America’s Independence Day

When the fourth of July comes rolling around should we really be saying “Happy Second of July?  According to the website; The Declaration of Independence: The Story of The Fourth of July; ConstitutionFacts.com, July 2nd, 1776 was the historic date the Continental Congress agreed to announce independence from Great Britain and not July 4th, as the tradition has us believe.

The websites: The History of the Fourth of July, and The History of America’s Independence Day state that in the summer of 1776 after a year of turmoil between the 13 colonies wanting to gain its freedom from England, the colonies created the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. The Congress’s sole purpose was to come up with a legal document to end any binds between them and Great Britain and great conflict and fighting.

On June 7, a meeting was held in the Pennsylvania State House, which today is now appropriately named Independence Hall. The committee was made up of Virginia’s, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin who came from Pennsylvania, John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman from Connecticut and New York’s Robert R. Livingston.

A resolution was offered by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, when he uttered these insightful words. “Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved of all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain be dissolved.”

Lee’s important and meaningful prose proved to be the basis for the Declaration of Independence. Believed to be the most skillful writer among the group of men, in June 1776, Thomas Jefferson was appointed to pen the first draft of the important document. Twelve of the original thirteen colonies agreed with the exception of New York.

New York’s delegates didn’t officially give their support until July 9 because their home assembly hadn’t yet authorized them to vote in favor of independence. Next, it took two weeks for the Declaration to be “engrossed”-written on parchment in a clear hand. Most of the delegates signed on August 2, but several-Elbridge Gerry, Oliver Wolcott, Lewis Morris, Thomas McKean and Matthew Thornton-signed on a later date. (Two others, John Dickinson and Robert R. Livingston, never signed at all.) The signed parchment copy now resides at the National Archives in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom, alongside the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

The document was sent to Great Britain and they signed it on August 2nd. Like countless other great works this piece of writing also went through its fair share of edits and revisions, eighty-six to be exact according to one source, however, leaving the heart of the writing unchanged. The draft was submitted to the Continental Congress, on July 2, 1776.  After a few days of giving it some thought, the contents of the paper that would become one of the most recognized documents in American history, it was finally approved in the late afternoon, two days later on the Fourth of July.Of all the dates that were mentioned above, the 4th is what was remembered and what we now celebrate because it is the date of the signing and the date that appears on the Declaration of Independence. The copy that was written by hand in the previous August can be viewed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Unfortunately for many years following the writing of the Declaration of Independence, there was no time to celebrate this momentous event. The 1790’s brought partisan conflicts about the Declaration becoming too controversial as the country grew.  The bitter feud was between the Democratic-Republicans and Federalists was no friend to the Declaration of Independence.  The Democrat-Republicans, considered one party (imagine that Smithtown residents) revered the document.  However, the Federalists believed the document was too anti-British and rebelled against the policies.

The demise of the Federalist Party was the result of the war of 1812. The 1820’s and 30’s brought the rise of the new Parties that shared the same beliefs as the Democratic-Republicans and President Jefferson. Copies of the Declaration were distributed among the nation once again, with the date on top reading July 4th 1776. The first open reading of the Declaration was accompanied by the ringing of bells, held a few days after, on July 8th in Philadelphia at Independence Hall.

It was nearly 100 years after the writing of the document, claiming freedom for the 13 colonies, that Congress passed a bill proclaiming July 4th as a national holiday, this important event was first celebrated in Philadelphia marked with fireworks, bonfires and band music.

Eventually, the tradition caught on to surrounding towns. Celebrations of the patriotic date are now marked all over the country with picnics, games, parades, bonfires, fireworks and the display of the American flag with thirteen stripes representing the first thirteen colonies.

In June of 1826, a gravely ill Jefferson wrote what would be his last letter. He sent it to Roger C. Weightman in which to turn down an invitation to attend the 50th celebration of the Declaration of Independence, because of his condition. In the letter Jefferson refers to the document:

“May it be to the world, what I believe it will be … the signal of arousing men to burst the chains … and to assume the blessings and security of self-government. That form, which we have substituted, restores the free right to the unbounded exercise of reason and freedom of opinion. All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. …For ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.” – Thomas Jefferson – June 24, 1826 Monticello

However,  you and your loved ones decide to celebrate the Fourth of July, a momentous milestone in history, just remember the enormous efforts that went into America becoming a free society when you’re eating a hot dog or watching fireworks bursting in the night’s sky, I know I will.