The Fourth of July weekend is the time to celebrate the birth of a nation and a spirit of independence that continues to inspire people around the world.
American independence is the founding of a nation as the result of a rebellion from a tyrant.
July 4, 1776, marks the moment in history in which brave men had had enough trying to redress their grievances and instead signed the Declaration of Independence, that labeled King George III a tyrant.
The document was then distributed across towns along the East Coast and read aloud by town criers.
The words inspired people everywhere, creating a united spirit that ultimately defeated an empire.
”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,” the Declaration of Independence reads.
The representatives of “these United States” boldly declared “the history of the present king of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations.”
For years prior to July 4, 1776, it was a time of time of war, great sacrifices and incredible victories (and defeats) within the colonies.
Colonialists were rising up for independence while fighting the British Empire to gain sovereignty. On Dec. 16, 1773, the Boston Tea Party took place, for instance.
On April 19, 1775, the American Revolutionary War officially began at the Massachusetts battles of Lexington and Concord.
Several months later, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams composed the Declaration of Independence.
On July 4, 1776, representatives from each colony, from South Carolina to New Hampshire and from New Jersey to Virginia, signed the Declaration of Independence.
Finally, years later, on Oct. 19, 1781, British Gen. Charles Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, marking the end of the war.
Then, an independent United States of America was recognized during the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1783.
America was at last a nation.
We have a wonderful nation, offering to all “certain unalienable rights,” including human dignity and freedom. That indeed is something to celebrate with the highest regard and esteem this weekend.
Happy Fourth of July weekend!
