"December 1776 was one of the darkest times for America: hyperinflation gripped the economy, Washington’s army lost one battle after another, the mood of the country changed from optimism to defeat. But on Christmas Day, Americans amid a raging Nor’easter crossed an impassable ice-filled river, surprised and killed an expertly trained enemy, and changed the course of history.
Thomas Paine epically captured the days leading up to Christmas 1776 in “The American Crisis.”
“These are the times that try men’s souls,” Paine wrote. “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
"December 1776 was one of the darkest times for America: hyperinflation gripped the economy, Washington’s army lost one battle after another, the mood of the country changed from optimism to defeat. But on Christmas Day, Americans amid a raging Nor’easter crossed an impassable ice-filled river, surprised and killed an expertly trained enemy, and changed the course of history.
Thomas Paine epically captured the days leading up to Christmas 1776 in “The American Crisis.”
“These are the times that try men’s souls,” Paine wrote. “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
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