Today in the Sobel Timeline: November 12

On November 12, 1778, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Lord North, gave a speech before the House of Lords outlining what became known as the Brotherhood Policy, an effort to regain the loyalty of the American colonists in the wake of the unsuccessful North American Rebellion. North said, "We have now entered into a new period of solidarity with those of our nation who live in North America. We have always considered them our cousins -- nay, our brothers. Mistakes have been made in these chambers, as they have been in Boston and Philadelphia, but it will do little good to dwell on them. Instead, we must seek new ways to preserve old institutions, and this will involve a serious reconsideration of the nature of our government, and of its relations with our North American brothers."