Michelle Wu: “to those who say freedom automatically follows trade, I offer the historic example of a century ago. In 1900, more of…”

“to those who say freedom automatically follows trade, I offer the historic example of a century ago. In 1900, more of international GDP was international trade than today. More of international GDP was invested in foreign countries than today. And there were writers in 1890 and 1900 who said, war is impossible, because nations and business people surely will not bombard their own investments. They were wrong. They were wrong. Freedom does not automatically follow trade and business. Freedom is an act of human will. And to those who say that this is a futile debate, I say: tough, yes; futile, no. No more tougher than what our predecessors faced. I got across the street to the library of Congress the other day. I got in before it opened. Apparently, their security guards are a little bit more lax than those at the Department of Energy. And I found a letter from Mr. Jefferson written in 1826, 10 days before he died. He was invited to this city to celebrate the 4th of July, and this was his response: "I should indeed, with peculiar delight, have met and exchanged there, congratulations personally, with a small band, the remnant of that host of worthies, who joined with us on that day in the bold and doubtful election we were to make for our country, between submission or the sword, and to have enjoyed with them the consolatory fact that our fellow citizens, after half a century of experience and prosperity, continue to approve the choice that we made."”