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| The Declaration Of Independence |
This is a post of a friend of mine, Gary Taylor, regarding the signing of the Declaration Of Independence and how special the 4th of July is in our history:
"On
July 2nd 1776, about a year after the American Revolutionary War had
begun, the elected leaders of the thirteen American Colonies voted to
declare independence from Great Britain. On July 4th the declaration
was ratified and signed by 56 patriots."
I suppose historians
and folks much smarter then me will debate forever as to where and when,
each of the 56 patriots actually signed the document. To me it really doesn’t matter where, or when… only thing that matters to me is the fact they had the courage to sign it.
You can bet each and every one of these brave and special men knew the
dangers of signing such a document. There is much debate among
historians as to what actually became of some of these men, but here is
something that is not up for debate at all.
These men signed a
document that gave birth to the idea of freedom, to the idea that the
people of the land are best suited to control their own fate, not some
hierarchy thousands of miles away.
By signing the document these men gave birth to America, the greatest nation on God’s green earth.
I am so thankful to be an American. I am proud of America and her accomplishments throughout our great history.
And I’ll be damned if I’ll apologize for it."
AMEN to that dear friend. And may God continue to bless the United States of America.
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More on the 4th of July:
The true meaning of the 4th of July
The Fourth of July was the day (it was actually a few days earlier) the people of the thirteen colonies through their representatives in the Congress, declared to the world that they were now independent and free States. Free from the King and Parliament and a centralized government. However, it would take a long and bloody war to actually permit these newly independent Sates to remain free.
The Declaration of Independence was signed by men who knew they were
risking their “Lives, fortunes and sacred honor”. According to the King,
they were all traitors who warranted death.
When the war finally came to a successful end the King and Parliament
had no choice but to declare that the thirteen States were now free.
The first Article of the Treaty of Paris that ended the war stated:
His Brittanic Majesty acknowledges the said United States, viz., New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, to be free sovereign and Independent States; that he treats with them as such, and for himself his Heirs & Successors, relinquishes all claims to the Government, Propriety, and Territorial Rights of the same and every Part thereof.
It appears that we have forgotten who we are. The King had to sign a
treaty that recognized all of the States independently. We are a union
of States that remain free and independent. The Articles of
Confederation, our first Constitution, and the current Constitution
never gave up the Sovereignty of the States. In fact the States
delegated only limited authority to the Federal government. The Tenth
Amendment made it very clear.
How does the Declaration of Independence sum up? Read it carefully:
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.
So this Fourth of July why not fly your State flag? It will show to
the world that you are still a Sovereign and free people who choose to
remain part of a union of States. How did John Adams say to celebrate:
“…It ought to be commemorated as a day of deliverance by solemn acts of
devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and
parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bell, bonfires, and
illuminations from one end of this continent to the other…”
Let’s not forget who we are.
Source: The Tenth Amendment Center
