Join or Die! Live Free or Die!
Inspirational Phrases State a Political Case for Revolutionary War
Oct 23, 2007
How is it that Colonial American Society came to value liberty and freedom in such a strong and unifying way? The single-minded purpose of our colonial forebears is remarkable when we look at all of the social differences that existed. How did 13 separate “countries” come together to fight for a common cause that continues to beat strongly in the heart of every American? The answer is found in the convergence of two terms, that in spite of etymological disparity were synonymously paired to create a new idea that was to change the world; Freedom and Liberty!
The Heart's Habits
The historian, David Hackett Fischer, in Liberty and Freedom: A Visual History of America's Founding Ideas, (2004, Oxford University Press), has written of the social source of these two words. Freedom is a word of Northern European origin, meaning the right to belong. Liberty is a term derived from Mediterranean culture, meaning the privilege to be independent. Fischer points out that the American Colonies had the distinct privilege of having Great Britain as their primary culture base because it was the only society that blended these two divergent ideas into one. Alexis de Tocqueville went on to define Liberty and Freedom as “Habits of the Heart” that were uniquely important to Americans. He described the enigmatic way that Americans practiced them as “persistent but never constant.”
Equality
Several more terms became instantly recognizable in every colony, thereby cementing the coming Union, giving it starting as well as staying power. Two more words used often were Independence and Equality. The expression Equality also shared a diverse sense of usage. In the South it was used in the context of one’s station in life, due in no small part to the practice of slavery. In New England it had more of a leveling connotation. In Pennsylvania with its plentiful Northern European population equality was something you shared with the group to which you had the privilege of belonging.
Independence
Independence held a universal meaning that covered the break from Great Britain to the self determination of the resulting republic. It was also often contrasted with the term tyranny, which had its genesis in the struggle to be free of the absolute rule of the Stuart Kings in the 17th century. This brings us full circle to another unifying idea that American society could get behind. This was the concept of English Liberty. This liberty was seen as the birthright of every descendant who came under the influence of Magna Charta. This document was the legal basis of another unifying slogan that is very well known; “no taxation without representation”.
Liberty as a Life or Death Proposition
Finally, we see some of the most effective motivational revolution-speak in three interrelated examples of the choice that gave life to the revolution. The Albany Congress in 1754, one of the earliest attempts at colonial unification was a response to the French and Indian threat just prior to the conflict with the same name. At this convention Benjamin Franklin crafted a political cartoon dividing a snake into separate colonial pieces with the injunction “Join or Die”. Then we have the impassioned southern response to the Intolerable Acts in 1775 when Patrick Henry challenged the Virginia House of Burgesses to unite with their brethren in Boston proclaiming, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death.” Finally, from New England, we hear the irascible voice of General John Stark, who dared his fellow Americans to “Live Free or Die!”
Source
Liberty and Freedom: A Visual History of America's Founding Ideasby David Hackett Fischer,2004, Oxford University Press
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