Proclamation by the King for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition

Explanation and Analysis of the Document

The Proclamation by the King for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition is a relatively short document issued on August 23, 1775, in the aftermath of the eruption of armed hostilities in North American colonies late that spring. Given the distance and the time it took for news to reach Great Britain from the Americas, news of Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill was fresh in the minds of the author and his first audiences. In his proclamation, George III describes who the guilty parties were and what crimes they had committed. He continues by explaining who had the authority to suppress the wrongdoers and concludes with what their remedies might be.

George III opens his declaration with a description of those who had been led into rebellion. In the first section he cautions North American colonists not be led astray by “dangerous and ill designing men.” He continues reminding his colonial subjects that they owe much to the mother country. The British armies and admiralty had guaranteed their safety. British funding had paid for their development and had laid the foundations for their prosperity. Implicit in his caution is what the loss of the support might cost the colonists.

The second statement in the document illustrates the unlawful and ungrateful actions of the rebels. George III carefully lays out the progression of the colonials' wrongdoing. He begins by pointing out the public disturbances, heckling, mob action, and rioting promoted by the instigators. The rebels' interference with trade and commerce, nonimportation and boycott, and their restraint of those loyal souls wishing to continue their trade with great Britain also comes under scrutiny and criticism. Finally, George III points out that the guilty parties have stockpiled arms and ammunitions and have resorted to armed rebellion to resist the authority of the Crown.

In the third segment George III identifies the perpetrators of the rebellion. He contends that “divers wicked and desperate persons” had promoted and aided the escalation to violence through their correspondence, advice, and funding. These instigators were those he truly condemned because they understood what they were doing. They might have led lesser persons astray.

The second paragraph of the document is the longest and most involved; it also changes the focus from what had gone wrong and who was to blame toward what could be done about rebellious colonists. In the initial part of the statement, George III warns those who are wavering in their loyalty to the Crown that ignorance and fear of reprisal are not acceptable excuses for failure to defend that institution. He promises to protect those who maintain faith with him. George III explains that he and his advisers, most probably Lord North, had issue the proclamation to assure loyal citizens and all officers of the Crown that the suppression of the rebellion is their duty. He suggests that their obligations include actively defending the empire, exposing its enemies and their conspiracies, and bringing traitors to justice.

The final sections detail the appropriate actions of those remaining loyal to the Crown. George III orders all British officeholders, those in the military and civilian branches, and ordinary subjects to be vigilant and watchful for signs of collaboration with the enemy as well as to identify those individuals openly engaging in traitorous or seditious behavior. To stress this, he warns them that the law requires them to cooperate. Information regarding treasonous or seditious behaviors should be transmitted in the most expeditious fashion to the proper authorities. Those authorities would in turn make sure that those engaging in treasonous behavior received full and proper punishments.