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Hampshire Ss: To the Constables of ye Town of Deerfield or either of them- Greeting

You are hereby required in the Name of ye Government of ye Massachusetts Bay, forthwith to
Notifiy and warn ye Inhabitants of ye Town of Deerfield, above ye Age of twenty one years, to
assemble and meet together at ye School House in Deerfield upon Tuesday ye twenty fifth Instant
at four of ye Clock in ye Afternoon then and there after a Moderator is chose-

To see whether ye Town will (if ye Honourable Congress should, for ye Safety of ye United Colonies,
Declare them Independent of ye Kingdom of Great Britain) solemnly engage, with their Lives
and Fortunes, to support them in ye Measure- agreeable to a Hand Bill from ye House of
Representatives Dated ye seventh of June 1776-

Hereof fail not and make Return of this Warrent with your Doings thereon by ye Time
prefixed foresaid Meeting-

Deerfield} By Order of ye Select Men,-
June 20th 1776}  
[Enclosed] David Dickinson Town Clerk

June 25, 1776. The directions of the within Warrant have
Been Attended to, by me-Oliver Field
Constable of Deerfield

(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
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Many New England towns are still governed by an open town meeting. During this meeting all residents of voting age can participate in the town's governance. This document is a town meeting warrant for Deerfield, Massachusetts. With this warrant the Selectmen are calling upon the voting-aged residents of Deerfield to consider whether the "united colonies" should declare themselves independent of Great Britain. This is evidence of the degree to which the Declaration of Independence reflected the widespread and deliberate support of the colonists.

 

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Deerfield Town Warrant on Declaration of Independence from Great Britain

creator   Selectmen of Deerfield
author   David Dickinson (1747-1822)
date   Jun 25, 1776
location   Deerfield, Massachusetts
height   6.25"
width   9.25"
process/materials   manuscript, paper, ink
item type   Legal Documents/Government/Society Records
accession #   #L06.070


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See Also...

Pages from Journal of Dr. Elihu Ashley

"Remarks and Observations" by Justin Hitchcock

Deerfield Town Warrant


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