All Things in Moderation

There are many dates that could have been adopted as America’s Independence Day.  The Continental Congress officially voted to approve a resolution of independence on July 2, 1776 and John Adams even predicted, in a letter to his wife, that the 2nd day of July “will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. ”  He was wrong.  The Declaration of Independence was  adopted by the Congress 2 days later, and it was officialy read in public for the first time on July 8, while Washington ordered it read in front of the Continental Army on July 9.  There is some dispute as to exactly when it got signed, but it was definitely not signed by all signatories until well after July 4th, and it was eventually signed by some people who were not even in Philadelphia when it was adopted.    November 30th, the date of the signing of the Paris peace treaty ending the American revolution is probably the date on which American independence was actually and officially achieved.

Still, from the outset, July 4th became the day of celebration for American Independence.   It was first celebrated in Philadelphia in 1777 with fireworks, toasts, parades and speeches, thus setting a tradition that we follow to this very day.   The fourth of July has become such an iconic phrase that we often forget that it even refers to  a date on the same calender used by everyone.  Canada’s independence day, July 1, is often referred to by Americans as Canada’s Fourth of July, and if you ask someone if the British have a fourth of July, you are likely to get a laugh and a “Of course not”.

Only two of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence ever managed to go on to become President of the United States, first John Adams from Massachusetts and then Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, and it is interesting that of all of the signers, they were the ones who survived the longest.  The two had had a very interesting history together.  Early on in the revolutionary movement, they had forged a friendship, but following independence and during the forming of the new nation, they found themselves on opposite sides of the  political spectrum, and subsequently became bitter enemies.  After each had served his term as president and began to step away from national politics, the friendship was tentatively renewed, and eventually grew again with many letters passing between them.

By 1826, they were the only two remaining of the men who signed the original Declaration of Independence.   Old and failing, as the 90 year old Adams lay on his death bed in Massachusetts, it is reported that his last words were “Thomas Jefferson survives.”  If this is indeed what he said, he was wrong yet again, for the 83 year old Jefferson had died 5 hours earlier down in Virginia, on the same day.

The day was July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of American Independence.

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