Mini History of 4th of July
By Steve Walker
This past Thursday we celebrated the 4th
of July like we do every year.
Many people think we celebrate the
Fourth of July because it is the day we received our Independence from England.
But have you ever wondered how it actually came about?
While many are thinking along the right
track it is not the entire reason we celebrate the Fourth of July, nor is it
the reason that the Fourth of July holiday came about for that matter.
Remembering that in the 18th century the
United States was not considered the “United States.” In actuality, they were
actually called “colonies.” Our country was in reality an extension of England.
People traveled from England aboard ships to settle in America. As we learned
later that our differences in life, thought, and interests began to develop a
rift, we began to tear apart.
When the “colonies” were first settled,
they had free reign to develop their communities with little or no oversight.
Unfortunately things quickly began to change in 1763. Britain suddenly decided
that they needed to take more control over the colonies. They also thought the
colonies needed to return revenue to the mother country and they needed to pay
for the colonies defense, which was being provided by Britain.
Obviously as history tells us, the
colonies did not agree with these new rules at all and expressed their
disagreement. Many “colonists,” felt that since they were not represented in
Parliament, that they shouldn’t have to pay any kinds of taxes to the mother
country, hence those famous words, “no taxation without representation.”
When Britain continued to tax, the
colonies formed the First Continental Congress to persuade the British
government to recognize their rights. When this didn’t work a war was declared,
which is known as the American Revolution.
After the First Continental Congress
failed to persuade Britain to recognize the colonies’ rights, and war was
declared, things began to heat up. Many people who were both considered
moderates and radicals had decided that enough was enough and that any kind of
taxation without representation was considered tyranny. Nothing has changed.
People such as John Adams, Samuel Adams,
and Ben Franklin, as well as a group called the “Sons of Liberty” decided that
it was time to unite all of the colonies and to stand together against Britain.
A second Continental Congress formed
during the course of the American Revolution. It is this group that adopted the
final draft of the Declaration of Independence.
History tells us that it was drafted
by John Adams, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger
Sherman. After the first draft was written by Thomas Jefferson, it was revised
by Ben Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson before it was sent to
Congress for approval. All thirteen colonies united behind the Declaration of
Independence and adopted it in full on July 4th 1776.
Like many immigrants from the past from
all the various counties around the world, the immigrants of today fighting to
come to America for a better life, has only just begun.
The inscription at the base of
the Statue of Liberty reads: "Give
me, your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the
wretched refuse of your teeming shore.” Isn’t that what we are seeing now at
our southern border? Having said all that, hoping you had an enjoyable 4th
of July.
And as always, what I write is “Just a
Thought.”
![[icon]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small}
