In a polarized America it may even bring together Republicans, Democrats and Independents like nothing else has done. In a torn-apart world it could even rally Canadians and Ukrainians, Koreans both South and North, Syrian refugees and Iranians in support of a single goal: to honor the world’s most powerful office, recognizing that whoever holds it wields power that shapes our lives wherever we are. Whatever our politics.

They were men - 36 in all. White men, not that far removed from their European immigrant heritage. Privileged and powerful men, accustomed to wielding political power. They also had a vision: that the North American British colonies that had stayed out of the American Revolution could come together in as a new entity.