Totally Dissolved: The Forgotten Vote for Independence
We celebrate Independence on the Fourth of July. But the actual vote to secede from the British Empire and become “free and independent states” – happened on July 2nd, 1776. Twelve colonies voted in favor. None opposed. New York abstained because its delegates...
Alter or Abolish: The Forgotten Declaration that Said it First
Everyone knows the words “it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it,” but the Declaration of Independence wasn’t first. Three weeks earlier, on June 12, 1776 – George Mason wrote that same principle into a document that most...
Arbitrary Power: The Definition of Tyranny
“The curse and scandal of human nature.” That’s how James Otis, Jr. described arbitrary power. It wasn’t just a sign of tyranny, or a step toward it. It was the very definition of tyranny. It is power without right. And that principle pervades the Declaration of...