Proclamation by the King for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition

Impact

The Proclamation by the King for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition had a different impact on each of George III's audiences. For those engaging in the highest levels of British politics, George III's statement provided further evidence of their opinions concerning his leadership and its effectiveness. His supporters found a firmness of purpose and direction in his words, while his opposition saw evidence of his intractable nature and failure to compromise. Similarly to George III, both sides viewed the document through the lens of an eighteenth-century elite who practiced the politics of convenience and factional loyalty. The statement not only served to define the position of the Crown but also functioned as fodder for discussion and debate. The British public was much less discriminating in its interpretations. Their reading of the document was filtered by the popular press. In fact, given the low literacy rates in Great Britain, most of their understanding came by word of mouth. For them, the proclamation was a call to arms and a sacrifice in protection of the empire. George III and his advisers hoped to deflect the public from their misery and to create a common cause.

Colonists digested the edict differently. First, more colonists could read, and they subjected the proclamation to individual and group scrutiny. In that sense, they read the document as the British elites would rather than as the general British public would. Rather than absorbing it as propaganda, colonists felt that the proclamation spoke and applied to each of them. Conservatives—those hoping to reform from within—perceived it as a warning and a call for reconciliation. Radicals—those seeing rebellion as the only way to secure their freedoms—took it as a declaration of war. All colonists felt the need to respond. George III felt the declaration was the first step in solving his problems in North America. He failed to realize that issuing the proclamation raised the stakes and forced colonists to choose sides. In the process, the moderates and undecided were forced from the middle and leaned more toward rebellion.