America at 250: The Words That Helped Ignite a Revolution
The Tocsin of Liberty–Rung by the State House Bell, (Independence Hall) Philadelphia, July 4th, 1776, “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof,” 1876, by Currier & Ives. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. Public Domain
“... a thirst for absolute power is the natural disease of monarchy .... To the evil of monarchy we have added hereditary succession ... the first is a degradation and lessening of ourselves ... the second, claimed as a matter of right, is an insult and an imposition on posterity.” — Thomas Paine, “Common Sense”
Gene Pisasale
Author
Gene Pisasale is an historian, author, and lecturer based in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. His 11 books focus on the history of the Chester County/mid-Atlantic region. His book “Forgotten Founding Fathers: Pennsylvania and Delaware in the American Revolution” delves into the lives and accomplishments of ten men who helped create the nation we know today.
