“Then, sir, you deserve to be hanged, for not having done your duty.”
William Williams
Connecticut delegate William Williams is famously known for his unwavering commitment to the American cause. One of his most well-known quotes was a fiery retort regarding the consequences of failing to support the revolution. When another man nervously noted that he would be exempt from the gallows because he had not signed the Declaration of Independence or written anything against the British, Williams replied: “Then, sir, you deserve to be hanged, for not having done your duty.”
He was an early member of the Sons of Liberty and was an early advocate for independence. The son of a minister he attended Harvard to become a minister and after the revolution he became one. He is buried in Trumbull Connecticut in 1811 he was 80 years old.
He signed the Declaration of Independence late as a representative of Connecticut. Even though he had not been at the Continental Congress when it was debated and voted on. It seems he had a feeling that this was the right side of history and he wanted to be on it.
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