..."With a Firm Reliance..." | Liberty 250 davedoeshistory.org/2026/06/… Most Americans have never heard of Francis Hopkinson. They should have. He signed the Declaration of Independence, wrote some of the Revolution's most influential political satire, composed America's first known secular song, helped design the Great Seal, and may have designed the first American flag. On July 4, 1776, he stood inside Independence Hall and helped launch a nation whose future was anything but certain. This week on Liberty 250, we explore the life, sacrifices, and extraordinary imagination of one of the most overlooked Founding Fathers. Listen now at DaveDoesHistory.org #FrancisHopkinson #Liberty250 #DeclarationOfIndependence #AmericanRevolution #FoundingFathers #AmericanHistory #July41776 #IndependenceHall #ContinentalCongress #RevolutionaryWar #USHistory #HistoryPodcast #DaveDoesHistory #AmericanFounding #Declaration250

America 250 Collection Experience the Revolution through story. 📚 Available through GoodRiches Books, starting July 1st. What is your favorite Revolutionary-era novel? #GoodRichesBooks #America250 #Declaration250

On this day in our Road to 1776 series: 1772–1774. Samuel Adams and other Patriots established Committees of Correspondence — a network of communication linking towns and colonies. These committees shared news of British actions, coordinated resistance, and built unity across great distances. By 1774, every colony had one. They functioned like an underground “continental congress” before the official one existed — spreading ideas of liberty, organizing boycotts, and preparing for collective action. This infrastructure proved vital as tensions escalated toward war.Tomorrow (June 15): Quartering Act tensions and British troops in Boston. #RoadTo1776 #Declaration250 #AmericanRevolution

On this day in our Road to 1776 series: Spring–Summer 1774. In retaliation for the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed a series of punitive laws known as the Coercive Acts (called the Intolerable Acts by the colonists). Key measures included closing Boston Harbor until the tea was paid for, altering Massachusetts’ charter to reduce self-government, allowing British officials to be tried in England, and reviving the Quartering Act to house troops in private homes. Instead of isolating Massachusetts, the Acts unified the colonies in outrage. They galvanized support for Boston and led directly to the convening of the First Continental Congress. What Britain intended as punishment became a catalyst for colonial solidarity. Tomorrow (June 14): Committees of Correspondence — the communication network of the Revolution.#RoadTo1776 #Declaration250 #AmericanRevolution

On this day in our Road to 1776 series: September 5, 1774. Delegates from twelve colonies gathered in Philadelphia for the First Continental Congress. They met in response to the Intolerable Acts punishing Boston. The Congress adopted the Continental Association (a boycott of British goods), sent a petition to King George III, and prepared for possible war. They also agreed to meet again the following year. This was a major step toward colonial unity. Figures like George Washington, Patrick Henry, John Adams, and Samuel Adams began working together across colony lines. While still hoping for reconciliation, they laid the groundwork for coordinated resistance. The momentum toward independence was accelerating. Tomorrow: Escalation toward open conflict.#RoadTo1776 #Declaration250 #AmericanRevolution #ContinentalCongress

On this day in our Road to 1776 series: December 16, 1773.In one of the most famous acts of defiance, the Boston Tea Party took place. Disguised as Mohawk Indians, dozens of Patriots boarded three British ships in Boston Harbor and dumped 342 chests of tea (worth nearly $1 million today) into the water. They protested the Tea Act, which gave the British East India Company a monopoly and reinforced the tax on tea. This bold action was organized by the Sons of Liberty in response to Britain’s continued insistence on taxing the colonies. No one was injured, and the tea was the only target destroyed. Britain responded harshly with the Coercive (Intolerable) Acts — closing Boston Harbor, altering Massachusetts government, and more. Instead of cowing the colonists, it united them further. Tomorrow (June 12): The First Continental Congress.#RoadTo1776 #Declaration250 #AmericanRevolution #BostonTeaParty

On this day in our Road to 1776 series: June 29, 1767 Parliament passed the Townshend Acts — a new set of taxes on glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea imported into the colonies. Named after Chancellor Charles Townshend, these laws also created a Board of Customs Commissioners in Boston and strengthened enforcement. Unlike internal taxes, these were external duties, but colonists saw them as the same dangerous principle: taxation without representation. The revenue was even earmarked to pay British officials’ salaries in the colonies — making governors and judges less dependent on colonial assemblies. Resistance reignited. John Dickinson’s “Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania” argued the taxes were unconstitutional. Boycotts resumed, and tensions in Boston grew as more British troops arrived.The Townshend Acts kept the fire of liberty burning. Tomorrow (June 10): The Boston Massacre — when protest turned deadly.#RoadTo1776 #Declaration250 #AmericanRevolution

On this day in our Road to 1776 series: October 7, 1763. Just months after the Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War, King George III issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763. This decree drew a line along the crest of the Appalachian Mountains — the Proclamation Line. It forbade British colonists from settling or purchasing land west of that line in the newly acquired territories. The British government’s stated goal: to prevent further costly conflicts with Native American tribes after Pontiac’s Rebellion and to stabilize the frontier while Britain managed its massive war debt. For many colonists, however, this was a bitter betrayal. Speculators, veterans (including George Washington), and land-hungry families had dreamed of expanding westward into the rich Ohio Valley and beyond. The Proclamation seemed to lock them out of the very lands they had helped win from France. It reinforced the growing feeling that Britain viewed the colonies as a source of revenue and control — not as equal partners with rights to growth and self-determination. What Britain intended as temporary administration became yet another grievance that fueled colonial resentment. The seeds of independence were being planted deeper. Next Post: The Sugar Act of 1764 — the first direct tax aimed at the colonies. #RoadTo1776 #Declaration250 #AmericanRevolution”

Clarence Thomas just dropped a warning America needs to hear: “If we don’t stand up and take ownership of our country, and take responsibility for it, we are slowly letting others control how we think…” No more sitting back. No more letting radicals rewrite our founding principles. Time to TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK. Who’s with Justice Thomas? Drop 🔥 below! #ClarenceThomas #AmericaFirst #SCOTUS #Declaration250

Clarence Thomas isn’t just a Supreme Court Justice he’s the UNBREAKABLE defender of the Constitution. While others bend, he stands firm: Progressivism is trying to erase God-given rights and replace them with government-given rights. Unbought. Unapologetic. Unapologetically American. Thank God for Clarence Thomas 🙏🇺🇸 Tag a friend who needs to see this! #ClarenceThomas #SCOTUS #Declaration250

🚨 Justice Clarence Thomas drops a bombshell on progressivism: In a powerful speech at UT Austin today (broadcast live on C-SPAN), Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas declared: “Progressivism seeks to replace the basic premises of the Declaration of Independence and hence our form of government.” He warned of a growing “spirit of cynicism, rejection, hostility and animus” toward America — from Americans themselves. Thomas said the founding values in the 1776 Declaration have “fallen out of favor,” driven by intellectuals and universities. He argued progressivism teaches that rights come from government, not God — demanding “subservience and weakness” incompatible with our Constitution. As we approach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration, one of the Court’s strongest originalists is sounding the alarm: This isn’t progress. It’s a direct threat to America’s founding principles. #ClarenceThomas #Declaration250 #AmericaFirst

Excited to be traveling to Orange County, California this week to present on the framing effects of “The Bill of Rights” label at ⁦@Chapman_Law⁩ and on the Declaration250 & Originalism at ⁦@WesternStateLaw⁩. // ⁦@MasonLEC⁩ ⁦@FedSoc⁩ @georgemasonlaw //

DEADLINE APPROACHING! Student Art Contest: Celebrate #Declaration250 The JLC invites students from Eastern MO to create art on the right to trial by jury and win cash prizes. See website for NEW teaching guide, rules & entry form. Deadline 3/30. See judiciallearningcenter.org/s… #art

You can see "Mobilizing for a Revolutionary War," including a map created by American artist John Trumbull showing the British occupation of Bunker Hill after the battle in 1775, now through June 18. Learn more at visit.archives.gov/whats-on/…. #Declaration250 @archivesfdn @America250

📜: Address from Joseph Warren to the Inhabitants of Great Britain, April 26, 1775. Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention. catalog.archives.gov/id/6882… #ArchivesRoadtoRevolution #Declaration250 @America250

Revolutionary leaders knew the importance of setting the narrative. Today, we're highlighting Joseph Warren's address, which he delivered to Great Britain before the British report about the Battles of Lexington and Concord could arrive. #ArchivesRoadToRevolution #Declaration250

On April 19, 1775, the "shot heard around the world" ignited the American Revolutionary War. In 2025, 250 years later, we reflect on the battles of Lexington and Concord, where colonial resistance first erupted into open conflict. #Declaration250 @America250

💜💔 @America250 #Declaration250

"Listen, my children, and you shall hear..." On the night of April 18, 1775, 250 years ago today, Paul Revere rode through the Massachusetts countryside to warn patriots of the approaching British forces. His ride helped ignite the Revolutionary War. @America250 #Declaration250