Is America an "assignment of destiny?" What is the symbolism of the Great Seal of the U.S.? Who was the mysterious stranger who swayed the signers of the Declaration of Independence? According to Lord Bacon, "The New Atlantis" seems to have been set apart for the great experiment of enlightened self-government long before the founding fathers envisioned the rise of the American Republic. Investigating the often neglected fragments of history, evidence is presented indicating that the seeds of democracy were planted one thousand years before the beginning of the Christian Era.