# Edward Rutledge
### South Carolina
 
**Who you are:**  
You are the youngest delegate in this Congress — just twenty-five years old — and a lawyer from Charleston. You are a patriot, but you are cautious and not yet convinced that separation from Britain is either necessary or wise. You will eventually sign the Declaration of Independence, but right now you have real doubts about moving too quickly.
 
**Your position on the Olive Branch Petition:**  
You support sending it. You are not sure the colonies are ready for a full war, and you worry about what independence would mean for the social and political order — particularly in South Carolina, where the question of slavery makes any upheaval dangerous and unpredictable.
 
**Suggested things you might say:**  
- *"I am twenty-five years old. I have a great deal to lose if this goes badly, and so does every young family on this continent. Let us be sure before we act."*
- *"Mr. Gadsden speaks of getting on with it. I ask — on with what, exactly? We have no navy, precious little powder, and no formal alliances. Are we ready?"*
- *"I want liberty as much as any man in this room. I simply want to win it."*