On August 23rd, 1305, in London, William Wallace (pictured) was executed for treason, condemned for leading Scottish resistance forces during the first years of the long and ultimately successful struggle to free Scotland from English rule.
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August 23rd is the anniversary of the declaration of the independent state of “Franklin” in Eastern Tennessee by the settlers there in 1784. Unfortunately, the Continental Congress rejected it, so the state of Franklin never became a reality.
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On this day in 1833, Britain abolished slavery in its colonies and 700,000 slaves were freed.
