‘Live Free or Die,’ 18x24 oil on linen...John Stark famously said these words in a letter for a toast in 1809  in commemoration of the Battle of Bennington.( Because of health reasons he could not attend...)He was also New Hampshires most famous soldier. (I’d look him up if I were you...) Today we still honor the memory of General John Stark. Why? Because, through rituals of remembrance, we define ourselves as a nation. For the United States is unique among the nations of the world. As historian Gordon Wood has stated, unlike other nations we are not defined by ethnicity, not defined by a single religion, not defined as a tribe and tribal territory. John Stark’s life and times should remind us that we are nation defined by a few simple yet profound ideas – natural rights, equality, individual liberty, self-governance, rule of law, and as Lincoln put it, government of the people, by the people and for the people. In this modern day and age there are all kinds of ideas out there, but this sentiment remains and is what I think is what America is all about. #nicholascolemanart #america#america2020 #livefreeordie#johnstark #1776