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Where liberty is, there is my country. Franklin, Benjamin

Source: Attributed to BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.H. L. Mencken, A New Dictionary of Quotations, p. 682 gives Where liberty dwells, there is my country, with a note that this was in a Franklin letter to Benjamin Vaughan, March 14, 1783, but the on-going project, Papers of Benjamin Franklin, has been unable to identify this letter.Alfred Owen Aldridge, Man of Reason, p. 169 says, According to a tradition repeated by many biographers of Paine, Franklin at one time remarked in his hearing: Where liberty is, there is my country. Aldridge adds, the story must be written off as apocryphal.Bartletts Familiar Quotations, 15th ed., p. 367 , attributes this to James Otis, as his motto , but this has not been verified in either his speeches or biographical sources. It has also been attributed to Algernon Sidney, but has not been verified in any source.See also No. 347. · Excerpt from The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government · This quote is about liberty · Search on Google Books to find all references and sources for this quotation.

A bit about Franklin, Benjamin ...

Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 April 17, 1790) was one of the most prominent of Founders and early political figures and statesmen of the United States. Considered the earliest of the Founders, Franklin was noted for his curiosity, ingenuity and diversity of interests. His wit and wisdom is proverbial to this day. More than anyone he shaped the American Revolution despite never holding national elective office. As a leader of the Enlightenment he had the attention of scientists and intellectuals all across Europe. As agent in London before the Revolution, and Minister to France during, he more than anyone defined the new nation in the minds of Europe. His success in securing French military and financial aid was decisive for American victory over Britain. He invented the lightning rod; he invented the notion of colonial unity; he invented the idea of America; historians hail him as the "First American". The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania will mark Franklin's 300th Birthday in January 2006, with a wide array of exhibitions, and events citing Franklin's extraordinary accomplishments throughout his illustrious career.