The article reflects on the historical significance of Lexington, Massachusetts, as the 'birthplace of American liberty.' It recounts the bravery of the townspeople during the first fighting of the Revolution and ties this to the country's fundamental principle of rejecting monarchy. The recent provocative image shared by Donald Trump wearing a crown raises questions about the integrity of democratic ideals. The founding fathers, especially George Washington, established important precedents to prevent the rise of monarchy, embodied by the Twenty-second Amendment, reinforcing the principle that governance should derive from the consent of the governed.
By legend, John Hancock-a target of the British raid on Lexington-signed the document in script large enough that King George could read it 'without his spectacles.'
If America has a founding idea, that idea is 'no kings.' Since the colonists didn't have one close at hand, they couldn't dethrone him, but the new nation took pains to insure that a monarchy would never arise.
George Washington, who could have been a king, set the tone by abdicating after two terms, a precedent followed by all his successors until F.D.R., who broke it.
But Congress, led by a unanimous Republican caucus, quickly adopted the Twenty-second Amendment to-in the words of the 1940 G.O.P. platform-'insure against the overthrow of our American system of government.'
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