The American Revolution was carried out in the name of the people, and it was supposedly 'We, the people,' who created the government that Americans still live under. Edmund Morgan More Quotes by Edmund Morgan More Quotes From Edmund Morgan The musket, always a muzzleloader, took minutes to reload; an archer could aim and fire up to a dozen arrows in a minute. Muskets required continual cleaning and repair; bows were quickly made and easily maintained. Edmund Morgan always cleaning aim fire In 1595, by order of the Privy Council, the English armed services abandoned the longbow and fought with muskets for the next two centuries and more. Nobody is sure why. Edmund Morgan english nobody more next Liberty had many friends in the eighteenth century. Edmund Morgan many friends century liberty Americans, perhaps more than most people, have pondered the question of who they are and what their country is. Edmund Morgan question more country people The American world had - seemingly, at least - become a Jeffersonian world by the election of 1800, which placed Thomas Jefferson in the presidency. Jefferson had been Hamilton's rival in the new government's early years, and Hamilton has figured in the public memory almost as much for that rivalry as for his positive achievements. Edmund Morgan memory election government positive Few words in any language carry such a load of meaning as 'honor.' It is an old word, unchanged even in its spelling from classical Latin to modern English. Spoken or written, it does not seem to require much explanation; most people think they know what it means. Edmund Morgan words language honor people No one escapes from the past without bearing some of its burdens. Edmund Morgan bearing without some past Some men look at constitutions with sanctimonious reverence and deem them like the Ark of the Covenant, too sacred to be touched. They ascribe to men of the preceding age a wisdom more than human and suppose what they did to be beyond amendment. Edmund Morgan look wisdom age men Between 1776 and 1789, Americans replaced a government over them with a government under them. They have worried ever since about keeping it under. Distrust of its powers has been more common and more visible than distrust of the imperial authority of England ever was before the Revolution. Edmund Morgan more revolution government authority In America, we may acknowledge Washington and Lincoln as great men, and probably Franklin and Jefferson and maybe Franklin Delano Roosevelt and possibly even several more, but we would probably disagree about precisely what it was that made them great, what it was that enabled them to give a lasting direction to the course of events. Edmund Morgan direction great men america
