"Signing the Declaration was an extraordinary act of courage" Topic

"The signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, was the birth of America, but it also was a pivotal moment for the entire world. The 56 signers of that vital document couldn't have envisioned it at the time, but they were creating the greatest nation in the history of the world.

When John Hancock put his John Hancock on the Declaration and the other members of the Continental Congress signed their names, they were seeking liberty. History later would show the freedom they helped achieve for the new nation would become what led to its prosperity and strength.

Declaring America's independence from England was a deep commitment on the part of the signers. But the most difficult challenge – actually winning the independence – lay ahead. It would have to be done on the battlefield…"
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link

Armand

Mercifully, the link does not connect with the rest of that offering from the 'Lubbock Avalanche Journal'

But in other news!
A look at the tasty options at the Panhandle-South Plains Fair
eu.lubbockonline.com
"A big attraction of going to the fair is the guilty pleasure of enjoying the deed-fried, roasted or sugar-coated delicacies served up by dozens of non-profit organizations.

"…they were creating the greatest nation in the history of the world."

Surely far too soon to be certain of that?

Link in first post worked for me, and as Ben Franklin said, "A republic if you can keep it."

Surely far too soon to be certain of that?

I don't know, I get the feeling that there isn't much more "history of the world" to go.
According to a noted congresswoman, we've only got ten years left. Add in all of the other world-shattering events that we're on the brink of, you better get in some more gaming fast!

On topic: Considering what happened to the signers (death, death of their families, bankruptcy, prison, etc), and the fact that they knew the potential for such, yeah, I would agree that it was an act of courage.

Thanks!.

Armand

I would have thought that one of the ancient Empires such as Egypt or Rome was probably the greatest nation in the history of the world. I certainly wouldn't class any of our current declining lot with such a moniker. Then again how does one interpret "greatest"…?

Any revolution or rebellion takes an act of courage to try and overthrow the ruling power. The price of failure is normally fatal.

True, but in this case the price of success was brutal.
And you could only classify an ancient civilization as great if you knew about it. I would hazard a guess that the journalist doesn't.

Glup!

Armand

I wonder sometimes how much George III actually knew about what was being said and done in the North American colonies in the years leading up to the Declaration of Independence. Local dissatisfaction with taxes and government efforts to enforce regulations (or lack thereof), demands for more autonomy or respect for traditional local rights, even when they rose to the level of popular violence, were not that unusual in 18th century Europe. The information that George III was receiving from the Americas was being filtered through English, and some American, sources that had an interest in not being entirely truthful in their assessments of the situation. It would have been easy enough under the circumstances for George III to see it as all more of the same.