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Glorious Fourth: Celebrating America's Birthday
| Article
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20263 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
7 / 1992 |
2,280 Words |
| Author
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Peggy Robbins
Peggy Robbins, a Tennessee native, is a free-lance writer
living in Gulfport, Mississippi. Over the past three decades,
she has written extensively about American heritage and
military history. |
The Second of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games and sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward, forevermore." So wrote John Adams to his wife--the next day, July 3. Of course, he was wrong.
America's schoolchildren have always been taught that July 4, 1776--when the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, adopted the Declaration of Independence from England--is America's birthday. That tends to oversimplify the matter, as only one signature was placed on the document that day--that of John Hancock, president of the Congress. The Declaration of Independence, as a completely executed document, was not the work of a day.
The actions in the Congress relating to signing a document of independence extended from June 7 to August 2. On June 7, Richard Henry Lee, leader of the Virginia delegates to the Congress, introduced three resolutions, the first and most important of which declared 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." John Adams of Massachusetts immediately seconded Lee's motion. A very spirited debate followed, as many delegates still hoped for a peaceful reconciliation with the mother country.
Three days later, Congress appointed a committee of five--Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston--to draft a formal declaration of independence. Jefferson wrote a document, and for three weeks the committee members and then the Congress worked over it, making minor changes. Then, on July 2, before the members quite got to the act of approving the declaration, Lee's first resolution was debated briefly and approved. This was the impetus for Adams' excited letter to his wife. As it turned out, Lee's resolution was treated as only a preface for the adoption of the Declaration--on Thursday, July 4, when John Hancock signed it "by order of and on behalf of the Congress." The opening words of the document were "In Congress, July 4, 1776."
The Declaration had not yet been properly
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