Celebrating the Fourth of July
The Fourth of July is a time for fireworks, picnics, and parades. Millions of Americans celebrate every year with family and friends. Yet few of us appreciate the historical significance of the day, or why July 4, 1776 altered the course of the history of the world.
Independence Day commemorates the formal adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. The Declaration was drafted primarily by Thomas Jefferson, because in addition to being a gifted writer and thinker, he was from Virginia, which was critical in garnering support. Along with fellow founders John Adams and Ben Franklin, Jefferson composed the words that have come to define freedom and independence for millions across the globe.
For the signatories, signing the Declaration was surely a thrill, but it was also a great risk. Five of the signers were captured by the British and considered traitors. They suffered torture before they died. Of the 56 men who signed the document, nine fought and died in the Revolutionary War. Others had sons who lost their lives in the fight for our independence. Many of them saw their homes and property seized by the British or destroyed in the war, and they died penniless. Their signatures meant great sacrifice for them and their families.
And so it was with the stroke of a pen that our fight for independence, and the creation of the greatest country in the history of the world began. The fighting of the Revolutionary War followed. It was bloody, and it was long. It ended in 1783, but it was not until 1789 that our Constitution was written and adopted.
This Independence Day, we should all spend some time at the bar-b-que thinking about those who made our freedom possible - the valiant patriots who risked all in 1776, as well as those who do so to this day. America is a great and blessed country. Let's take a moment to remember how it came to be.
