Aaron Gentzler: Now, Jim, as we were talking about in the open just a second ago, I know Philadelphia is your old stomping grounds. You were born right outside Philadelphia. You went to law school here in Philly. So my first question for you before we begin is, what do you remember, what’s most significant to you about your time here in Philadelphia? And then second, to kick us off, why exactly does this moment in American history feel so important to you?

Jim Rickards: Well, I’ll answer the last question first.

A Republic, If You Can Keep It

If you go back over history, and I’m talking about the Roman Republic, empires that have risen and fallen, Europe, monarchs, et cetera, 250 years is a long time. Most forms of government, whether republics or not, don’t last that long.

Most people remember the Roman Empire. But the Roman Republic lasted from 509 BC to the late first century BC, when Julius Caesar became a dictator and was assassinated.

But that republic was thriving as a republic, not as an empire, for about 250 years. One of the famous quotes from the Constitutional Convention came shortly after the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin was a participant in both, and he was coming out of Independence Hall, just a couple of blocks away, and they just finished writing the Constitution.

A lady on the street who knew him has said, “Dr. Franklin, what do we have? A monarchy, or a republic?” And Franklin’s answer was, “A republic, if you can keep it.” They knew history, and they knew it was hard to do. So getting to 250 is a very big deal. Hopefully, we’ll have another 250, but that by itself is an accomplishment.

The Philadelphia Kid

My connection to Philadelphia, I mean, I could go on for the whole two hours we’ve scheduled. We’re not going to do that, but just a couple of quick footnotes that make it personal.

One of my ancestors is a signer of the Declaration of Independence. His name was Matthew Thornton. My father’s side was the Rickards, but my mother was Sally Thornton. So that was the Thornton branch of the family.

The Thorntons came from County Clare, Ireland, in the early 18th century, around 1716. Matthew Thornton was a child at the time. He grew up and became a lawyer. He was New Hampshire’s delegate to the Congress that created and signed the Declaration of Independence. Ironically, I live in New Hampshire today, but I had again lived a long time around the Philadelphia area. But you can go to New Hampshire’s Thornton Crossing, Thornton Elementary School, and so forth.

Other than John Hancock, who sort of put on a show, the signers of the Declaration of Independence organized in rows or columns, and they’re very tidy. But in the far-right column, at the bottom row, is Matthew Thornton, my ancestor. So that’s part of the family folklore. We always felt a strong connection to the Declaration of Independence.

I was almost born in Philadelphia. It was September 1951. My father took my mother to a Phillies game at the old Connie Mack Stadium. They were in the bleacher section. Those were real bleachers. They were benches. They weren’t even like Jeep seats. They were benches with numbers painted on them. I don’t know what my father was thinking, but my mother was nine months pregnant, and he took her to the game.

My mother went into labor with me at the game. I guess I was trying to fight my way out so I could watch the Whiz Kids. So they left early and drove to West Chester Hospital, where I was born at 6 am the next morning. So I was a Phillies fan in utero. I go back that far.

I lived around Philadelphia for about half of my childhood, growing up there through college age. I moved to Cape May when I was about 12. I went to high school there, which is not far. But I lived on Spring Garden Street briefly, which is the main street in Philadelphia, and then in Pennsauken, which is right across the river. But Philadelphia was always the big city for us. Concerts, movies, whatever was going on. It wasn’t New York. It was Philadelphia.

I went to law school there at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. And I’m involved with alumni affairs and all that. So, yeah, lots and lots of roots. My family’s still in the area. I live in New England, but I feel like, at heart, I’m a mid-Atlantic kid and have very close connections to Philadelphia.

And the great thing about [being here] is that we had some time. I managed to get a cheesesteak at Jim’s down at South Street and 2nd Street. It’s been there since 1939.

Have a wonderful July 4th!