“From the bottom of my heart, I thank Mr. Wedderburn for everything he has said against me. My gratitude is sincere. You’ve answered a question which has troubled me since boyhood. But you have finally put my mind at ease. The question is fundamental and when my fellow colonists arrive at the same answer as I, a great empire may fall. Mr. Wedderburn says I’m a traitor, but this is not true. The question he has answered for me is thus: ‘Am I a British subject? Or am I the citizen of a new nation? A country distinct and different from England?’ And today I declare my answer: ‘I am not British. I am an American!’ And man can only betray his own country. My country is no longer England. My country is America.”