July Fourth, My Country’s Birthday! Much has been written about the Declaration of Independence, and I am saying more.
To be honest, I am writing nothing new.
I have lifted these words from a little history book I wrote, A Stroll Through American History. It is from the first chapter, “The Declaration of Independence”.
Something Personal
At one time in my career with IBM, I was a computer operator. I was going to school and I worked second shift (4:00 PM until midnight).
During that time, there was a guy who took over for me and worked third shift. Think “hippie” and you have a very good picture of him, headband and all. We didn’t get along.
Well, one night I said to the guy something about the Declaration of Independence.
His reply was something on the order of, “Just an old piece of paper written by some old white guy.”
I said, “Did you ever read it?”
He just looked at me.
Well, the next night, my respect for the guy shot way up and we became quite friendly.
Why?
The guy had bothered to walk down the hall to the library, pick up a copy of the Declaration of Independence, and read it.
Next I saw him, he said, “That is something!”
Really not much of a story but I believe it says quite a lot about Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence.
The Men Who Signed the Declaration
They were not poor men. They ranged from fairly well off to downright wealthy. In other words, they weren’t a bunch of guys looking for a free ride. They could have lived quite comfortably under English rule.
Now, the following paragraph is very important to understand.
By signing that document, those men were not only putting their entire personal fortunes at risk, they were signing their own death warrants. That is not my opinion. That is a fact. The penalty for treason was hanging.
You know, most people don’t know what the last word in the Declaration is. The last word is “Honor.” That word had a much more significant meaning in 1776 than it has today. As a matter of fact, the last two words are, “sacred Honor.”
At the end of the Declaration is a pledge:
“… we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”
Those are strong words.
The Opening Words of the Declaration
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 …
Think about that. The Declaration fulfills the requirement that they state their reasons for separation.
This is my opinion: Wow!
World-Wide Impact of the Declaration
The members of the Continental Congress most certainly had to have been aware of the impact the concepts expounded in the Declaration of Independence would have on the 13 American Colonies. But I don’t believe that they anticipated the ripple effect the words would have across the world. “When in the Course of human events …”
