All Things in Moderation

Variously known as the Fourth of July and Independence Day, July 4th has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941, but the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution (1775-83). In June 1776, representatives of the 13 colonies then fighting in the revolutionary struggle weighed a resolution that would declare their independence from Great Britain. On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later its delegates adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson. From 1776 until the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of American independence, with typical festivities ranging from fireworks, parades and concerts to more casual family gatherings and barbecues.

I’m always curious what others are doing to celebrate the 4th. of July.  I worked my butt off yesterday to clean, shop and cook for a big party so we’re in the “casual family gathering and barbeque” category.  If I have time this morning and I’m as organized as I think I am we may wander down to the 6th. Street Parade but we’ll see.  The city will shoot off fireworks this year again, we’ve been dark lately because of budget cuts, and we’ll watch them from our balcony.  We have about 35 or 40 people coming and we’ll swim, play horse shoes, listen to music (which inevitably leads to dancing) and drink at least one keg of our son’s latest brew.

I enjoy this holiday, my grandfather (7 times removed) was a Captain in the Revolutionary Army who also had numerous slaves and apparently two wives on opposite sides of the river with 15 to 17 kids between them (reports vary).  I’m a sucker for a flag and a patriotic holiday.

Hope you all enjoy your day and the long weekend.

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Washington maintained the spirits of the rag-tag Continental Army through his own qualities of leadership and courage and with the help of the pamphleteer.  Paine’s The Crisis and Common Sense were disseminated among the junior officers and ordered read to the men.  It is said these were the most effective propaganda materials ever seen until then, perhaps because they rang so true.  From The Crisis:

THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated. Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right (not only to TAX) but “to BIND us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER” and if being bound in that manner, is not slavery, then is there not such a thing as slavery upon earth. Even the expression is impious; for so unlimited a power can belong only to God.

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This was going to be a Top Ten list, but I ran out of time.  Have to get going to the town get-together for food, music, and fireworks.

5. Benjamin Franklin – Delegate to the Second Continental Congress; helped form what was to become the Declaration of Independence; as a diplomat to France during the war he played the crucial role in securing French military support against the British, without which the outcome of the Revolution would have been very different.  As an emissary to Britain, he worked hard to keep the colonies within the Empire, but once the Revolution started he never looked back – “We must all hang together, or we will surely hang separately.”

4. Thomas Jefferson – Incredibly smart; author of one of the finest documents every produced, the Declaration of Independence; as a diplomat to France was crucial in maintaining foreign relations with the new nation’s primary ally; third President.  Jefferson was a jumble of contradictions, both politically and personally, and I have many reservations about him, but he undeniably played a crucial role in the founding of the nation.

3. John Adams – Member of both Continental Congresses; was central to the choice of George Washington as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army;  instrumental in the drafting and adoption of the Declaration of Independence; first Vice-President and second President of the US.  One of my favorites.

2.  Alexander Hamilton – The epitome of the self-made man and a model for achieving what has become the American dream; he actively fought in the war; author of the Federalist Papers; as the nation’s first Treasury Secretary and trusted confidant of Washington, he almost single-handedly laid the groundwork for the US’s rise as an economic power.  Easily the most under-appreciated Founding Father.

1.  George Washington – Architect of the defeat of the greatest military power in the world by a rag-tag group of untrained colonials; resisted the pull of establishing monarchical powers for himself;  precedent-setter for Presidential traditions including term limits.  Quite simply the single most important person in the history of these United States.

Honorable mention:

James Madison – Co-author with Hamilton of the Federalist Papers and the writer of most of the Constitution.

Thomas Paine – Author of Common Sense in 1776, a powerful treatise on the need for independence from Britain.

Samuel Adams – Brewer and patriot.  What more need be said?

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One of my favorite moments of the American independence movement has always been Patrick Henry’s speech to the Virginia Convention in March of 1775.   The official beginning of the Revolution, the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts on April 19, were still a month away, but the situation had been coming to a boil for some time.  A year prior Massachusetts had been placed under British military rule, and on February 9, 1775, the British Parliament had officially declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion.  Delegates had been sent from Massachusetts to seek support for the nascent independence movement, and conventions had been formed in the various colonies to discuss what to do.  There is no official transcription of Henry’s speech that day of March 23, 1775, but his first biographer, through notes, contemporary accounts in newspapers and interviews with people who were there, was able to piece together what was said and what is now recognized as the speech he gave.  We are all aware of Henry’s most famous conclusion, but I think the speech itself, and especially the final two paragraphs, are equally moving.

MR. PRESIDENT: No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do, opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely, and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfil the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offence, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.

Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years, to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves, and the House? Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with these war-like preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled, that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask, gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us; they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done, to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne. In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free² if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending²if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us!

They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance, by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations; and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable²and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace²but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

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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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In CONGRESS, July 4 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

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, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton

William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton

John Hancock
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton

Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean

William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark

Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
Matthew Thornton

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