The American Story: Bullets and Ballots: 1776 Audio

A people whose maxim is ‘Give me liberty or give me death’ cannot be expected to hold a vote to decide whether or not to be enslaved.”

Americans are being reminded how fragile and precious an achievement it is to establish the legitimate authority of government through peaceful and free elections. But there would be no ballots without the bullets of 1776. We hold elections in America because, as the Declaration of Independence says, we think “the just powers of government are derived from the consent of the governed.” But what divided the American people from the British Crown and Parliament in 1776 could not be decided by a vote alone. Listen at American Story Podcast