Thank you both for the well-written response. Your post made me reflect upon Jefferson having a personal seal with the motto "Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God." It is attributed to Benjamin Franklin but adopted by Jefferson. We can see that there was a strong sentiment against a tyrannical government among the Founding Fathers. Why do you think the feelings were so strong, favoring the Declaration of Independence written by Jefferson and the Committee of Five? I have included a link to a web source that will reveal more about the seal below: