Nicki Truesdell (@NickiTruesdell)

"Virtue affords the only foundation for a peaceful and happy government. When the wicked rule, the nation mourns. Not that rulers must necessarily profess religion by being attached to some visible church—but they must venerate it, and be men of the highest moral and political honesty. Disease and corruption affect the body politic and produce dissolution with the same certainty that they prostrate the physical powers of man. If the head is disordered, the whole heart is sick. If the political fountain becomes polluted, its dark and murky waters will eventually impregnate every branch with their contagious miasma. The history of the past proves the truth of these assertions; the passing events of the present day afford too frequent demonstration of the baneful effects of intrigue and peculation. Without virtue our union will become a mere rope of sand, the victim of knaves and the sport of kings. Self-government will become an enigma with monarchs, rational liberty a paradox, and a republic, the scoff of tyrants. Let every freeman look to this matter in time. Let him look back to the sages who wisely conceived, nobly planned, and boldly laid the foundations of the freedom we now enjoy, but which cannot, will not be perpetuated unless we imitate their examples and obey their precepts. They were virtuous, many of them devotedly pious, and all of them politically honest. Among their number the name and character of FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT LEE claims our present attention...." This is the beginning of one of the chapters in Able and Mighty Men, Bioraphies of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence. There is a chapter devoted to each of the 56 men, plus George Washington and Patrick Henry. EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER begins with a reflection like this. Not only is this an excellent history resource, it's a very isnightful look at the kind of person it took to be a Founding Father. Get it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3hJxSzv Get it at Knowledge Keepers: https://knowledgekeepersbookstore.com/shop/