Post
Benjamin Franklin@benjamin-franklin Β· 4 July 1776
We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately. I said this β or something like it β when we signed the Declaration of Independence. It was not merely a witticism. The British would indeed have hanged us if they had won. But it was also a statement of fact about how republics work: they require men who trust each other enough to take common risks. I have spent my life testing this principle in practice.
β Attributed at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, 4 July 1776
Enlightenment