I was the Founding Father of the United States

Chapter 44 Refusal to Recognize and Protest

As it turned out, the impact of the North American Land Announcement on the colonies far exceeded Chen Wenbin's expectations!

That afternoon, he had just arrived at the Providence Parliament Hall when the thirty-odd members of parliament were in complete chaos... well, most of them were using all sorts of profanities to attack four members who held royalist views. If it weren't for Speaker Samuel Ward stopping them, it might have turned into a large-scale brawl.

"Hey! Robin! Come quick! There's an empty seat here!"

Upon seeing Chen Wenbin enter the parliamentary hall, Aaron Lopez, who was sitting in the back row, immediately waved to him.

Chen Wenbin was reluctant to associate with this slave trader, but with everyone watching, he couldn't refuse, so he had no choice but to step forward and sit down next to him.

"You just missed a good show, Robin!"

Aaron Lopez leaned close to his ear and chuckled, "Respected Congressman Bower just said that the King entrusted the western lands to the Indians for the sake of the colony's security and prosperity. Then John Brown jumped up and shouted back, 'For the sake of security and prosperity, why not entrust your wife and daughter to me?'"

Hehe! It made Bauer's face turn green with anger!

"……Ha ha!"

Hearing this rascal's joke, Chen Wenbin couldn't help but laugh out loud. That Smith Bauer has simply lost his mind!

The Brown brothers have invested tens of thousands of acres of land in the West, and now they're jumping out to speak for George III—aren't they just asking for trouble?

Moreover, the common people and new immigrants in the North American colonies also wanted to acquire land in the West. Going against public opinion at this time... it seems that his term as a congressman is coming to an end!

After laughing, he glanced at Aaron Lopez beside him with a strange look.

"Aaron, I don't remember you being a Rhodes Island council member? What are you doing in the council chamber?"

Lopez waved his hand and said, "I am a citizen of Massachusetts, that's true, but most of my properties are in Newport, and I also have a thousand acres of land near Pittsburgh... so it's certainly necessary to come and see the Congressional decision."

"So that's how it is..."

Chen Wenbin, with a sympathetic expression, comforted him, "Then your loss is considerable! The North American Land Announcement doesn't recognize your land ownership at all!"

"Even the king cannot take our land!" Aaron Lopez said through gritted teeth, his face flashing with anger. "It was we who supported the British in defeating the French in the war!"

The lands of the West are our spoils... no one can take them away!

Then, he said to Chen Wenbin in a serious tone, "Robin, this time the King and Parliament were able to deny our possession of the western lands and prohibit us from expanding westward. In the future, they will also be able to seize our Providence Company!"

So let's vote!

Let the King and nobles of London see our protest!

Chen Wenbin certainly wouldn't object; he immediately nodded and said, "You're right! We should raise our voices against such unfair policies!"

And we're not the biggest losers; the Ohio company in Virginia has invested hundreds of thousands of acres in the Great Lakes region of the West… they must be furious right now!

"That's right!"

The middle-aged congressman sitting in the front row turned around and said sternly to the two men, "Not just Virginia! No gentleman in any of the North American colonies can allow a proclamation from Buckingham Palace to deprive us of our land and property!"

We must unite and resolutely refuse to accept this shameless announcement!

Chen Wenbin immediately recognized him as Joseph Vanton Jr. of the Quakers, and tentatively asked, "Mr. Vanton, have you also invested in a considerable amount of land in the West?"

Joseph Vanton Jr. made no attempt to hide it, nodding in acknowledgment:

"...While I myself did not invest, my family owns 30,000 acres of land in western Pennsylvania, a reward for supporting the British army during the war!"

Chen Wenbin thought to himself, "He's another guy who's taken advantage of the British. Can we really take their promises during the war seriously?"

Giving you land was a stopgap measure taken by the British to defeat the French. Now that the British have reneged on their promise and want to take the land back, can you call the French back?

Huh?

It doesn’t seem impossible!

Later, wasn't it only with French aid that these guys were able to successfully rebel and drive the British away?

"...Quiet! Everyone, please be quiet!"

At that moment, Samuel Ward, sitting in the Speaker's seat in the middle of the chamber, struck his gavel a few times and then announced loudly, "This temporary session concerning the North American Land Announcement is now in session!"

Recorder! Confirm that the number of members of parliament present meets the requirements!

Soon, a young recorder wearing a wig counted the number of people and politely reported, "Your Excellency Speaker! It has been confirmed that there are no errors!"

The Rhode Island Senate has 12 members, with 7 present and 5 absent. The House of Commons has 27 members, with 24 present and 3 absent. The vote meets the requirements!

"very good!"

Samuel Ward's gaze swept over the crowd before he announced, "Now we will formally vote on the North American Land Announcement. Those members who vote in favor of the announcement, please raise your hands!"

Even under the hostile stares of the crowd, the four pro-monarchy councilors still raised their right hands.

"……traitor!"

"The king's lackey!"

"coward!"

Amidst the chorus of curses, Chen Wenbin did not join in. He simply understood why Governor Hopkins had been absent from today's meeting and the meaning behind the letter he had written to him.

The governor was also afraid of getting himself into trouble!

"Quiet!"

Samuel Ward struck the gavel again, paused, and continued, "The required number of votes has not been reached. It is not approved!"

Raise your hand if you support the members of Congress who refuse to recognize the North American Land Announcement and are protesting!

This time, most people, including Chen Wenbin, raised their hands. After the recorder finished counting the number of people, Speaker Samuel Ward struck the gavel again, declaring the North American Land Announcement invalid in the Rhode Island colony!

What does this mean?

This meant that the king could no longer rule Rhodes Island by decree, and it also marked the beginning of the confrontation between Britain and the North American colonies!

In the following two weeks, the legislatures of various New England colonies and the southern colonies such as Pennsylvania and Virginia passed resolutions protesting the North American Land Announcement.

Virginia, which reacted most vehemently, even immediately sent a protest group led by George Moser to Britain to petition. Moser was an agent of the Ohio Company, which owned a large amount of land in the west.

Although other colonies did not send anyone to London to petition, from landowners and merchants to commoners and immigrants, they all ignored the King's land proclamation and crossed the border to explore the west.

The chaotic social environment in North America also affected the sales of Jenna spinning machines. More and more people were moving west with their families, so much so that less than 700 machines were sold in more than 20 days.

In addition, the continued rise in cotton prices from Virginia and the West Indies, along with the emergence of low-priced imitations, made Chen Wenbin realize that the market for Jenna spinning machines in North America was beginning to saturate.

It's time to get ready to head to the UK.