July 4,2016
It would be very difficult to be in the United States today and not realize that this is the weekend when independence from Great Britain is celebrated. It is somewhat ironic that this year the celebration follows close on the heels of a vote by Britain to exit its membership in the European Union. As was the case with the many of the original colonists, many in Britain are not convinced that independence is the wisest course of action. Time and future negotiations between Britain and other countries will determine whether or not this was a wise decision.
Since I am a citizen, by birth, of the United States of America, I thought it prudent to remind myself of some of the basic facts about this decision. Both history.com and Wikipedia provided me with an overview of the action of the original colonists. Initially I was discouraged by the listing in history.com as “The birth of American independence.” instead of “The birth of the independence of the United States.” I will not, however, dwell on my ongoing frustration with the words American and United States being used interchangeably. Obviously, the United States is just one country of those of the Americas. At any rate, I found the following on history.com:
“THE BIRTH OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE”
When the initial battles in the Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775, few colonists desired complete independence from Great Britain, and those who did were considered radical. By the middle of the following year, however, many more colonists had come to favor independence, thanks to growing hostility against Britain and the spread of revolutionary sentiments such as those expressed in Thomas Paine’s bestselling pamphlet “Common Sense,” published in early 1776. On June 7, when the Continental Congress met at the Pennsylvania State House (later Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, the Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee introduced a motion calling for the colonies’ independence. Amid heated debate, Congress postponed the vote on Lee’s resolution, but appointed a five-man committee–including Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Robert R. Livingston of New York–to draft a formal statement justifying the break with Great Britain.
Did You Know?
John Adams believed that July 2nd was the correct date on which to celebrate the birth of American independence, and would reportedly turn down invitations to appear at July 4th events in protest. Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826--the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of Lee’s resolution for independence in a near-unanimous vote (the New York delegation abstained, but later voted affirmatively). On that day, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail that July 2 “will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival” and that the celebration should include “Pomp and Parade…Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other.” On July 4th, the Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence, which had been written largely by Jefferson. Though the vote for actual independence took place on July 2nd, from then on the 4th became the day that was celebrated as the birth of American independence. (history.com)
Of the approximately fifty delegates who are thought to have been present in Congress during the voting on independence in early July 1776,[21] eight never signed the Declaration: John Alsop, George Clinton, John Dickinson, Charles Humphreys, Robert R. Livingston, John Rogers, Thomas Willing, and Henry Wisner.[22] Clinton, Livingston, and Wisner were attending to duties away from Congress when the signing took place. Willing and Humphreys, who voted against the resolution of independence, were replaced in the Pennsylvania delegation before the August 2 signing. Rogers had voted for the resolution of independence but was no longer a delegate on August 2. Alsop, who favored reconciliation with Great Britain, resigned rather than add his name to the document. [23] Dickinson refused to sign, believing the Declaration premature, but remained in Congress. Although George Read had voted against the resolution of independence, and Robert Morris had abstained, they both signed the Declaration. (Wikipedia.com)
Clearly, we all know that this declaration was an agreement signed by an elite group of men. According to constitutionfacts.com:
‘Most of the signers were American born although eight were foreign born. The ages of the signers ranged from 26 (Edward Rutledge) to 70 (Benjamin Franklin), but the majority of the signers were in their thirties or forties. More than half of the signers were lawyers and the others were planters, merchants and shippers. Together they mutually pledged “to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” They were mostly men of means who had much to lose if the war was lost. None of the signers died at the hands of the British, and one-third served as militia officers during the war. Four of the signers were taken captive during the war and nearly all of them were poorer at the end of the war than at the beginning. No matter what each of these men did after July 1776, the actual signing of the Declaration of Independence which began on August 2 ensured them instant immortality. The following gives a bit of information about each signer AFTER the signing of the Declaration of Independence.”
Women, slaves, Native Americans and the average worker were not among those who were invited to represent the colonies and to sign the Declaration of Independence. (It might be interesting for a graduate student of history to compare the group of people voting to sign the Declaration of Independence with the group of British people who voted to leave the European.)
For better or worse, 240 years later I am a citizen of these United States with all the advantages and responsibilities automatically awarded me solely by reason of my birth. It is important to note that many of the privileges I have enjoyed have been as a person who has been considered Caucasian (I may have Native American ancestors and, in fact, if one traced my ancestry back to Africa my diverse heritage would be evident), male, for much of my life I passed as a heterosexual and I have always been physically abled with a physical appearance which allowed me to fit in. I was also born with a brain which was capable of graduating from college and graduate school. Many, if not most, of the privileges afforded me were because of these facts. I did not earn them, but whether I was conscious of doing do or not, I took advantage of those privileges.
I was blessed with these so-called accidents of birth. To be sure I have also had a brain which allowed me to make choices to function as a “respected” or “productive” member of society. Whether one attributes this to an accident of birth, divine providence, the relative health of my mother when I was in vitro, or overall genetics is another subject for academic and theological speculation.
I review all of this as a reminder to myself (and possibly others) on this July 4th that for better or worse, I am a citizen of these United States and have a responsibility to use whatever power is afforded me to be an active, thoughtful, positive member of this nation. On any particular day I am not sure what means. I do think that it means, as a minimum, I must:
· Not succumb to the temptation to allow the negativity of the current presidential election campaign to direct my attitude and behavior.
· Avoid talking in sound bites – easy, simple answers to complex problems.
· Avoid deciding that I am powerless and can, therefore, be a passive bystander.
· Take the risk of sharing positive approaches to the problems and issues with face us as a nation and a world.
· Practice listening to those whose approach or solutions are different than what makes current sense to me.
· Practice gratitude and humility for all the blessings which have been afforded me.
One will notice that I did not say that I would focus on extoling either the achievement or faults of this nation. Certainly there is much of which we can be justifiably proud and there is much for which we need to make amends. I will not be setting off fireworks or attending any event which includes fireworks. They remind me too much of war and, thus, create a lot of anxiety. I do not, however, have to judge those who do enjoy this way of celebrating.
I have no idea of what specific actions I will be called upon to perform during between now and the 241st observance of the creation of these United States. Perhaps my “only” responsibility is to be open to doing whatever small part I can in helping this nation to move forward in truly making it a nation which lives up to an evolving ideals as expressed by Abraham Lincoln:
" Fourscore and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. "
Written July 3, 2016
It would be very difficult to be in the United States today and not realize that this is the weekend when independence from Great Britain is celebrated. It is somewhat ironic that this year the celebration follows close on the heels of a vote by Britain to exit its membership in the European Union. As was the case with the many of the original colonists, many in Britain are not convinced that independence is the wisest course of action. Time and future negotiations between Britain and other countries will determine whether or not this was a wise decision.
Since I am a citizen, by birth, of the United States of America, I thought it prudent to remind myself of some of the basic facts about this decision. Both history.com and Wikipedia provided me with an overview of the action of the original colonists. Initially I was discouraged by the listing in history.com as “The birth of American independence.” instead of “The birth of the independence of the United States.” I will not, however, dwell on my ongoing frustration with the words American and United States being used interchangeably. Obviously, the United States is just one country of those of the Americas. At any rate, I found the following on history.com:
“THE BIRTH OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE”
When the initial battles in the Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775, few colonists desired complete independence from Great Britain, and those who did were considered radical. By the middle of the following year, however, many more colonists had come to favor independence, thanks to growing hostility against Britain and the spread of revolutionary sentiments such as those expressed in Thomas Paine’s bestselling pamphlet “Common Sense,” published in early 1776. On June 7, when the Continental Congress met at the Pennsylvania State House (later Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, the Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee introduced a motion calling for the colonies’ independence. Amid heated debate, Congress postponed the vote on Lee’s resolution, but appointed a five-man committee–including Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Robert R. Livingston of New York–to draft a formal statement justifying the break with Great Britain.
Did You Know?
John Adams believed that July 2nd was the correct date on which to celebrate the birth of American independence, and would reportedly turn down invitations to appear at July 4th events in protest. Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826--the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of Lee’s resolution for independence in a near-unanimous vote (the New York delegation abstained, but later voted affirmatively). On that day, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail that July 2 “will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival” and that the celebration should include “Pomp and Parade…Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other.” On July 4th, the Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence, which had been written largely by Jefferson. Though the vote for actual independence took place on July 2nd, from then on the 4th became the day that was celebrated as the birth of American independence. (history.com)
Of the approximately fifty delegates who are thought to have been present in Congress during the voting on independence in early July 1776,[21] eight never signed the Declaration: John Alsop, George Clinton, John Dickinson, Charles Humphreys, Robert R. Livingston, John Rogers, Thomas Willing, and Henry Wisner.[22] Clinton, Livingston, and Wisner were attending to duties away from Congress when the signing took place. Willing and Humphreys, who voted against the resolution of independence, were replaced in the Pennsylvania delegation before the August 2 signing. Rogers had voted for the resolution of independence but was no longer a delegate on August 2. Alsop, who favored reconciliation with Great Britain, resigned rather than add his name to the document. [23] Dickinson refused to sign, believing the Declaration premature, but remained in Congress. Although George Read had voted against the resolution of independence, and Robert Morris had abstained, they both signed the Declaration. (Wikipedia.com)
Clearly, we all know that this declaration was an agreement signed by an elite group of men. According to constitutionfacts.com:
‘Most of the signers were American born although eight were foreign born. The ages of the signers ranged from 26 (Edward Rutledge) to 70 (Benjamin Franklin), but the majority of the signers were in their thirties or forties. More than half of the signers were lawyers and the others were planters, merchants and shippers. Together they mutually pledged “to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” They were mostly men of means who had much to lose if the war was lost. None of the signers died at the hands of the British, and one-third served as militia officers during the war. Four of the signers were taken captive during the war and nearly all of them were poorer at the end of the war than at the beginning. No matter what each of these men did after July 1776, the actual signing of the Declaration of Independence which began on August 2 ensured them instant immortality. The following gives a bit of information about each signer AFTER the signing of the Declaration of Independence.”
Women, slaves, Native Americans and the average worker were not among those who were invited to represent the colonies and to sign the Declaration of Independence. (It might be interesting for a graduate student of history to compare the group of people voting to sign the Declaration of Independence with the group of British people who voted to leave the European.)
For better or worse, 240 years later I am a citizen of these United States with all the advantages and responsibilities automatically awarded me solely by reason of my birth. It is important to note that many of the privileges I have enjoyed have been as a person who has been considered Caucasian (I may have Native American ancestors and, in fact, if one traced my ancestry back to Africa my diverse heritage would be evident), male, for much of my life I passed as a heterosexual and I have always been physically abled with a physical appearance which allowed me to fit in. I was also born with a brain which was capable of graduating from college and graduate school. Many, if not most, of the privileges afforded me were because of these facts. I did not earn them, but whether I was conscious of doing do or not, I took advantage of those privileges.
I was blessed with these so-called accidents of birth. To be sure I have also had a brain which allowed me to make choices to function as a “respected” or “productive” member of society. Whether one attributes this to an accident of birth, divine providence, the relative health of my mother when I was in vitro, or overall genetics is another subject for academic and theological speculation.
I review all of this as a reminder to myself (and possibly others) on this July 4th that for better or worse, I am a citizen of these United States and have a responsibility to use whatever power is afforded me to be an active, thoughtful, positive member of this nation. On any particular day I am not sure what means. I do think that it means, as a minimum, I must:
· Not succumb to the temptation to allow the negativity of the current presidential election campaign to direct my attitude and behavior.
· Avoid talking in sound bites – easy, simple answers to complex problems.
· Avoid deciding that I am powerless and can, therefore, be a passive bystander.
· Take the risk of sharing positive approaches to the problems and issues with face us as a nation and a world.
· Practice listening to those whose approach or solutions are different than what makes current sense to me.
· Practice gratitude and humility for all the blessings which have been afforded me.
One will notice that I did not say that I would focus on extoling either the achievement or faults of this nation. Certainly there is much of which we can be justifiably proud and there is much for which we need to make amends. I will not be setting off fireworks or attending any event which includes fireworks. They remind me too much of war and, thus, create a lot of anxiety. I do not, however, have to judge those who do enjoy this way of celebrating.
I have no idea of what specific actions I will be called upon to perform during between now and the 241st observance of the creation of these United States. Perhaps my “only” responsibility is to be open to doing whatever small part I can in helping this nation to move forward in truly making it a nation which lives up to an evolving ideals as expressed by Abraham Lincoln:
" Fourscore and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. "
Written July 3, 2016
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