1775 vs 1791
Democrats, notably Cori Bush (Missouri) and Nancy Pelosi (California) have moved to declare the riot and protest on January 6th in Washington DC to be an insurrection, and to remove Trump from office (with a little over a week in his presidency left). Obviously, they are not applying the same metric to the current riots by Democratic BLM and Antifa. [1][2]
The British colonies that later comprised the USA had similar insurrections in 1775 and 1791. The response of King George vs the response of President George Washington should be considered.
In 1775, following the battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts, the British subjects of the Second Continental Congress sent an Olive Branch Petition to King George III.
The Congress wrote,[3]
“Attached to your Majesty’s person, family, and government, with all devotion that principle and affection can inspire; connected with Great Britain by the strongest ties that can unite societies, and deploring every event that tends in any degree to weaken them, we solemnly assure your Majesty that we not only most ardently desire the former harmony between her and these Colonies may be restored, but that a concord may be established between them upon so firm a basis as to perpetuate its blessings, uninterrupted by any future dissensions, to succeeding generations in both countries, and to transmit your Majesty’s name to posterity, adorned with that signal and lasting glory that has attended the memory of those illustrious personages, whose virtues and abilities have extricated states from dangerous convulsions and, by securing the happiness to others, have erected the most noble and durable monuments to their own fame.”
He responded with A Proclamation, by The King, for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition, stating,[4]
“[W]e have thought fit, by and with the advice of our Privy Council, to issue our Royal Proclamation, hereby declaring, that not only all our Officers, civil and military, are obliged to exert their utmost endeavours to suppress such rebellion, and to bring the traitors to justice, but that all our subjects of this Realm, and the dominions thereunto belonging, are bound by law to be aiding and assisting in the suppression of such rebellion, and to disclose and make known all traitorous conspiracies and attempts against us, our crown and dignity; and we do accordingly strictly charge and command all our Officers, as well civil as military, and all others our obedient and loyal subjects, to use their utmost endeavours to withstand and suppress such rebellion, and to disclose and make known all treasons and traitorous conspiracies which they shall know to be against us, our crown and dignity.”
The result was the Declaration of Independence a year later.
In 1791, following Shay’s Rebellion and during the Whiskey Rebellion, President George Washington led an army to defeat rebels in a small engagement, pardoned the rebels, and went home.
The result was the adoption of the Bill of Rights later that year, guaranteeing the right to bear arms the same year as an armed rebellion.[5][6]
Will Democrats choose 1775 or 1791?[7]
[3]https://americainclass.org/sources/makingrevolution/crisis/text8/olivebranchpetition.pdf
[4]https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=4105
[5]https://www.hamiltonmobley.com/blog/not-worth-a-continental?rq=1791
[6]https://mises.org/library/whisky-rebellion-model-our-time
[7]https://buildbackbetter.gov/press-releases/statement-by-president-elect-joe-biden-on-the-10th-anniversary-of-the-tucson-shooting/ “Ten years ago today, in Tucson, Arizona, six innocent lives were taken away by a senseless and brutal act of violence: Dorothy Morris, Judge John Roll, Phyllis Scheck, Dorwin Stoddard, Gabriel Zimmerman, and nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green. In the decade since, too many families have known the pain of losing a loved one to gun violence, of futures stolen and dreams cut down before their time. Today, Jill and I remember the people we lost in Tucson, and all of the families whose lives were irreversibly changed that day.
Among those wounded in that horrific attack was my friend Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, whose perseverance and immeasurable courage in the years since has been an inspiration to millions. Like so many survivors of violence, Gabby has turned tragedy into purpose, working with other leaders across the country to transform the fight for gun safety reform from a cause to a movement. Every day she fights to make our communities safer and move us closer to our goal of a nation free from gun violence. As President, I pledge to continue to work together with Congresswoman Giffords, and with survivors, families, and advocates across the country, to defeat the NRA and end the epidemic of gun violence in America.”