1Intended Vindication and Offer from Congress to Parliament, [before 21 July 1775] (Franklin Papers)
Printed in The Public Advertiser , July 18, 1777. This document has often been reprinted but, for good reason, never explained. When it appeared in the Public Advertiser in 1777, it was introduced with what purported to be an account of its origin: “The following Paper was drawn up in a Committee of Congress, June 25, 1775, but does not appear in their Minutes, a severe Act of Parliament which...