- Haym Salomon: I know that you've given, even beyond your means, but know we must give again. It isn't charity I ask, it's an offering to the cause of liberty, a cause sacred to us above all others, because centuries of bitter persecution have taught us the value of liberty. If we want to continue living as free men in a free land, if we want to bequeath this priceless treasure to our children, then we must give. It is not our duty to leave wealth to our children, but it is our duty to leave freedom.
- [first lines]
- Narrator: The first Americans were Europeans who came to the new world in search of liberty. In the dangerous days of the Revolution, these people of many races and many creeds long oppressed in their own native lands dedicated their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to the creation of a free America. In September 1776, in an abandoned loft on the New York waterfront, the Sons of Liberty met in secret council. Alexander McDougall, a patriot with a price on his head proposed a candidate for membership.