George Washington, Nathan Hale, Thomas Paine, Sam Adams, Patrick Henry: heroes whose names will live as long as liberty does. Yet behind the Founding Fathers and their immortal writings, speeches, and deeds stand hundreds of thousands of ordinary patriots who struggled as sacrificially as their famous contemporaries — and sometimes more.
Last Updated on Monday, 08 February 2010 10:39 Written by Cody Harness Tuesday, 29 September 2009 12:08
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"All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives."
-- On May 5, 1787, James Madison arrived in Philadelphia. He was the first of an august body of men to arrive in what was then the capitol of the young American republic. His purpose, and the purpose of those who were to gather in the days that were to follow, was to examine the government of the fledgling union as it then existed, and to correct its flaws and establish a new scheme of government that would “preserve the blessings of liberty” for generations to come.
You might think that defying a powerful government, convening an illegal Congress, and signing one of liberty’s most lyrical documents would be exciting enough for anyone. But no. Over the decades, folks have embellished the history of the Declaration of Independence and its signers. They’ve neatened the chronology: Congress approved and signed the text on the Fourth of July, then read it publicly that evening while gentlemen removed their tricorns, ladies wept, and fireworks lit the skies. They’ve written quips for the ever-witty Ben Franklin, who certainly needed no help in that department. And they’ve invented heartbreaking fates for the signers at the hands of the vengeful British.
Christmas morning dawned gloomy and cold over the rebel camp. The low, overcast sky promised drizzle, or worse, by afternoon. The temperature, hovering just above freezing the past few days, was now dropping rapidly. The weather conditions did not improve the mood of the soldiers who, having skewered chunks of meat with the ramrods from their flint-lock firearms, were squatting around low campfires preparing the morning's repast.
Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.