Independence Day is the most significant political holiday in the United States on July 4th 1776 the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence for the 13 colonies this marked the birth of the founding document of the United States one sentence from this document stands out even today we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equ that they are endowed by their creator with certain new nailable rights that among these are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness however what is often overlooked is that the document did not come into force on that day this happened on August 2nd 1776 nor was it initially adopted by Congress on that day which had already occurred on July 2nd additionally it did not Mark the start of the American Revolution as the war between the colonies and the English forces had already begun on April 19th 1775 on July 4th 1776 John Hancock was the only person to sign the Declaration of Independence furthermore for decades Americans did not celebrate independence day even though Founding Father John Adams had expected it to become a significant celebration it is therefore in intriguing to revisit the days and weeks leading up to the Declaration of Independence to fully understand this we must first briefly review the critical stages of the estrangement between the colonies and their motherland ensuring the following descriptions remain comprehensible the birth of the USA was indirectly influenced by an event known as the 7 years war from 1756 to 1763 often referred to as the real first world war this conflict was also fiercely fought in North America with England and France battling over present day Canada the British needed to station a large army in North America which was very costly consequently the English parliament passed the Stamp Act on March 22nd 1765 imposing attacks on the colonists to fund the soldiers the colonists were outraged insisting that there should be no taxation without political representation even those associated with the Army were Furious an officer in the Virginia militia who served directly under English General bradock called the law an act of Oppression his name was George Washington and he passionately supported the cry no taxation without representation personally Washington was more troubled by a tax related regulation of the British Parliament that imposed restrictions on settlements in North America at the time Washington was speculating on land and these regulations threatened his financial interests although the English Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in 1766 the damage was done England was unwilling to relinquish its claim to direct tax the colonies which sent representatives to the Stamp Act Congress in October 1765 demanded exactly that Mutual trade blockades quickly followed in North America the Sons of Liberty were founded advocating more drastic measures to free themselves from oppression leading members included cousins John and Samuel Adams and Paul Riv inevitably hostilities turned to open violence and murder on March 5th 1770 English troops fired into a crowd of demonstrators who had pelted them with stones sticks and Ice five civilians died in what became known as the Boston Massacre John Adams took on the defense of the red coats in the subsequent trial not because he supported the English but because he believed everyone deserved a fair trial and the best possible defense his efforts paid off as the English soldiers were acquitted 3 years later Boston and Adams were again again in the spotlight England had replaced direct taxation with import tariffs the port of Boston was a crucial economic Hub it was severely impacted furthermore the TA Act of May 10th 1773 aimed to ensure the English East India Company could build a trade Monopoly in North America under these conditions the new law allowed the company to offer tea much cheaper than competitors in the colonies even with tariffs making it more affordable than smuggled Dutch tea John Hancock heavily involved in the tea smuggling opposed these changes when the ship Dartmouth arrived in Boston in November 1773 tensions escalated loaded with cheap tea Hancock Samuel Adams and others were determined to prevent the cargo from being unloaded they threaten the captain and crew reconciliation talks by John Adams failed and he eventually told Hancock and the others to do what they had to do the Sons of Liberty disguised as Native Americans boarded the Dartmouth and three other ships dumping the cargo into the sea on December 16th 1773 John Adams in his diary expressed satisfaction with this radical action this is the greatest measure so far this last undertaking of the Patriots has a dignity which I admire the people should never rise up without doing something memorable something noteworthy and Sensational the destruction of te is such a bold determined fearless and uncompromising act and it will necessarily have such important and Lasting consequences that I must regard it as an Epoch making event Adam’s writing style partly explains why he urged Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence as he wrote to Jefferson you can write 10 times better than I can England responded with the coercive acts of 1774 known in the colonies as the Intolerable Acts which punished Boston for the Tea Party the port was closed exports to other ports or provinces were banned and imports were severely restricted Washington commented the acts are an invasion of our rights and privileges Americans must not submit to acts of tyranny since custom and use shall make us as tame and ab slaves as the blacks we rule over with such arbitrary sway the tensions between the motherland and the colonies had escalated to a point where war was inevitable it began on April 19th 1775 with the battles of Lexington and Concord the Red Coats aimed to confiscate military supplies but came under Fire the colonies did not yet have an army and fought with militias Washington upon hearing of the fighting was sobered and dismayed a few weeks after the fighting began the Second Continental Congress convened on May 10th 1775 it created a continental army and appointed George Washington as commanderin-chief contrary to a single dubious Source suggesting John Hancock also wanted this position multiple reports indicate he maintained a positive relationship with Washington Hancock served as the president of the Second Continental Congress which met in the Pennsylvania state house now known as Independence Hall the single source is a note from Adams dated 1801 Adams nominated Washington praising his excellent Universal Character Washington declined a salary stating in a letter on September 14th 1775 every post is Honorable in which a man can serve his country ironically this letter was add addressed to Benedict Arnold who would later betray Washington and the colonies simultaneously Congress sought peace through the Olive Branch Petition passed on July 5th 1775 affirming the colony’s loyalty to the crown and their desire to exercise their rights as British citizens this offer had many detractors among the founding fathers but it highlighted that Independence was not yet a majority View furthermore some Congress members lacked authorization from their home colonies to vote on Independence the Olive Branch Petition responded to King George III’s proclamation of rebellion from June 1775 officially starting the war from the British side despite the King’s rejection of the peace offer many colonists still did not seek Independence an excerpt from John Dickinson’s letters from a far in Pennsylvania written from 1767 to 1768 encapsulates the prevailing sentiment there is no privilege the colonies claim which they ought in Duty and Prudence more earnestly to maintain and defend than the authority of the British Parliament to regulate the trade of all her dominions without this Authority the benefits she enjoys from our Commerce must be lost to her the blessings we enjoy from our dependence on her must be lost to us her strength must Decay her glory vanish and she cannot Suffer Without our partaking in her Misfortune this excerpts from letter six Dickinson known as the Penman of the Revolution hoped for reconciliation which is why his signature is absent from the Declaration of Independence despite his Congressional membership he also penned the Olive Branch Petition by winter 1775 to 17 76 it was evident that resolving the conflict with England required Independence Thomas Payne’s pamphlet Common Sense published on January 10th 1776 argued convincingly that Independence was the only solution foreign diplomats already reported in late 1775 that Benjamin Franklin was open to Independence during informal talks since it was necessary for securing an alliance with France in May 1776 Congress passed a resolution drafted by John Adams demanding that colonial governments authorize their representatives to vote on Independence or establish new governments if necessary this followed the Halifax resolution in April 1776 where North Carolina empowered its Congress members to vote for Independence soon 9 of the 13 colonies passed similar resolutions with Pennsylvania Delaware Maryland and New York eventually following suit by May Congress had de facto decided on Independence officially on June 7th 1776 Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution stating resolved that these United Colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states that they are absolved olved 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 Congress was not ready to accept it immediately and formed three committees to deliberate on the resolution postponing the vote one of these was the committee of five comprising Thomas Jefferson John Adams Roger Sherman Benjamin Franklin and Robert R Livingston their task was to draft a formal justification for the break with Great Britain effectively creating the founding document for a new nation the drafting began on June 11th 1776 under Jefferson’s leadership Adams later explained why Jefferson took the lead reason first you are a Virginia and a Virginian ought to appear at the head of this business reason second I am obnoxious suspected and unpopular you are very much otherwise reason third you can write 10 times better than I can Jefferson excelled with the pen while Adams was crucial in debates Jefferson referred to Adams as the pillar of support on the floor of Congress it’s ableist Advocate and Defender against the multifarious assaults encountered the committee worked intensely isolating themselves to write undisturbed and producing draft after draft Jefferson even designed a portable desk for this purpose which still exists today unfortunately little is known about their discussions but by June 27th 1776 they had created a draft known as the original rough draft this draft was read in Congress the next day during an extraordinary session on July 1st 1776 Congress reconvened and the real battle for the Declaration of Independence began many members were dissatisfied with Jefferson’s draft hopes for a quick vote dissipated a first breakthrough appeared on July 2nd 1776 Congress declared independence prompting Adams to write to his wife the second day of July 1776 will be the most memorable epocha in the history of America I am apt to 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 pump and parade with shows Games sports guns Bells bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more you will think me transported with enthusiasm but I am not I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost us to maintain this declaration a Andy support and defend these states yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing light and Glory I can see that the end is more than worth all the means and that posterity will Triumph in that day’s transaction even although we should Ru it which I trust in God we shall not Washington echoed this sentiment in his General Orders of July 2nd the time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves whether they are to have any property they can call their own whether their houses and Farms are to be pillaged and destroyed and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them the fate of unborn Millions will now depend under God on the courage and conduct of this Army our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of Brave resistance or the most abject submission we have therefore to resolve to conquer or die let us therefore animate and encourage each other and show the whole world that a Freeman contending for Liberty on his own ground is superior to any slavish mercenary on Earth these words aim to encourage both the soldiers and Congress to pass the Declaration of Independence the debates in Congress continued until the afternoon of July 4th 1776 when the Declaration finally passed the US motto urbus Unum or out of many one was proposed by the committee of five on this line last day on July 4th only Hancock signed the document writing his name large reportedly so the king wouldn’t need spectacles to read it the original text was sent to printer John Dunlap who produced the famous Dunlap broadsides we know of 24 copies two of which are in the Library of Congress the first copies were sent to some Colonial legislatures after printing on July 6th the declar ation was first printed in a newspaper the Pennsylvania Evening Post however the same day brought bad news from the front British forces had taken New York and Washington had only untrained new soldiers and militias to oppose them on July 8th the Declaration was read publicly for the first time in Philadelphia marked by the ringing of the Liberty Bell a symbol of American Freedom manufactured in London in the 1750s the next day Washington had the Declaration read to the Continental Army using his own Dunlap broadside copy to motivate his soldiers for the battles ahead the Declaration of Independence still bore only one signature Handcock on July 19th Congress ordered all members to sign the Declaration which was then officially inscribed this happened on August 2nd 177 76 making the document fully valid the men who signed it essentially signed their death warrant if captured by the British so their names were initially kept secret a version printed by Mary Katherine godded with all the names was published in the spring of 1777 although the war ended militarily in 1781 and officially with the Treaty of Paris in 1783 the Declaration of IND Independence did not initially gain the prominence Adams had anticipated the focus shifted to drafting a constitution and by the 1790s the new US was embroiled in political manuia the Federalists favoring Ron with England found the Declaration to French while the Democratic Republicans yes that was really the name of the party appreciated it strong partisan battles were fought over the decaration and basically everything else after the war of 1812 against England American Sympathy for the former motherland waned and the Declaration gained renewed importance but it was a slow process Adams lamented as late as 1817 that America did not appreciate its past enough as president he had warned there is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the Republic into two great parties each arranged under its leader and concerting measures in opposition to each other this in my humble apprehension is to be dreaded as the greatest political Evil under our constitution Liberty must at all hazards be supported we have a right to it derived from our maker but if we had not our fathers have earned and bought it for us at the expense of their ease their Estates their pleasure and their blood by the 1820s and 18 30s more copies of the Declaration of Independence circulated and the day became increasingly significant on June 28th 1870 nearly 100 years after its adoption July 4th was finally declared a public holiday let’s close with a quote from one of Jefferson’s letters to Adams I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past so good night I will dream on always fancing that Mrs Adams and yourself are by my side marking the progress and the obliquities of Ages and countries
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