James De Lancey

<p>The law was against the poor printer. The governor wanted his scalp. His attorneys were disbarred. Could anything save him—and free speech?</p>

<p><span class="deck">More than two decades before the Revolution broke out, a group of Americans voted on a scheme to unite the colonies. For the rest of his life, Benjamin Franklin thought it could have prevented the war. It didn’t, but it did give us our Constitution.</span></p>