GUEST OPINION by Claire M. Gerdes
Happy Birthday America
A gift of love, honor and respect
We give to thee
Dear God, let a nation never forget
The brave that set it free.
Hatred and malice
A country so grand must not tolerate
United we stand fifty states
To conquer and obliterate
Stand up America and sing!
Let the Liberty Bell of Philadelphia ring!
Patriots for freedom you died
And we are proud
To say, I am an American
Let your deed be justified.
Let’s sing happy birthday, America. Let’s sing to the anthem of the free. Let’s sing to the Fourth of July, 2000, to a new millennium and a rich heritage handed down by the Continental Congress of 1776. Let’s rejoice in the spirit of loyal patriots with keen insight that made the greatest decision ever decided in debate that "These United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states."
No nation can examine its early history with so much pride as our own. Many delegates could not decide if they wanted full independence from their motherland. Finally on July 2, delegates from 12 colonies passed Richard Henry Lee’s resolution for independence, and on July 4, the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence.
Our ancestors sought these shores as an asylum for liberty, but the freedom sought was not won overnight nor easily won.
"Tryanny, like hell" wrote Thomas Paine, "is not easily conquered; yet the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."
It was a time for men of honor and strong minds. It took courage to stand before a demagogue and say, "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, forbid it, God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me give me liberty or give me death!" Eloquent words delivered by Patrick Henry on March 23, 1775 – a man who put his trust in God and strongly believed in the power of the people.
In a letter to his beloved Abigail, John Adams wrote: "The Second of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the Great Anniversary Festival."
The Pennsylvania Evening Post of July 2, 1776 reported that "This Day the Continental Congress declared the United Colonies Free and Independent States."
It is reasonable to wonder then why July 4, and not July 2, became "The Great Anniversary Festival." What happened on July 4? The Declaration of Independence, after two days of scrutiny, was approved by vote of the Continental Congress, with New York abstaining. On that day a copy of the declaration was printed and endorsed with two names, those of John Hancock, president of Congress, and Charles Thomson, secretary. Not until July 9 did the Provincial Congress of New York vote to approve the declaration and not until July 19 did Congress resolve: "That the Declaration passed on the 4th, be fairly engrossed on parchment with the title and stile of ‘unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America,’ and that the same, when engrossed, be signed by every member of Congress."
The first July Fourth Celebration took place in Philadelphia in 1777, with ringing bells, bonfires and fireworks. Ships in the harbor fired 13-gun salutes, houses in the city were illuminated with candles in the windows. The Hessian Band that had been captured at Trenton provided the music and the festivities were enjoyed by all.
At the time of the semi-centennial Independence Day in 1826, a 13-man committee was formed in Washington to prepare the ceremonies for the day. All former presidents and signers of the declaration who were still living were invited to participate. However, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and James Madison were unable to attend, but proposed a toast in honor of the day.
John Adams responded: "It is my living sentiment, and by the blessing of God it shall be my dying sentiment – independence now and independence forever!"
On July 4, 1826, Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, and John Adams, who played a leading role in the adoption of the Declaration died on the same day. Five years later to the day James Monroe died. The country regarded this as a sign of divine providence. It does give one reason for pause.
The popularity of the fourth made many orators famous, including Daniel Webster, William Tudor and John Adams. The typical oration emphasized the love of liberty of early Americans, and glorified the heroism of the struggle for independence. In short, the Independence Day oration, for all its bombast and platitudes, epitomized the whole pattern of American patriotic thought and feeling.
The Fourth of July is an invitation to patriotism and to reaffirm the principles on which our nation was founded. Citizens of Lawrence Township you are invited to join citizens worldwide. Come celebrate July 4, 2000, a new millennium and "The Great Festival of Freedom."
Claire M. Gerdes is secretary for the Lawrence Township Veterans Memorial Committee.