In New York City on this day in 1776, Nathan Hale, a Connecticut schoolteacher and captain in the Continental Army, is executed by the British for spying.
If you can read this, thank a teacher.
Thank you, Captain Hale. Thanks to the sacrifices of courageous patriot martyrs like yourself, we are free to read dissenting sentiment without overt reprisals by government.
Not that we deserve it through our own efforts and willingness to risk all for liberty...