A man has died and that's it I guess...
The state newspaper is sad to announce the death of Senator George Read, after learning of his honourable gentlemanâs death this afternoon, when we paid a visit to his residence after the Senator did not appear at a scheduled public event.
However, the man George Read may not have been that honourable after all. It was learnt that he was the grandson of an Englishman of a large fortune belonging to the family of Read of Berkshire, Hertfordshire, and Oxfordshire. George Read was a man with a huge stake and a vast inheritance in Britain.
Onto the manâs political life. Delaware was politically divided into loose factions known as the "Court Party" and the "Country Party." The majority Court Party worked well with the colonial Proprietary government and was in favour of reconciliation with the British government. Read was often the leader of this party faction and actively worked against independence from the British.
He was frequently absent from the Second Continental Congress, rumoured to be with many women on multiple hot dates which have all led to failure, and when the Congress voted on American Independence on July 2, 1776, Read surprised many by voting against it, showing his ultimate betrayal to the country.
He was a leader in the fight for a strong central government, advocating, at one time, the abolition of the states altogether and the consolidation of the country under one powerful national government. 'Let no one fear the states, the people are with us;' he declared to a Convention shocked by this radical proposal. With no one to support his motion, and no friends in the Senate wanting to befriend such an illogical radical, Read gradually fell into depression and despair.
Read finally decided to take his life, writing a suicide letter explaining his long felt isolation and his conflicted feelings when the British government threatened to repossess his huge assets in Britain if he did not support the British in Senate. With nowhere to turn to, Read decided to lock up his family members in his basement for them to starve to death before finally committing suicide. A revolver has been found on the table, next to his left hand.
Despite being a British mole in the Senate, Read was ultimately a conflicted man and his life was truly a tragic one. Our condolences are with him despite the revelation of betrayal on such a scale. Please pray for George.
