TO: Members of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild
FROM: Ronald Fox
RE: THE 250TH, SAMUEL ADAMS AND THE COMMITTEES OF CORRESPONDENCE
DATE: April 2, 2025
As I read about not only the abuses and crimes of Trump and Netanyahu but also the celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, I thought back to my involvement with Committees of Correspondence during the Bicentennial Era in the 70s.
In 1772 the residents of the Town of Boston, following the suggestion of Samuel Adams, appointed a Committee of Correspondence which presented to the residents on November 20, 1772, a document called the Boston Pamphlet with three parts: 1) the State of rights of the colonists; 2) A list of infringements and Violations of Rights; and 3) A letter of correspondence to the other Towns. The letter referred to the statement of rights, which consisted of many examples of how the government was not responsible or responsive to the will of the people.
The Committee of Correspondence sent letters between towns and cities and colonies to raise awareness of grievances, organize opposition to Britain and its policies, to unite the colonies and to support independence
Subsequent to the forwarding of this pamphlet to all the towns in the Commonwealth, many Committees of Correspondence were formed in Massachusetts.
On December 15, 1772, the residents of the town of Marblehead, in town meeting assembled, voted to accept a report of its Committee of Correspondence whose membership included Elbridge Gerry. Included in that report was the directive that since it appeared to be necessary that every member of the town should have a proper sense of the Oppression Complained of, the Boston Pamphlet, containing the State of Rights, the list of Violations of those Rights and the Letter of Correspondence should be read annually at the opening of every March town meeting until our Grievances are redressed.
This concept and this approach was significant enough for me that I helped co-found the Marblehead Committee of Correspondence in 1974. At that time, we were still concerned with the violations of civil and human rights, not by King George, but by Richard Nixon. After a request made to town officials, I was authorized, and read, at the 1976 town meeting, the following excerpt from the original letter.
“a people long inured to Hardships lose by Degrees the very notions of Liberty; they look upon themselves as Creatures at Mercy, and that all Impositions laid on, by Superior Hands, are legal and obligatory. But thank Heaven this is not yet verified in America. We have yet some Share of public Virtue remaining; We are not afraid of poverty, but disdain Slavery. The Fate of Nations is so precarious, and Revolutions in States so often take Place at an unexpected Moment, When the Hand of Power, by Fraud or Flattery, has secured every Avenue of Retreat, and the Minds of the Subject debased to its Purpose, that it becomes every wellwisher to his Country, white it has any remains of Freedom, to keep an Eagle Eye upon every innovation and Stretch of Power in those that have the Rule over us. (and suggested that) the collected wisdom of the whole People, as far as possible, be obtained on a deliberation of such great and lasting moment as to involve in it the Fate of all our Posterity.”
There is no question in my mind that at a time when we are observing the 250th anniversary of the founding of this nation, there is a urgent need for the formation of Committees of Correspondence locally and nationally to confront similar dangers to this country, this time from two lunatics, one unhinged, Donald Trump (the Republican Party and the MAGA world) and the other hinged, Benjamin Netanahu (his cabinet and the Make Israel Great Again world).
The purpose of this memorandum is to suggest that, as we organize opposition, we establish Committees of Correspondence from chapter to chapter of the guild in which we reaffirm the rights of the people and how they are heing infringed and tie it together with the 250th , the strategy of Samuel Adams and the values for which the colonists went to war; i.e.,
distrust of those who command positions or power and privilege; allegiance to freedom of expression and the right to self- determination; government of the people, by the people, for the people; conscience above property and institutions, equality of opportunity; confidence in the ability of the people to create a more just and humane world; faith in the brotherhood of all mankind
And those consistent with the principles set out in the Preamble of the National Lawyers Guild; i.e.,
an effective political and social force in the service of the people, to the end that human rights and the rights of ecosystems shall be regarded as more sacred than property interests …… the importance of safeguarding and extending the rights of workers, women, farmers, and minority groups upon whom the welfare of the entire nation depends; who seek actively to eliminate racism; who work to maintain and protect our civil rights and liberties in the face of persistent attacks upon them; and who look upon the law as an instrument for the protection of the people, rather than for their repression.
And let this movement, the true patriotic way, grow, just as it did 250 years ago.
Finally, my appreciation for all that you have done, and are doing.
Ronald Fox (oldest member of the chapter, graduate of law school in 1963, family law practitioner, critic of Israel oppression of Palestinians since 1973, former director of the Public Interest Law Career Office at Harvard Law School, retired provider of career advice to dissatisfied lawyers, Lifetime Achievement Honoree from this chapter in 2023.)
781 771-3094 | admin@ronaldwfox.com
