GIVE ME LIBERTY

Liberty. Now that is a word familiar to all Americans. Indeed the most quoted phrase in the Declaration of Independence is "Life, Liberty and pursuit of happiness". Most Americans have also heard the famous quote of Patrick Henry which said, "Give me liberty or give me death"!

But what were Henry and the signers of the Declaration of Independence referring to when they spoke of liberty? Ask anyone what they think liberty means and you'll probably get as many opinions as the number of people you talk to. Dictionaries and the legal community say that liberty means being free from restriction or control. A simpler way of defining liberty is "freedom of movement".

If you want to see that kind of liberty in action, you need to look no further than the millions (yes, millions!) of America's RV-ers. Judging by the number of motor homes, truck campers, teardrop trailers, popup trailers and private buses on our nation's highways, it's easy to think that RV-ers are a relatively recent phenomenon. While it is certainly true that there are more of these modern day gypsies than ever before, the phenomenon of hitting the road with a tiny little home on wheels has a long, rich history.

EXPLORATION

The exploration and development of American was driven by a people who were looking for a better way of life. In a land as large as this, that necessitated a lot of moving around. The biggest of these migrations took place when covered wagon trains made their way west at the end of the late 1800's. These wagons, drawn by oxen, mules, or even horses, became rolling homes during the log journey west. Even after the pioneers arrived in the promise land, their small mobile homes serve as a shelter until more permanent structures could be built on their homesteads.