Revolution Begins in Our Hearts and Minds by Mary Ruwart

“There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come." -- Victor Hugo
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On July 4, Americans celebrate their Declaration of Independence from Britain, the official start of the American Revolution. The real beginning of this momentous war, however, was not a declaration or a gunshot, but an idea whose time had come.

This idea was indeed a revolutionary one, for it rejected the status quo that had been accepted by just about everyone. People believed that a monarchy was necessary; without it, a nation would be plunged into anarchy and chaos. Any tyranny was preferable to life without a king!

The idea behind the Declaration of Independence challenged this premise. The People were sovereign, the Declaration asserted, and had the right, if not the duty, to disempower an exploitive monarchy.

With the success of the American Revolution and the prosperity that resulted from the liberty Americans enjoyed, the idea that the People were sovereign spread like wildfire. European nations discarded or marginalized their monarchies, usually with little or no bloodshed. Even the reigning monarchies could see that there was no stopping an idea whose time had come

i For details on Kelo v New London, see http://ij.org/private_property/connecticut/index.html.

ii For details on Abigail Alliance v Eschenbach, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abigail_Alliance_v._von_Eschenbach.