The American War for Independence signaled the beginnings of an extraordinarily bright time in the history of our species. The 13 original States unified to defeat the greatest military of the time and won the privilege of self-rule. This happened because a one-time event occurred when many of the world’s greatest political minds appeared at the same time in the same place with near-perfect, but horrible conditions. The potential reward was high enough, and the potential threat of servitude was terrible enough for the well-read, educated and fiercely independent populous to risk everything to chance a momentous leap from subject to citizen. The simple but timeless ideas that became widely held from New Hampshire to South Carolina as cornerstones of our Republic included many concepts expressed in the Declaration of Independence, and well before our Republic even existed:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are…
