Do you know why we celebrate the 4th of July?
By: Renee aka Momma Thunder - Some content courtesy of the Library of Congress and the American Experience
We all know what independence means- It can
be independence from work, family, or simply the
independence and the freedom of riding the open
road. But at the risk of snarls, and cheesy comments,
I want to share with all of you as a reminder of
what freedom is about despite the fireworks, BBQ’s
and other get togethers on the 4th. I just want to
remind you WHY we are able to do these things…
Being a history buff myself, I have sought out on
many occasions, several movies, books, and other
forms of media to indulge in reading or watching
historical AMERICAN events and dates. One of my
favorite research past times is studying how and
why we are free…
The world we live in now consists of so many off
the chain and insane acts and activities. So please
bear with me here for a couple of minutes to bring
you down a little history lesson lane, just in case
you forgot WHY we are able to have those amazing
fireworks and BBQ’s.
So to just refresh your memory as to why you
are a FREE AMERICAN—here it is—and yes I am
proud to be an American and YES my grandfather
came here legally from Sweden, and my
Grandmother ( his Indian princess) was a true and
real American—she was a very proud and loving
Chickasaw Indian..
On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress
voted unanimously to declare independence from
Great Britain. Approximately 20 percent of the
members of Congress were opposed to separation,
but some did not vote, so that Congress might
“speak with one voice.” The Declaration was
necessary for concrete as well as symbolic reasons:
the colonies needed foreign aid to keep fighting,
but to obtain foreign aid it had to seek more than
reconciliation with Britain, it had to proclaim itself
a nation. The Declaration’s second paragraph,
however, crystallized perfectly not only what had
been accomplished over months of indecision and
war, but what yet remained to be done:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that
among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness. That to secure these rights, governments
are instituted among men, deriving their just powers
from the consent of the governed.
Jefferson did harness the revolutionary spirit on
paper, but also included statements with which
Congress was uncomfortable. Nearly a quarter of
the document was cut during editing. Although
the paragraphs that remain espouse the ideals
that spawned the Revolutionary War, much of
the document comprised a litany of grievances
against King George III. Among George’s crimes:
the “horrors of the human slave trade.” The irony
wasn’t lost on Adams that the Declaration of
Independence, which trumpeted freedom for all
men, was written by a slave owner. (Jefferson was
far from the only slave owner in the Continental
Congress; a full third of the delegates, from both
North and South, either currently or had owned
slaves, while Washington, who commanded
America’s army, owned over 100.) Nor did the
British let this contradiction go unnoticed.
Queried Samuel Johnson: “How is it that we hear
the loudest yelps for liberty from the drivers of
Negroes?”
20 Thunder Roads® Magazine LA/MS Gulf Coast | July 2019 | www.thunderroadslams.com
Date Discrepancy
On July 4, only John Hancock, the president of
the Continental Congress, and Charles Thomson,
the secretary, signed the Declaration. Then it went
to the printer. The other delegates would sign on
August 2, a date that faded not only from public
memory, but from that of Adams and Jefferson
also. As old men, they both insisted the signing
— an act of treason against Great Britain — had
occurred on the fourth of July.
Independence Declared
Following the Declaration’s publication in the
Pennsylvania Evening Post, celebrations swept
the nation. In New York, writes historian Benson
Bobrick: “... Washington had the army brigades
drawn up at six p.m. to hear ‘the United Colonies
of America’ declared Free and Independent
States.” Later that day, a jubilant crowd toppled
the gargantuan statue of King George III that
towered over Broadway. It would eventually be
melted down for its metal and turned into 42,000
cartridges fired by the American army. Congress
refrained from publishing the Declaration of
Independence with a list of the signers until six
months later when America won its first great
victory in the war.
History Made
Wrote New Jersey delegate Richard Stockton,
“The man to whom the country is most indebted
for the great measure of independency is Mr.
John Adams of Boston,” whom he called the
“Atlas of Independence.” But Jefferson would be
history’s hero. Adams’ prediction to Abigail of the
importance of the Declaration would prove true, if two days off. “The
second day of July 1776 will be the most memorable epoch in the
history of America. ...” The echoes of independence would continue to
be heard throughout the lives of both Adams and Jefferson, until their
deaths on the same day, July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the
Declaration.
So please take a moment during all of your celebrations of the 4th
of July to reflect its true meaning of “independence “and freedom. And
please take a minute to remember those that have fought and died
before, since, and currently to ensure we keep those valued freedoms.
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