Independence Day

Declaration of Independence

 

Independence Day is the day we the people of a yet to be formed country, we were just a bunch of English colonies banding together to fight back against the oppression of the English Monarchy and Parliament, declared to the world that we had thrown off the chains that linked us to England.

 

Some facts that you might not know, one being that the Declaration of Independence was not signed on July 4th but from early August to November of 1776, that is when the delegates signed their names to a hand written version. And that the Declaration was officially adopted on July 2nd by the Continental Congress.

 

The following year July 4th was officially adopted by the Continental Congress; John Adams always insisted that we should celebrate on the 2nd of July. An interesting fact is the hand written draft was signed by John Hancock and Charles Thompson on July 4th 1776.

 

Another interesting fact is that John Dickinson of Pennsylvania and Robert R. Livingston of New Jersey never signed the draft copy of the Declaration of Independence. And that a printer was engaged to print what is called a broadside, kind of a poster, the shop of Philadelphia printer John Dunlap did the printing and on July 5th, “Dunlap’s copies were dispatched across the 13 colonies to newspapers, local officials and the commanders of the Continental troops. These rare documents, known as “Dunlap broadsides,” predate the engrossed version signed by the delegates. Of the hundreds thought to have been printed on the night of July 4, only 26 copies survive. Most are held in museum and library collections, but three are privately owned.

 

During World War II the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were stored at Fort Knox in Kentucky for safe keeping.

 

Most people who know some history can recite the preamble, but the second paragraph to me is just as important and in my opinion laid the foundation for the form of government we now have- a Democratic Republic.

 

The second paragraph is as follows, “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,” for if you take a look at the Constitution you see that those same ideas in that document. Now of course you must remember when it says men that it means men and women; in those days it was thought by many that women were not equal to men.

 

And I will just leave you with this thought, if the Continental Congress has not had this marvelous document created, Thomas Jefferson being the primary author, then what would have happened? In my opinion we would have backed down on our demands and remained a Colony of Great Britain. What a different world it would have been!

 

Happy Fourth of July to all and stay safe.

 

That is my opinion- Jumpin Jersey Mike

(Visited 153 times, 1 visits today)