In the United States, Independence Day, also called the Fourth of July, is a holiday celebrating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.
The American Dream was born on 4th of July. Democracy was born.
Throughout the 1750s and 1760s, relations between Great Britain and thirteen of her North American colonies became increasingly strained. Fighting broke out in 1775 at Lexington and Concord, marking the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. Although there was little initial sentiment for outright independence, the view of the British as oppressors widened after the passage of the Intolerable Acts, which struck strongly against colonial self-rule.
On June 11, 1776, a committee consisting of John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, Robert R. Livingston of New York, and Roger Sherman of Connecticut (the “Committee of Five”), was formed to draft a suitable declaration to frame this resolution. The committee decided that Jefferson would write the draft, which he showed to Franklin and Adams, who made several minor corrections. Jefferson then produced another copy incorporating these changes, and the committee presented this copy to the Continental Congress on June 28, 1776.
The Declaration ofindependence was much more than just a formal document – it was a symbol of America’s independence and commitment to certain ideas – the foremost of them being the right to live free. But most were aware that they were signing what would be their death warrant in case the Revolution failed.
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, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Let’s make this really simple, easy enough for even those educated in government schools to understand:
- All people are created equal
- God has given all people certain rights
- Included among these rights are life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness
John Adams, credited by Thomas Jefferson as the unofficial, tireless whip of the independence-minded, wrote his wife Abigail on July 3:
The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.
Adams was off by two days, however. Certainly, the vote on July 2 was the decisive act. But July 4 is the date on the Declaration itself. Jefferson’s stirring prose, as edited by the Congress, was first adopted by the vote of the 4th. It was also the first day Philadelphians heard the official news of independence from the Continental Congress.
The “Pennsylvania Evening Post” was the first newspaper to print the Declaration of Independence, on 6 July 1776. The “Pennsylvania Gazette” published the Declaration on 10 July and the “Maryland Gazette” published the Declaration on 11 July. The first two public readings of this historic document included one given by John Nixon on 8 July at Independence Square, Philadelphia, and another on the same day in Trenton. The first public reading in New York was given on 10 July. The first public readings in Boston and Portsmouth, N.H., took place on 18 July. Three public readings took place on the same day (25 July) in Williamsburg. A public reading in Baltimore took place on 29 July. In Annapolis on 17 August at a convening of the convention, “unanimous” support of the tenets of the Declaration were expressed.
The United States Declaration of Independence is thought to be influenced by the 1581 Dutch Republic declaration of independence, called the Oath of Abjuration, and The Kingdom of Scotland’s 1320 Declaration of Arbroath.
With all the promise and hope contained in the Declaration of Independence, it must be noted here that Jefferson’s original draft included a denunciation of the slave trade: “He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life & liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither.” This passage was, unfortunately, edited out by Congress. This was a grave mistake by an otherwise strong and wise Congress, and it would take many years to reintroduce such wording into US law.
Despite the genesis of Independence Day, it is largely uncommon for Americans to express anti-British sentiment on the day or to view it as a celebration of anti-colonialism. Indeed, most Americans today consider the United Kingdom their greatest ally. Rather, contemporary Americans generally perceive the holiday as a celebration of the U.S.A. itself, rather than specifically as an opportunity to commemorate the end of British rule in the 18th century, something unique among countries celebrating freedom from another government. Now if only the United Kingdom would grant Scotland her freedom as well …
Patriotism denotes positive attitudes by individuals to their own perceived civic or political community, to its culture, its members, and to its interests. Yet there are many today in the US that have no patriotism towards their country; they have no positive attitudes to their political community, to its culture, its members, and to its interests. Yet the US, again unique among many other nations, allows even these to wallow in their negative attitudes freely. It is ironic that these people, so much against “everything’ their country stands for, depend so deeply in the freedom granted to them by that very country. I wonder if they realize that in so many other nations these same attitudes would have them imprisoned or put to death?
Patriotism includes of self-sacrifice. My son did this freely when he recently served with the US Marines in Afghanistan. Patriotism also includes the common good which, like self-sacrifice, implies a willingness to put the needs of others of your community above that of yourself. It does not include putting the needs of a citizen of other country above the needs of someone in this country. A patriot respects our flag. A patriot respects our national monuments. A patriot respects our veterans.
Said Thomas Jefferson: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” I am proud of those before me that laid down their lives so that I could live free today. Long live the Republic of the United States!
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I would also like to publically thank Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and George Walton – representing the State of Georgia, the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be established as a colony and the fourth state ratifying the United States Constitution – in the signing of the Declaration of Independence. |
Independence Day, Fourth of July, Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, Revolutionary War, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Continental Congress, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
