hancock asked calmly as he pounded his new gavel on the desk.
As the assembly quieted down, Hancock addressed the young Voyager and the group.
Mr. Jones, thank you for your words of wisdom and insight into our cause. It is with great sincerity I pray your words have struck a chord with those in attendance today. I feel as a group we need to take a moment and re-examine our reasons for being here. Once again…Thank you."
Jeff bowed his head and modestly stepped away from the podium. As he began walking back to his seat, he looked up and observed his partner at the back of the room waving his arms in the air. Once the two had made eye contact, Bogg motioned to Jeff to join him and his friends.
Stunned by what they had just heard, Jefferson, Franklin and Adams were now in a huddle, whispering amongst themselves and discussing ideas for getting out of their predicament.
After a few moments, Jeff arrived at his partner's side. Bogg, extremely pleased and proud of his partner's efforts, got down on one knee and complemented his partner on a job well done.
"Good job!" Bogg exclaimed.
"How long have you been standing here?" Jeff asked.
Bogg put his hand on his partner's shoulder. "Long enough to hear that impressive speech you gave. I'm proud of you kiddo. You came across like a real statesman up there."
Jeff blushed a bit. "C'mon, it wasn't that all that good."
Bogg nodded his head. "Don't sell yourself short, kid. It was good…very good! After that speech, you might just have a future in politics. "
Jeff paused for a moment, reflecting on the idea. "Hmmm… President Jones…" He whispered as he daydreamed of the prospect. "It does have a sort of ring to it, don't you think Bogg?"
"It does. " Bogg agreed. "Unfortunately, we don't have time for your inauguration, Mr. President. We've got a problem to fix here."
"Awww, Bogg! You just had to go and ruin it, didn't you?" Jeff exclaimed.
After quite a lengthy discussion with Adams and Franklin, Jefferson turned to greet the young Voyager.
"Jeffrey!" Jefferson said as he shook Jeff's hand. "That was an impressive speech you gave, son."
Jeff smiled sheepishly. "Thank you, sir. I was just doing my job."
Jefferson nodded. "And what was that job, son. To dress down all those in attendance here? Heaven only knows they needed a good tongue-lashing. I only hope your words were enough to show them the error of their ways. "
"I do too!" Jeff replied.
Jefferson quickly noticed the young Voyager had no nothing in his hands. Rather puzzled by Jeff's lack of materials to support his speech, he lowered his brow, quizzically and posed the obvious question.
"Oh, I'm curious, Jeffrey." Jefferson said. "Where are your notes? As good as that speech was, surely you had some notes to go by."
"No sir." Jeff replied as he pointed to his noggin. "It was all in here. I just walked up there and attempted to make a few points."
"Well regardless of how it was accomplished; it was impressive to say the least." Jefferson boasted.
In a bold gesture, Jefferson turned to Bogg, Franklin and Adams and said the one thing that none of them were anticipating.
"Gentlemen, I think it is time for a compromise." Jefferson said.
Jefferson stepped forward and walked to the front of the room and stood behind the podium. After pausing a few moments to focus his mind, he started once again to address the delegates.
"A few moments ago, I, along with Franklin and Adams walked into this great hall and as we stood at the back of the room, we were, hmmm, how shall I put this… quite taken by the words of our young and learned friend. I'm sure your response to his rather eloquent speech was the same as mine. My dear colleagues, even though he is not a medium, he seems nonetheless to have a true gift of foretelling the future."
The delegates chucked a bit and then became silent.
"Seriously though." Jefferson continued respectfully. "In the small amount of his speech that I did hear, he made some very valid arguments. Arguments, that I believe we all have lost sight of in this very heated and highly emotional debate we've been engaged in. After pondering the meaning of his words, it has become quite apparent that we must maintain a significant amount of unity in this Congress. We, as representatives of our constituents, must be united and work together as a whole if we ever intend to see the fruits of our labors. Therefore, with this in mind, I have made the decision to strike the slavery paragraph in question from this document."
After a few moments of silence, Mr. Hancock finally spoke up.
"There being no apparent objections, we will ask Mr. Jefferson to make this change in the final draft. Mr. Jefferson, if you will, please continue with the reading.
Bogg retrieved the omni from his belt and opened it. Much to his surprise, the red light was swiftly replaced by a bright green one. After closing it and clipping it back to his belt, he motioned to Jeff to come toward him. Upon putting his arm around his partner, he and Jeff quietly exited the hall and stood outside on the front steps.
"Kid, we did it, we have a green light!" Bogg whispered.
"Show me!" Jeff said curiously. "After all this, I want to see it for myself."
Bogg retrieved the omni, opened it and held it in front of him.
"See. What did I tell you? It's green!" Bogg said with a hint of relief in his voice.
"Well we did it!" Jeff exclaimed proudly.
Bogg got down on one knee and put his finger on Jeff's chest as he started delivering a speech of his own.
"I just want to tell you how proud I am of you today." He whispered. "You showed great courage getting up in front of that rowdy bunch and letting them have it. I really didn't know you had it in you, kid."
"Thanks, Bogg! I didn't know I had it in me either." Jeff said as he grinned from ear to ear.
"And you should be proud as well." Bogg continued. "How many people your age can say they had a hand in the birth of a new nation?"
A hint of red suddenly highlighted the young Voyager's cheeks. "I am." He said meekly.
Bogg got to his feet and opened the lid of the omni.
"Well?" Jeff asked. "Is it still red?"
"Nope, it's green." Bogg confirmed. "So where to from here?"
"Well we can't just leave here without seeing the final outcome. Why don't we omni forward to July 4th and be there when they ratify the Declaration?" Jeff asked.
"Sure, kid. Why not?" Bogg replied as he set the dials.
"Great!", said Jeff.
Jeff grabbed hold of Bogg's arm and they vanished.