James Hiller

Personality
A young boy orphaned in childhood because of a lightning storm that burned his childhood home down with his parents inside. At age fourteen, James greatly admires Benjamin Franklin, whose invention of the lightning rod saved many from the same tragedy. Jealous, street-smart and impulsive, James pursues the revolution from a slightly one-sided perspective - something that prompts Sarah to counter his views. An apprentice in Franklin's Print Shop, James believes firmly in the American cause and will do almost anything to ensure that the people receive an honest view of what is happening. In the process, he also faces the less positive aspects of the political conflict that eventually forces his patriotic fervor into a new maturity. He highly values his friends, Sarah and Henri. He can be a little protective of Sarah while he attempts to keep Henri out of trouble, acting somewhat like an older brother figure to Henri. He is very laid back and is constantly reminded of his bad etiquette and poor table manners by Sarah, toward whom he shows feelings of what might be "more than friendship". At the end of the series, James intends to start his own newspaper, following in the steps of his mentor.