The Olive Branch Petition: A Last Plea for Peace

Introduction

The Revolution did not begin with certainty. It began with hesitation. By the summer of 1775, battles had already erupted in Massachusetts. Blood had been shed at Lexington and Concord. Bunker Hill had flared and cooled. But even as militias mobilized and tensions rose, the Second Continental Congress held out one final hope: that reconciliation with Britain was still possible. The result was the Olive Branch Petition- a carefully worded document sent to King George III, expressing loyalty to the Crown while requesting relief from Parliament’s policies. It was not a surrender. It was a gesture. A way to say, “We are willing to remain, if we are heard.” It was also, ultimately, ignored.

The Petition in the Mural In the 250th Anniversary Mural, the Olive Branch Petition is not depicted with drama. It is placed quietly- near the desks and documents of Congress, with a rider in the distance already in motion, carrying the message toward ships bound for England. The scene carries a sense of pause. Of possibility not yet foreclosed. This is not yet a declaration. It is the moment before- the final reach toward a peace that never arrived. The vignette bridges the mural’s shift from reform to revolution. It is the last time the colonies tried to stay. Who Wrote It- and Why Drafted in July 1775, the Olive Branch Petition was authored primarily by John Dickinson of Pennsylvania- a moderate who feared that premature separation would bring unnecessary suffering and chaos. He believed that most Americans still felt loyalty to the King, even if they rejected Parliament’s overreach.

The petition declared colonial loyalty while requesting a halt to hostilities and a reconsideration of the Intolerable Acts. It was signed by nearly every delegate, including some- like John Adams- who believed the gesture was futile. Still, they signed. Not because they expected it to succeed, but because they wanted to document the effort. If war came, they wanted history to know: we tried. What It Said The Olive Branch Petition used careful, respectful language.

It affirmed allegiance to the monarch while pleading for protection against Parliament’s military and legislative aggressions. It asked not for independence, but for fairness. For mutual recognition. For peace without subjugation. But even as the petition was sent, Congress authorized measures to prepare for war- including the formation of the Continental Army and the appointment of George Washington as its commander. It was, in many ways, a contradiction- words of peace carried alongside preparations for conflict. A gesture of diplomacy sent out from a room already bracing for battle.

The King’s Response King George III never read it. By the time the petition reached England, the King had already issued a proclamation declaring the colonies to be in open rebellion. He refused to receive the letter. He refused to acknowledge the tone of compromise. To him, the olive branch was not an offering. It was a mask for revolution. In that moment, the door to reconciliation closed. Not because the colonies rejected the Crown- but because the Crown rejected the conversation.

Why It Still Matters

The Olive Branch Petition is often overshadowed by the Declaration of Independence. But its significance lies in what it reveals: that revolution was not the colonies’ first desire. They tried letters. Boycotts. Petitions. Declarations of rights. Violence was not the plan. It was the reply. The petition reminds us that resistance does not begin in rage. It begins in recognition- of injustice, of silence, of the moment when even carefully chosen words are met with refusal. In that refusal, something hardened. And the colonies began to look not for redress, but for release.

Further Reading / Explore More

This vignette appears in the mural’s transition from correspondence to confrontation. The Olive Branch Petition lies at the threshold- held between the hope for reform and the necessity of revolution. The mural does not judge the moment. It simply holds it, showing what was tried before the final break was made.

Related Blog: The First Continental Congress: Unity in a Single Room Mural Link: https://usa250thanniversarymural.com Tags: Olive Branch Petition, Second Continental Congress, John Dickinson, King George III, American Revolution, Last Plea for Peace, 250 Mural, Colonial Moderates, Revolutionary Documents, Origins of Independence