Individual Rights

On the 4th anniversary of the Boston Massacre, 1774, John Hancock, who would be the first to sign the Declaration of Independence, stated: “Will not a well-disciplined militia afford you ample security against foreign foes? We want not courage; it is discipline alone in which we are exceeded by the most formidable troops that ever trod the earth… A well-disciplined militia is a safe, an honorable guard ...

Edward Snowden and the NSA documents. Julian Assange and the WikiLeaks diplomatic cables. Daniel Elsberg and the Pentagon papers. Benjamin Franklin and the Hutchinson letters? Snowden, Assange, and Elsberg all considered themselves to be self-appointed whistleblowers. Individuals who wanted to open governments by disclosing sensitive government documents. Without a doubt, all three started huge controversies when their confidential documents were leaked. But, should Benjamin Franklin be ...

Although little is ever spoken of the liberty pole today, at the time of the American War for Independence and decades prior, they were the symbol of self-government and freedom from tyranny. Typically, wherever they were formed, Sons of Liberty gathered in town commons under a large tree. These trees-turned-meeting-places were soon known around the colonies as "Liberty Trees.” Some of the greens in towns with ...

In his 1818 analysis of the Revolution, John Adams said, But what do we mean by the American Revolution? Do we mean the American War? The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people, a change in their religious sentiments of their duties and obligations. The key word here is religious. In Adams’ analysis, he said ...

A jury acquitted publisher John Peter Zenger of libel charges against New York’s colonial governor, in an early landmark moment for the free press and the American legal system. Years later, Founding Father Gouverneur Morris said the verdict in Crown v. Zenger was “the germ of American freedom, the morning star of that liberty which subsequently revolutionized America!” Morris’ grandfather, Lewis Morris, was a judge in New York ...

Silence Dogood, No. 8 Printed in The New-England Courant, July 9, 1722. On June 11 the Courant had insinuated that the Massachusetts authorities were not making proper exertions to capture a pirate vessel reported to be off the coast.3 Exasperated by this “High Affront,” the latest of many, the General Court the next day ordered James Franklin to be confined in jail for the remainder of the ...

"Without Freedom of Thought, there can be no such thing as Wisdom; and no such thing as public Liberty, without Freedom of Speech." - The New England Courant, July 9, 1722 ...

Cato’s Letter #38, written on July 22nd, 1721, emphasizes the importance of the people’s ability to judge their government. The letter argues that the world is often misled by those who profit from deception, and that if people were honestly informed and restored to their senses, there would be no remaining errors. The letter highlights the need for individuals to be aware of their rights and capacities ...

One of the overlooked sources for Jefferson’s early draft was a now largely forgotten pamphlet written by Judge Samuel Sewall in 1700 titled , “The Selling of Joseph: A Memorial.” It is a remarkable document, one of the earliest antislavery declarations published in the American colonies. It’s very much a religious essay. The odds are that Sewall, a prominent Boston Puritan, actually read it in his ...

Slavery is not simply a historical phenomenon.. It persists to this day in modern forms, such as trafficking. Quakers have opposed it from very early on and still do. In the first few years after the Quaker movement began in 1652, slavery would have been outside the experience of most Quakers, as it was not much practiced in Britain. But in British colonies in the Caribbean ...