Stephen Hopkins
1707-1785
Representing Rhode Island at the Continental Congress
Born: March 7, 1707
Birthplace: Providence, R.I.
Education: (Lawyer, Educator)
Work: Speaker of the Rhode Island Assembly, (circa 1750-2); Delegate to the Albany Convention, 1754; Member of the Continental Congress, 1774-78; Member of Rhode Island Legislature.
Died: July 13, 1785
Stephen Hopkins was born in Scituate (then a part of Providence), Rhode Island, on the seventh of March, 1707. He was apparently self-educated. He was a member and speaker of the Rhode Island Assembly, and in 1754 was a delegate to the Albany convention in New York were he considered Franklin's early plan of Union. Hopkins spoke out against British tyranny long before the revolutionary period. He attended the first Continental Congress in 1774, and was a party to the Declaration of Independence in 1776. He left that congress in 1778 and returned to his native state to serve in its Legislature. He died on the nineteenth of July, 1785 at the age of seventy eight.
During the discussions leading up to the Declaration of Independence, Hopkins was asked if the topic of American independence should even be discussed. With consideration to the danger of the times, especially to those in Congress who favored Independency, placing their lives on the line for such a topic, his reply was simply, " I've never heard of a subject that is so dangerous that it can't be talked about, Hell yes".
Thank you Mr. Hopkins.
Hmmm...
