Philip Livingston

I am Philip Livingston of New York, the delegate who helped found what would become Columbia University. My family stood amongst most prominent in the colonies. I studied at Yale and walked the halls of power in New York long before rebellion stirred in the streets. And yet, I stood for revolution, not without hesitation. I feared it might unleash disorder on a scale we had never known. In the end, the greater danger was submission without justice. Because privilege, unmoored from principle, is cowardice. And I was no coward. Some say we, the well born, had the most to lose. I say we had the most to prove that liberty is not reserved for the fortunate. It belongs to the entire nation. I continued to serve until my final breath. I died in 1778 in York, Pennsylvania State, still in Congress, my work unfinished, but my duty fulfilled. So let history record, I did not hide behind my title. I did not protect my comforts. I gave them up for a republic greater than my own inheritance. Let others chase legacy. I choose sacrifice, and I would choose it again. Even the finest homes can be given up by freedom. Never.