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Summary
Summary
Remember the ladies. A Republic if you can keep it. I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country. If this be treason, make the most of it. Don't fire till you see the whites of their eyes. I can't tell a lie. These words and words like them, whether written or spoken, had a profound importance during America's Founding period. These are the words of legend and gravitas, referenced by generations of teachers, politicians, and commentators. These are the words that still inspire revolutionary changes in the United States and elsewhere. But what do they mean? What's the real story behind them? Why do they inspire us today, more than two centuries after first spoken or written? We Hold These Truths. . . . answers these questions about fifty-four of the best-known quotes from the Founding period. This book covers two hundred years of early American history and highlights quotes from both the founders and the founding documents. Combining each quote with a rich narratives that highlights its astounding, and generally unknown, origin. History buffs of all ages will love We Hold These Truths. . . .
Author Notes
Paul Aron is a senior editor and writer for Colonial Williamsburg. He is the author of several books, including Unsolved Mysteries of American History, Unsolved Mysteries of History, More Unsolved Mysteries of American History, and Did Babe Ruth Call His Shot'.
Reviews (1)
Booklist Review
How Thomas Jefferson reluctantly yet speedily composed the Declaration of Independence, that Paul Revere never said, The British are coming, and that George Washington did not cut down the cherry tree are just a few of the examples here of historic stories that probably aren't true. There are 54 quotes that Aron scrutinizes, seeking the real stories behind them. The book covers 200 years of early American history and describes quotes from the nation's founders and their documents. So, here we have Benjamin Franklin's Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy wealthy and wise. Or William Prescott's Don't fire 'till you see the whites of their eyes. Aron points out that these are some of the words that changed the course of history. We Hold These Truths is a skillful, ingenious work that is entertaining to read.--Cohen, George Copyright 2008 Booklist
Table of Contents
| Preface | p. ix |
| Acknowledgments | p. xiii |
| 1 Abigail Adams | p. 1 |
| Remember the Ladies | |
| 2 John Adams | p. 9 |
| Facts are stubborn things | |
| The most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived | |
| The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people | |
| Thomas Jefferson survives | |
| 3 Anonymous | p. 21 |
| E Pluribus Unum | |
| Yankee Doodle went to town | |
| 4 John Dickinson | p. 27 |
| By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall | |
| United, we stand-Divided, we fall | |
| 5 Olaudah Equiano | p. 33 |
| The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying | |
| 6 Benjamin Franklin | p. 41 |
| Early to bed and early to rise | |
| Let the experiment be made | |
| Join, or Die | |
| Don't tread on me | |
| We must ... all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately | |
| A republic if you can keep it | |
| 7 Nathan Hale | p. 57 |
| I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country | |
| 8 Alexander Hamilton | p. 65 |
| I never expect to see a perfect work from imperfect man | |
| Your people is a great beast | |
| 9 John Hancock | p. 73 |
| I write so that King George III may read without his spectacles | |
| 10 Patrick Henry | p. 81 |
| If this be treason, make the most of it | |
| Give me liberty, or give me death | |
| 11 Thomas Jefferson | p. 89 |
| We hold these truths to be self-evident | |
| a wall of separation between church and state | |
| I like a little rebellion now and then | |
| a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government | |
| We have the wolf by the ears | |
| Is it the Fourth? | |
| 12 John Paul Jones | p. 105 |
| I have not yet begun to fight | |
| 13 Francis Scott Key | p. 113 |
| O! say can you see | |
| In God is our Trust | |
| 14 James Madison | p. 121 |
| If men were angels, no government would be necessary | |
| Congress shall make no law | |
| 15 John Marshall | p. 131 |
| An act of the legislature, repugnant to the Constitution, is void | |
| The government of the Union is, emphatically and truly, a government of the people | |
| The people made the Constitution, and the people can unmake it | |
| 16 George Mason | p. 139 |
| All men are by nature equally free and independent | |
| 17 James Otis | p. 147 |
| Taxation without representation is tyranny | |
| No taxation without representation | |
| 18 Thomas Paine | p. 155 |
| We have it in our power to begin the world over again | |
| These are the times that try men's souls | |
| 19 William Prescott | p. 165 |
| Don't fire till you see the whites of their eyes | |
| 20 Paul Revere | p. 173 |
| One, if by land, and two, if by sea | |
| The British are coming | |
| 21 Tachnedorus | p. 181 |
| Who is there to mourn for Logan? Not one | |
| 22 George Washington | p. 189 |
| I can't tell a lie | |
| I heard the bullets whistle | |
| Their marches might be traced by the blood from their feet | |
| If their citizens should not be completely free and happy, the fault will be entirely their own | |
| My movement to the chair of government will be accompanied by feelings not unlike those of a culprit who is going to the place of his execution | |
| entangling alliances with none | |
| First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen | |
| 23 Phillis Wheatley | p. 205 |
| In every human breast, God has implanted a principle, which we call love of freedom | |
| 24 James Wilson | p. 213 |
| We the people | |
| Bibliography | p. 221 |
| Index | p. 235 |
| About the Author | p. 242 |
