“Previous to this period…the dispute had been carried on by the pen…but from this time forward it was conducted by the sword. The crisis had arrived when the colonies had no alternative, but either to submit to the mercy, or to resist the power of Great Britain. An unconquerable love of liberty could not brook the idea of submission…[The Americans] were fully apprised of the power of Britain—they knew that her fleets covered the ocean, and that her flag had waved in triumph through the four quarters of the globe; but the animated language of the time was, ‘It is better to die freemen, than to live as slaves.’”
(Historian David Ramsey describing the prevailing attitude of Americans during several attempts by the British Empire to disarm them. The History of the American Revolution, Volume 1, p. 176-177.)
Related Categories
Constitution: Second Amendment
Only a Virtuous People