"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom." — Benjamin Franklin As Benjamin Franklin left Independence Hall after the Constitutional Convention in 1787, a woman reportedly asked him, "Well, Doctor, what have we got—a republic or a monarchy?" Franklin's reply has echoed through American history: "A republic, if you can keep it." As America celebrates its 250th birthday this year, I find myself thinking about that exchange. Franklin seemed to understand something that we o
