Your voice matters. Maybe you’re not famous, but you are influential. Like Caesar Rodney. Fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence, many of them obscure by history book standards. You’ve likely never heard of Rodney, but his vote counted. Big time.
In the summer of 1776, the Continental Congress had taken an initial vote on a resolution for independence. Delaware’s vote was split because Rodney was home suffering from cancer and a high fever. Congressional delegates had determined the vote must be unanimous—Rodney’s vote was needed to break the tie. When he received this news, he managed to get out of bed, called for a horse, and set out on the grueling 80-mile journey to Philadelphia.
The next day he arrived just as the votes were being cast. He was too spent even to get off his horse and needed to be carried into Independence Hall on a stretcher. When George Washington put forth the critical question, Rodney replied, “I vote for independence.” The tie was broken. Independence was going to be declared.
Because of his courageous vote, Rodney sealed his death sentence. His only hope for treatment had been in England, where he could no longer go. He died eight years later, but his legacy lives on. His vote mattered. Your vote matters.
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