I've been reading HW Brands' biography of Benjamin Franklin, The First American. As Brands points out, up to 1774, Benjamin Franklin had been a loyal subject of the Crown and had worked (as a political agent for several of the colonies) to smooth over transatlantic disagreements. But in January 1774 Franklin was hauled before Britain's [...]...»

The Declaration of Independence announced the birth of a new nation, but its lasting significance lies in the fact that it articulated a governing philosophy that was to guide that nation - at least for a century and a half. Alas, recent decades and recent (ahem) Supreme Court decisions have not kind to "life, liberty [...]...»