Which famous American of the Revolutionary War said: "We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately."?

In the Continental Congress in 1776 just before signing the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin made this now famous statement. The meaning in this quote to the signers of the Declaration, as well as the American colonists in general, was that they all had a choice to make.

Each signer of the Declaration of Independence was clearly confronting the choice to either forge a new nation – or allow the 13 independent minded colonies go their separate ways. Accordingly, facing a highly uncertain future and with a great deal of apprehension, all the men present took action by signing the declaration.

Now, in retrospect, today it seems that getting together to form the United States of America was the only logical course of action. But, back in 1776, it was far from obvious. If the American Revolution had failed, the British Empire would have almost certainly have hung America’s founding fathers for high treason.

Also, at that time, all 13 colonies were British; they were extremely different in their history, social order and ethnic composition. Still, in the end, they chose to bury their differences for the sake of a greater good. They banded together (hung together) and went on to become arguably the most powerful and influential nation in the world.