Tryon Resolves


The Tryon Resolves were a brief declaration adopted by the citizens of Tryon County in the Province of North Carolina in the early days of the American Revolution. In the Resolves, the county vowed resistance to coercive actions by the government of Great Britain against its North American colonies. The document was signed on August 14, 1775.

Background

The Tryon Resolves "association" was created in response to the Battle of Lexington, and the Resolves were among the earliest of many local colonial declarations against the policies the British government had instituted in the colonies, which were considered oppressive by the colonists. Other similar declarations from the same period included the Mecklenburg Resolves and the Suffolk Resolves. The Tryon Resolves predated the United States Declaration of Independence by almost 11 months, but stopped short of proscribing independence from Britain, instead supporting armed resistance until a resolution with England could be made.
As tensions between the North American colonies and the British government continued to increase, county residents began forming Committees of Safety to prepare militia companies for a potential war. On September 14, 1775, many of the signers of the Tryon Resolves formed the Tryon County Militia in preparation for British retaliation against American revolutionaries.

Text summary and effect

In the Tryon Resolves:
The signatories of the Tryon Resolves were: