The Flemish Contribution to the U.S. Declaration of Independence

July is a month pregnant with historical significance for Flanders and the United States:  July 4^th (1776) is the U.S. Independence Day and July 11^th (1302) is the Flemish Feast Day. Less directly on July 26^th (1581) the Plakkaat van Verlatinghe (the “Act of Abjuration”) was promulgated. It is this last reference most to which the United States owes a debt of its independence to Flanders.[i]

To state the obvious, we commemorate July 4^th as the date of the United States’ independence from Great Britain because it is the date of the proclamation of the United States’ Declaration of Independence.[ii] This is a document that has been called, “arguably the most masterful state paper in Western civilization.”[iii] This document owes a debt to Flanders. With typical modesty, the Flemish seem reluctant to claim credit. Permit me, therefore, to do the honors.

History books often depict the U.S.’ Declaration of Independence as one man's – Thomas Jefferson's – brilliant creation.[iv] While Thomas Jefferson did, in fact, pen the actual document, the U.S. Declaration of Independence, he himself never claimed primary authorship.[v]  Benjamin Franklin and a number of other delegates to the Continental Congress offered significant revisions and edits.[vi] According to the Library of Congress’ official website on the Declaration of independence, the U.S. Declaration of Independence was first drafted in June by Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson’s ‘rough draught’ then underwent “a total of forty-seven (47!) alterations” by June 28^th. Between July 2^nd (when Congress voted on Independence) and July 4^th (when the final copy went to the printer) Congress continued to alter the document. In the end, after eliminating a quarter of Jefferson’s original text[vii], Congress made “thirty-nine (39) additional revisions”.[viii]

The Declaration of Independence then, was neither the work of one man nor an extemporaneous outburst of sentiment. Rather, it was a carefully crafted work intended to draw on precedents. These precedents ranged from contemporary British philosophers to treaties and declarations from the 1200s to the 1700s.[ix] Jefferson himself famously stated that the U.S, Declaration of Independence  incorporated no “new principles or new arguments”.[x] But, "Unlike our own age, which prizes originality, the 18th century gave its greatest accolades to those able to master the art of imitation."[xi]  

Although some analysis has been given over to the sources Jefferson, et.al. used to draft the Declaration, mostly it is attributed (especially by American scholars) to British authors (such as Locke) or to British documents (such as the indictment of Charles I in 1649[xii]). Certainly Jefferson’s library contained these works. But Locke and his like were not Jefferson’s only inspiration: the library at Monticello (Jefferson’s home) also contained a sizable number of works on Dutch and Flemish history.[xiii]  We know that Jefferson read these books with comprehension because of his references to several of them in his correspondence. Curiously, when discussing the 80 Years’ War in his correspondence, Thomas Jefferson referred to it as the “Flemish Revolt”.[xiv]

Professor Stephen Lucas of the University of Wisconsin at Madison has determined that the primary source of the words, phrases and ideas embodied in the U.S. Declaration of Independence are derived overwhelmingly from one specific document written in Dutch almost 200 years earlier: De Plakkaat van Verlatingh, issued in 1581.[xv]  

"Of all the models available to Jefferson and the Continental Congress, none provided as precise a template for the Declaration as did the Plakkaat," says Lucas, an expert on historical rhetoric. "When you look at the two documents side by side, you cannot avoid noticing that the American Declaration more closely resembles its Dutch predecessor than any other possible model."[xvi]

A Dutch professor, J.P.A. Coopmans, has shown that although separated by time, place, and cultural influences, the format is remarkably the same and that while the differences are important, there are unmistakable similarities.[xvii] Both professors have demonstrated this linkage through careful analysis of the phrases and arguments used in each document.

The Plakkaat had its origins in the so-called “Dutch Revolt”. The Revolt had first broken out on August 10, 1567 in the Flemish town of Steenvoorde. Local Flemish Protestants and some of the less-savory elements of this village, proceeded to sack and pillage the local Catholic church and monastery. This “iconoclasm” (“beeldenstorm” in Dutch) swept east and north until within weeks nearly every church in the Dutch speaking part of the Low Countries had been vandalized.

The ruling sovereign was Philip II: a Spanish son of the Flemish born Emperor Charles V.[xviii] Unlike his father, Philip knew neither the Dutch language nor the customs of his wealthiest dominion. Nor did he have any respect for the contractual nature of the relationship between monarch and subjects in Flanders.[xix] When thwarted in his demands for absolute obedience, Philip responded with brute force. The resulting juggernaut of the most powerful army in Europe tossed tens thousands of Flemish refugees to temporary havens in France, England, Germany and the northern Netherlands. The subsequent 80 years’ war (1568-1648) impoverished wealthy Flanders and left her cities smoldering and her fields fallow.

The Plakkaat was issued in 1581 by an assembly called the States General.[xx] Representing the 17 Provinces of the Low Countries – roughly equivalent to modern day Benelux – it was in fact a rejection of the rule of the Spanish King, Philip II. Listing first the grievances and then the resolution, the Plakkaat Van Verlatinghe gave the Continental Congress a form which to follow.[xxi]

The connection with the Plakkaat van Verlatinghe is not the strained tie of some abstract scholars. Informed contemporaries of America’s  Founding Fathers were also struck by the similarities. The Dutch Stadtholder, William V, Prince of Orange, wrote to a confidant on August 20, 1776 (after reading a copy of the Declaration of Independence) that he was “indignant” and considered it a “parody of the document that our forefathers issued against King Philip the Second” in 1581.[xxii]

What sparked his indignation was a familiar ring of the terms and text. William the V had noticed that:

-        - Both the Plakkaat and the Declaration begin by presenting a lengthy catalog of grievances of their sovereign’s perfidy.

-        - Both the Plakkaat and the Declaration mention repeated attempts made by the aggrieved to seek redress through official and unofficial channels.

-        - Both the Plakkaat and the Declaration conclude that having been repeatedly rebuffed by tyrannical rulers, they have no other option but to officially sever the ties that bind them

In short, Thomas Jefferson borrowed heavily and freely from the Plakkaat. A logical next question might be, "who authored the Plakkaat?" While it goes down in history as a "Dutch" document central to the "Dutch" Revolt and their Eighty Years' War for Independence (1568-1648), there was heavy Flemish involvement. In fact at least two - and possibly three - of the authors of the Plakkaat were Flemish.

“The committee of four who advised on the drafting was composed of four members – Andries Hessels[xxiii], greffier (secretary) of the States of Brabant; Jacques Tayaert, pensionary of the city of Ghent; Jacob Valcke, pensionary of the city of Ter Goes (now Goes); and Pieter van Dieven (also known as Petrus Divaeus), pensionary of the city of Mechelen – was charged with drafting what was to become the Act of Abjuration. The Act prohibited the use of the name and seal of Philip in all legal matters, and of his name or arms in minting coins. It gave authority to the Councils of the provinces to henceforth issue the commissions of magistrates. The Act relieved all magistrates of their previous oaths of allegiance to Philip, and prescribed a new oath of allegiance to the States [=”assembly”] of the province in which they served, according to a form prescribed by the States-General. The actual draft seems to have been written by the audiencier of the States-General, Jan van Asseliers.”[xxiv]

“The Act was remarkable for of its extensive Preamble, which took the form of an ideological justification, phrased as an indictment (a detailed list of grievances) of King Philip. This form, which is strikingly similar to that of the American Declaration of Independence, has often given rise to speculations that Thomas Jefferson, when he was writing the latter, was at least inspired by the Act of Abjuration.”[xxv]

“By deposing a ruler for having violated the Social Contract with his subjects, they were the first to apply the theoretical ideas that two hundred years later would ultimately form the basis for the American Declaration of Independence.”[xxvi]

These authors too, although heavily Flemish, borrowed from the past. Like Jefferson himself, these authors looked for historical precedent to justify what in effect was revolutionary. Two Belgian constitutional scholars have pinpointed the earliest precedent.

 “The idea of the rule of law was already present in Flemish cities in the twelfth century….When count William Clito came to power in Flanders in 1127, he guaranteed the inhabitants of his cities a right judgement of the cities’ aldermen against every man and against himself [the count]. The prince is already [at this time then] subject to the laws. The 1127 city charters were not mere words. On 16 February 1128, Ivan, Lord of Aalst, acted as the spokesman of the city of Ghent before the count. Ivan rebuked the court [sic] for not respecting the privileges he had given the burghers of Ghent and other cities. To settle the matter, he proposed [that] a special court should convene, in which the Peers of Flanders and representatives of the clergy and the people would sit to judge over the count. If this court should find the count unworthy of the countship, he would have to give it up. The count did not agree to this and Ivan and Ghent rose in revolt."

“William was killed in the civil war that ensued and a new count came to power. The background of the conflict was the opinion of Ghent and other cities that there was a contractual relationship between the count and the citizens. They recognized him as their lord and he, in turn, recognized their privileges. If the count no longer respected his part of the deal by acting against the rights of citizens, they had a right to break their contract and to fight him. This contractual conception of the relationship between ruler and subjects returns in the city charters granted by William’s successor. Thereafter the counts managed to suppress it, but it reappeared at regular times in Flemish history. In 1191 the first article of a charter for the city of Ghent stated that the citizens were only subject to the count as long as he wanted to treat them justly and reasonably…”[xxvii]

This social contract bound not only Gent to the Count of Flanders but other Flemish cities with similar explicit conditions. It was this sense of a ‘broken social contract’ that led the Flemish weavers and butchers to gather on the ‘groeneveld’ outside the walls of the city of Kortrijk on July 11, 1302.[xxviii] Likewise, “The 1581 Act of Abjuration is reminiscent of Ivan of Aalst. By his failure to respect the rights of his subjects, Philip II of Spain had lost his right to rule the Netherlands.”[xxix]

In short, Thomas Jefferson borrowed from the strongly Flemish authors of the Plakkaat. They in turn borrowed from Flemish history and the rights of the medieval Flemish city states. Specifically, they looked to the Flemish city states – especially Gent – and the associated traditions of the rights of its citizens in their interaction with the Count of Flanders.  The connection then from Thomas Jefferson, and other contributors to the declaration of Independence to the authors of the Plakkaat, and back all the way to 12th century Gent is a direct one. It is yet another example of the Flemish contribution to the Discovery and Development of America.

Endnotes

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[i] Parenthetically on July 10^th William of Orange was assassinated (1584); of course, July 21^st  (1830) is the Belgian National Holiday. For one of the best overviews on this subject please see the superb survey by Dr. Paul Belien, “How Flanders Helped Shape Freedom in America”, July 10, 2005 online posting in The Brussels Journal, Accessed July 4, 2013: http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/58

[ii] Congress actually declared independence on July 2^nd. Please see the Library of Congress’ official chronology here: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/declara/declara2.html

[iii] Barbara Wolff, June 29, 1988 “Was the Declaration of Independence Inspired by the Dutch”, University of Wisconsin Madison News http://www.news.wisc.edu/3049  Accessed July 4, 2013.

[iv] Joseph J. Ellis is the most extreme. He claims – in American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson, (), p. 59 – that Jefferson wrote the draft in a day or two and suffered only a few minor edits from others.

[v] “In Liberty! Thomas Fleming notes that Jefferson did not boast about his authorship of the Declaration of Independence.” Ray Raphael, Founding Myths: Stories That Hide Our Patriotic Past, (New York: MJF Books, 2004), p. 107.

[vi] These included Roger Sherman of Connecticut and others. See http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/declara/declara3.html

[vii] The deleted sections included such bizarre passages as blaming King George for the slave trade and insulting the British people. See Walter A. McDougall, Freedom Just Around the Corner: A new American History, 1585-1828, (New York: HarperCollins, 2005), First Perennial Edition, p.245.

[viii] See the Library of Congress website and the specific quotes here: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/declara/declara3.html    Accessed July 4, 2013

[ix] “De zo juist genoemde vraagpunten werden beantwoord in wisselwerking met de groei van de politieke gemeenschapsvormen; in het kader dus van de evolutie van de leenstaat naar de standenstaat en van deze naar de moderne rechtsstaat. Sedert ± 1200 verschenen de zogenaamde Herrschaftsvertrage, waarin vorst en 'volk'

schriftelijk onder het veiligstellen van een aantal vrijheidsrechten een zekere deelneming van de standen aan het openbaar bestuur vastlegden. Als sluitstuk van deze verdragsbepalingen fungeerde meestal een regeling van het weerstandsrecht. De Magna Carta van Engeland van 1215, de Gouden Bulle van Hongarije van 1222, de Brabantse akten: het Charter van Kortenberg van 1312 en de Blijde Incomste van 1356 alsmede de vrijheidscharters van de latere Brabantse hertogen, de Stichtse Landbrief van 1375 en het Gentse Groot Privilege van Maria van

Bourgondië van 1477 zijn hiervan specimina.

Parallel hiermede ontwikkelde zich in de casuïstiek een precedentenrecht, doordat men het geleerde en overeengekomene in praktijk bracht. Wat Engeland betreft kennen wij onder andere de afzettingen van Edward II in 1317, van Richard II in 1399, Karel Stuart in 1649 en Jacob II in 1688 (Glorious Revolution). Wat onze landen betreft vond de eerste verlating door de standen plaats in Vlaanderen, toen Willem Clito in 1128 de trouw werd opgezegd. En van Brabant weten wij dat enerzijds Wenceslaus in 1357 de Blijde lncomste opzegde omdat de Brabantse steden hun plichten niet nakwamen, terwijl anderzijds in 1420 de Staten een ruwaard aanstelden totdat hertog Jan IV de privileges van Brabant in ere had hersteld.” J.P.A. Coopmans, “Het Plakkaat van verlatinghe (1581) en de Declaration of Independence (1776),” Bijdragen en Mededelingen betreffende Geschiednis der Nederlanden 98 (1983), 540-567. Accessed online July 4, 2013 http://www.knhg.nl/bmgn2/C/Coopmans__J._P._A._-_Het_Plakkaat_van_verlatinge_(1581)_en_d.pdf  p.558.

[x] Ray Raphael, Founding Myths: Stories That Hide Our Patriotic Past, (New York: MJF Books, 2004), p. 107.

[xi] Stephen E. Lucas quoted in Barbara Wolff, June 29, 1988 “Was the Declaration of Independence Inspired by the Dutch”, University of Wisconsin Madison News http://www.news.wisc.edu/3049  Accessed July 4, 2013.

[xii] Which is much shorter and direct and frankly looks nothing like the Declaration of Independence in my mind. The actual text can be found here: http://www.constitution.org/eng/conpur082.htm .

[xiii] The incomplete list of works in Jefferson’s library are:

143. Gazettes de Leyde, 11 v 40 1781-1793. 4, 5.
170. Grotii Annales et historiae de rebus Belgicis fol
 62. Relationi del Cardinal Bentivoglio, Meerbecq, 1632, 12º.
 63. Della guerra di Fiandri dal Bentivoglio 1ma parte Colonia 1635, 12º.
 64. Dell histoira di Fiandri de Bentivoglio 2da parte Colonia 1636, 12º.
 65. Della guerra di Fiandri dal Bentivoglio, 3a parte, Colonia 1640, 12º.-
171. Strada Histoire de la guerre de Flandres, par du Ryer, 2 v. fol. = Histoire de la guerre de Flandres by Famiano Strada,
 66. The same. Lat. 2 v 12º.
 67. Guerras de Flandes de Strada, por de Novar, 7 v 12º.

 68. Histoire de la guerre de Flandre, par Strada, 2 v 12º.

155. Aitzema's history of the United Netherlands, 1650, 1651, p. fol. = History of the United Netherlands by Lieuwe van Aitzema,

131. De Witt's state of Holland, 8º. (= Pieter Le Court, Political Maxims of the State of Holland)  (nog missing in LoC)  originlee in goglebooks http://books.google.com/books?id=L8lbAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Aanwysing+der+heilsame+politike+gronden+en+maximen+van+de+Republike+van+Holland&source=bl&ots=QlgLqSS9PP&sig=rkedZn8lGTBUJ5tRyaD1VVeFgR4&hl=nl&ei=uzJUTKmkPIT78AaLkLWqAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
69. Histoire de la Hollande, 1609-1679, par Neuville, 4 v 12º. = Histoire de la Hollande 1609-1679 by Adrien Baillet

132. History of the United Provinces, 1788, London, Johnson, 8º.-
 70. Revolution des Provinces-Unies de Mandrillon, 12º.-
 71. Vie de De Ruyter, 12º.- = Vie de Michel de Ruiter by Adrien Richer,

 72. Histoire du Prince d'orange de Lamigue, 2 v 12º.-

According to  http://www.loc.gov/rr/european/coll/dutc.html  also in Jeffersons bib:

History of the Treaty of Utrecht,
= ?? The history of the Treaty of Utrecht : Wherein is contain'd, a particular state of the affairs of the allies at the commencement of that Treaty : And the negotiations at large. With all the acts, memorials, representations, offers, demands, letters, speeches. And the treaties of peace and commerce between Great Britain and France, &c (online at http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/4841650)
of = ? Casimir Freschot, The compleat history of the treaty of Utrecht, as also that of Gertruydenberg: containing all the acts, memorials, representations, complaints, demands, letters, speeches, treaties and other authentick pieces relating to the negotiations there. To which are added, the treaties of Radstat and Baden, A. Roper, and S. Butler, 1715. My thanks to Professor Matthias Storme of KU Leuven for these references (e-mail correspondence August 3, 2010.

[xiv] See http://www.rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/default.xqy?keys=TSJN-index-21-15-290-2&mode=TOC

[xv] The Dutch text in a more legible format can be found here: http://nl.wikisource.org/wiki/Plakkaat_van_Verlatinghe  The line-by-line Dutch with an accompanying English translation (for most of the text) can be found here; http://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~room4me/docs/abj_dut.htm

[xvi] Barbara Wolff, June 29, 1988 “Was the Declaration of Independence Inspired by the Dutch”, University of Wisconsin Madison News http://www.news.wisc.edu/3049  Accessed July 4, 2013.

[xvii] See J.P.A. Coopmans, “Het Plakkaat van verlatinghe (1581) en de Declaration of Independence (1776),” Bijdragen en Mededelingen betreffende Geschiednis der Nederlanden 98 (1983), 540-567. Accessed online July 4, 2013 http://www.knhg.nl/bmgn2/C/Coopmans__J._P._A._-_Het_Plakkaat_van_verlatinge_(1581)_en_d.pdf  For one of the (many) counter-arguments to my claim, see David Armitage, The Declaration of Independence: A Global History, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2007), pp.42-43.

[xviii] Charles is generally considered to have been born in Ghent, today in East Flanders. But recent scholarly activity uncovered proof that Charles was in fact born near Eeklo, on the road to Ghent. See Romano Tondat, Keizer Karel geboren te Eeklo, (Eeklo: Stadsbestuur, 2000). For a counter argument to Tondat’s thesis, see Johan Dembruyne, Corporatieve middengroepen: aspiranties, relaties en transformaties in de 16de-eeuwse Gentse ambachtswereld  (Academia Press, 2002), p.613 n.46

[xix] “The idea of the rule of law was already present in Flemish cities in the twelfth century….When count William Clito came to power in Flanders in 1127, he guaranteed the inhabitants of his cities a right judgment of the cities’ aldermen against every man and against himself [the count]. The prince is already [at this time then] subject to the laws. The 1127 city charters were not mere words. On 16 February 1128, Ivan, Lord of Aalst, acted as the spokesman of the city of Ghent before the count. Ivan rebuked the court [sic] for not respecting the privileges he had given the burghers of Ghent and other cities. To settle the matter, he proposed [that] a special court should convene, in which the Peers of Flanders and representatives of the clergy and the people would sit to judge over the count. If this court should find the count unworthy of the countship, he would have to give it up. The count did not agree to this and Ivan and Ghent rose in revolt.”
“William was killed in the civil war that ensued and a new count came to power. The background of the conflict was the opinion of Ghent and other cities that there was a contractual relationship between the count and the citizens. They recognized him as their lord and he, in turn, recognized their privileges. If the count no longer respected his part of the deal by acting against the rights of citizens, they had a right to break their contract and to fight him. This contractual conception of the relationship between ruler and subjects returns in the city charters granted by William’s successor. Thereafter the counts managed to suppress it, but it reappeared at regular times in Flemish history. In 1191 the first article of a charter for the city of Ghent stated that the citizens were only subject to the count as long as he wanted to treat them justly and reasonably….The 1581 Act of Abjuration is reminiscent of Ivan of Aalst. By his failure to respect the rights of his subjects, Philip II of Spain had lost his right to rule the Netherlands.” See Hubert Bocken & Walter de Bondt, Introduction to Belgian Law, (Kluwer 2000) p.20, IV. “Belgium’s contribution to Law” My thanks to Professor Matthias Storme for this reference.

[xx] An excellent chronology of the events leading up to the Plakkaat van Verlatinghe can be found here: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/dutchstudies/an/SP_LINKS_UCL_POPUP/SPs_english/revolt_one/pages/chronology.html

[xxi] See for further points along this line of reasoning, see Stephen E. Lucas, “The Act of Abjuration as a Model for the Declaration of Independence,” pp. 171-190 in Paul Brood and Raymond Kubben (eds.), The Act of Abjuration: Inspired and Inspirational, (Nijmegen: Wolf Legal Publishers, 2011); also Stephen E. Lucas, “The Plakkaat van Verlatinghe: A Neglected Model for the American Declaration of Independence,” in Connecting Cultures: The Netherlands in Five centuries of Transatlantic Exchange, Rosemarijn Hofte and Johanna C. Kardux, eds., (Amsterdam: VU Press, 1994), pp. 189-207.

[xxii] The actual quote is “Ik kan niet genoeg betuigen hoezeer ik geindigneert ben geweest bij de lecture van de acte van afzweeringe van de konig van Engelant bij de Heeren Staeten der vereenigde colonien. Het is de parodie van het stuk, dat onze voorzaeten deeden uitgeeven tegens konig Philips de tweede. God geeve dat de geode zaek moeg triumpheeren en dat de colonien tot redden mogen gebragt warden.” The entire correspondence can be found online at Historici.nl under “Archives ou correspondance inédite de la maison d'Orange-Nassau”, Serie 5, deel 1, 1766-1779, p.449. Accessed July 4, 2013 http://www.historici.nl/retroboeken/archives/#source=25&page=500&size=800&accessor=toc1.

[xxiii] Bio here: http://www.bossche-encyclopedie.nl/personen/hessels,%20andries.htm  Accessed July 4, 2013

[xxiv] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Abjuration#cite_note-8   Accessed July 4, 2013

[xxv] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Abjuration  Accessed July 4, 2013

[xxvi] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Abjuration  Accessed July 4, 2013

[xxvii] See Hubert Bocken & Walter de Bondt, Introduction to Belgian Law, (Kluwer 2000) p.20, IV. “Belgium’s contribution to Law” My thanks to Professor Matthias Storme for this reference.

[xxviii] For a survey of books and movies on the subject of the battle of the Golden Spurs (especially for English speakers) please see my blogpost here: http://flemishamerican.blogspot.com/2010/07/battle-of-golden-spurs.html

[xxix] See Hubert Bocken & Walter de Bondt, Introduction to Belgian Law, (Kluwer 2000) p.20, IV. “Belgium’s contribution to Law” My thanks to Professor Matthias Storme for this reference.

Copyright 2013 by David Baeckelandt. All rights reserved. Please do not copy any part of this unless you have received my written permission.