as i grow, my heart swells and my cheeks flush with the thoughts of my founding fathers. their bravery, their nobility, their fallibility yet determination to succeed despite it ....
yesterday i got carried away talking about George Washington. This man voluntarily gave up king-ship, reminding others that they fought this war precisely to rid themselves of such ruling practices. He settled for president. He *settled* for presidency. Who would do that now?
"The Signing of the Declaration of Independence"
By H. A. Guerber
John Hancock, President of Congress, was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence, writing his name in large, plain letters, and saying:
"There! John Bull can read my name without spectacles. Now let him double the price on my head, for this is my defiance."
Then he turned to the other members, and solemnly declared:
"We must be unanimous. There must be no pulling different ways. We must all hang together."
"Yes," said Franklin, quaintly, "we must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately."
We are told that Charles Carroll, thinking that his writing looked shaky, added the words, "of Carrollton," so that the king should not be able to make any mistake as to whose name stood there.
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