1776 Pledge

When President Cleveland spoke at the 1926 celebration of Independence Day, he said "Our forefathers came to certain conclusions and decided upon certain courses of action which have been a great blessing to the world."

Those forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence and said that "government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed." They bet all they had on the rectitude [definition link] of their cause.

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

The American founders found the courage to defy the tyranny of the ruling elite . .  and the world turned a corner.