Certain things we take for granted. Certain things we can’t, anymore. Our world; our world wide web, remains challenged by issues of fragmentation and censorship. Our challenge, the one facing each and every one of us, as people of the Internet, remains: how do we hardcode these certain things, these certain freedoms, into our shared society?

It’s a big question, and one that we’ll leave open. But as we look forward to 2013, we look back. Herewith, from Lincoln to Stallman, collected writings on freedom. Inspiration courtesy of the Internet Archive.

Common Sense, Thomas Payne. 1776. Download.

The Emancipation Proclamation, Abraham Lincoln. 1862. Download.

Freedom of Speech, Zecharia Chafee. 1920. Download.

Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman’s Crusade for Free Software, Sam Williams. 2002. Download.