We declared our independence from Great Britain 236 years ago next week. It was a declaration long in coming, brought about by the overreaching rule of King George III and Britain’s insistence on taxation without representation.

The taxation began in the 1760s, the Boston Massacre occurred in 1770, the Boston Tea Party in 1773, and the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April of 1775.

Patrick Henry’s call to action, “Give me liberty, or give me death,” was the first strong public statement that, if we were to be free, if we were to have liberty, then we would have to fight Britain. Prior to Henry’s speech to the gathering of Virginia delegates in Richmond, the prevailing belief was that we could negotiate with Britain.