Historical curiosities:
A speech was made by an unknown man at the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Faced with the death penalty for high treason, corageous men debated long before they picked up the quill pen to sign the parchment that declared the independence of the colonies.
For life is sweet when there is the danger of losing it...
For many hours they had debated in the state house in philadelphia...according to jefferson, it was late in the afternoon before the delagates gathered in their courage to the sticking point. The talk was of axes, scaffolds, and the gibbet.
Suddenly a strong, bold voice sounded--"Gibbet! They may stretch our necks on all the gibbets in the land; they may turn every rock into a scaffold; every tree into a gallows; every home into a grave, and yet the words of that PARCHMENT can never die!!! They may pour our blood on a thousand scaffolds, and yet from every drop that dyes the axe a new champion of freedom will spring into birth!!! The British King may blot out the stars of God from the sky, but he cannot blot out his words written on that parchment there.."
"The words of the declaration will live in the world long after our bones are dust."
Sign that parchment! Sign, if the next moment the gibbets rope is about your neck! Sign, if the next moment is the sound of clashing axes! Sign, by all your hopes in life or death...as men, as husbands, as fathers, brothers, sign your names on that parchment for all ages, for that parchment will be the textbook of FREEDOM, the bible of rights for man forever! God has destined America to be FREE!"
Nay, do not start and whisper with surprise!!
It is truth, your own hearts witness it: Look at this strange band of exhiles and outcasts, suddenly transformed into a people, a handful of men, weak in arms, but mighty in God like faith, nay, look at your recent acheivements, your Bunker Hill, Lexington, and then tell me if you can, that God has not given America to be free! (there is more but you get the point)
The unknown speaker fell exhausted into his seat, the delagates rushed forward, carried away by his enthusiastic speech. The delagates turned to express their gratitude to the eloquent speaker but he was gone.
Who was this strange man, who seemed to speak with a divine authority? No one knows.