How Did Silas Deane Committed Suicide

THESIS: Although some historians believe that Silas Deane committed suicide, it is without a doubt that Edward Bancroft murdered Deane. Deane could not have not committed suicide, for he was not depressed, Bancroft was nervous that Deane would expose his secrets while traveling back to America and Bancroft could have easily poisoned Deane before he got on ship.

BODY 1

To begin, the death of Silas Deane could not have been suicide because he was completely happy before getting on the ship. Deane had talked to friends about starting up a project to build a canal from the St. Lawrence River to Lake Champlain in New York to promote trade. Four years before his death, Deane had been working on the cost of construction and figuring out all of

the specific proportions needed to build the canal. Clearly, Deane was very optimistic about this project and aspired for it to come to life once he returned to the Americas. Additionally, in other letters, Deane thought that he would be safe going back to America, as the controversy was dying down. Stated in a letter to an American friend, “It is now almost ten years… that justice might be done to my fortune and character… I hope that it is now drawing to a close” (xxiii). If Deane became happier within the ten years away from America and felt that he would be just as happy back there, then surely he was looking forward to his trip and would not have committed suicide. REASON 3 AND CONCLUSION SENTENCE

BODY 2
Silas Deane knew much about Bancroft’s “double life” and secrets, and could have punished him greatly by telling everyone in the United States what he learned. For instance, Bancroft earned one thousand pounds a year for working as a British spy
REASON 2 Deane and Bancroft worked closely together throughout the years.