In this episode of Dave Does History, we turn to the third grievance of the Declaration of Independence, a charge that strikes at the very heart of liberty. Representation was not an abstract principle for the colonists. It was the difference between living as free men or being reduced to subjects of arbitrary power. From the seeds planted at Runnymede with Magna Carta to William Molyneux’s warning from Ireland, from Patrick Henry’s fiery Virginia Resolves to John Dickinson’s steady arguments in his Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, the theme is constant. Laws without consent are tyranny. Taxation without representation is slavery. Jefferson gave these ideas voice in the Declaration, reminding us that government must rest on the consent of the governed. This episode explores why the grievance mattered, how it united the colonies, and why representation still defines freedom today

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