Fiery "lover of country": a man of explosive temperament, South Carolina's Christopher Gadsden willingly endured solitary confinement rather than forsake the cause of American independence.(HISTORY--GREATNESS OF THE FOUNDERS)(Biography)

The South Carolina legislature elected 58-year-old Christopher Gadsden governor on January 18, 1782, but South Carolina's leading patriot rose to the podium to decline the honor:

 
   My sentiments of the American 
   cause, from the Stamp 
   Act downwards, have never 
   changed. I am still of the 
   opinion that it is the cause of 
   liberty and human nature.... 
   The present times require the 
   vigor and activity of the prime 
   of life; but I feel the increasing 
   infirmities of old age to such 
   a degree, that I am conscious 
   I cannot serve you to advantage. 
   I therefore beg, for your 
   sakes, and for the sake of the 
   public, that you would ...