Independence Day

Note: Underlined words have definitions at the end of this article provided by The Basic Newbury House Dictionary. Definitions with an asterisk (*) are supplied by the author, Bill Perry.

Independence Day in America is also known as the Fourth of July. It is a very important national holiday, and one respected in other parts of the world. It was on July 4, 1776 that thirteen American Colonies declared their freedom from England, the most powerful country on earth. No one thought the Colonies could defeat England in war, but they did. The new nation also grew in size and power like no other country in the last 200 years. The first statement that told the world about their new ideas was the Declaration of Independence. Many of these same leaders later wrote the United States Constitution [see Presidents’ Day] that created their new government. That government has lasted longer than any other in the world. Because of its success, many other countries respect the US and have tried to copy it. Events that caused the war, The Declaration, and Independence Day, follow.

Many people were moving to the colonies in North America. This made these colonies different from England’s other colonies. The First Great Awakening occurred in the middle 1700’s. This was a revival of Christianity when tens of thousands of Americans became more interested in the Bible. They joined churches and were happy to obey God. In England, however, there was no revival like this. Americans felt more loyal to God than to England. The British did not like this attitude, especially when Americans disagreed with them.

Americans thought that they should have a greater part in making decisions about their lives. Their greatest problem was the amount of taxes the British wanted. In 1765 Parliament passed a law called the “Stamp Act.” It required a tax on all official papers including newspapers. This tax made Americans very angry. They said, “No taxation without representation!” After one year the British government canceled the law, but they were not happy about it. Then they made another law that took away all representation for the Colonies. New tax laws made more Americans even madder than before. Many of the new taxes were changed, but not the tax on tea. Tea was the symbol of the English way of life. The British government would not change the tea tax.

For that reason, in 1773 some colonists had an idea. They made themselves look like Native Americans and secretly went on English ships in Boston harbor. They threw large boxes of tea into the water. This was called the “Boston Tea Party.” Colonists in other towns later did the same thing in other harbors.

The colonists knew what the British government would do. They made more laws. These laws made life very hard for the colonists. In 1774 the Colonies knew that they must join together if things got worse. Then they had another idea: every colony would choose representatives and send them Philadelphia, PA for a meeting called the Continental Congress [see Presidents’ Day]. Every colony except Georgia sent representatives. They met during September and October and chose which human rights they needed to protect. They chose to stop trading with England and not use British goods. They also agreed to meet in one year if the British government had not improved things by then.

The British were not going to change now. In fact, they knew more must be done! They thought the Colonies wanted to start a war. The king told British General Thomas Gage to take all ammunition away from the Colonists in Concord, MA. 700 British soldiers called “Redcoats” went to nearby Lexington on April 19, 1775. On his famous ride, Paul Revere warned a small group of American patriots. He shouted, “The British are coming!” When the British arrived, the patriots were ready with rifles called “muskets.” After a short 15-minute battle, Redcoats killed 8 patriots and wounded 10 more. Only one Redcoat was wounded. This was the battle that fired “the shot heard ‘round the world,” as poet Ralph Waldo Emerson said later.

When the British arrived at Concord, patriots had already moved the ammunition. Another battle followed. This time more patriots were ready to fight. They hid behind trees and bushes, but the British stood out in the open fields in straight lines. By

the end of the day, 250 redcoats had been killed. America lost fewer than 100 men. Three months later George Washington became the leader of all the American soldiers, called “the Continental Army.” Other battles against the British began later that year in the Canadian cities of Montreal and Quebec. In December the British government declared war on the Colonies.

The British declaration of war only made the American desire for independence stronger. Patriot leader Samuel Adams asked a question that many were already thinking: “Is not America already independent? Why not then declare it?” British writer Thomas Paine’s booklet, Common Sense, also said the American colonies should be free. Another famous patriot, Patrick Henry, gave an important speech in Virginia where he said, “Give me liberty or give me death!” Some colonies voted for independence.

Then a second meeting of the colonies’ representatives began on May 10, 1775 in Philadelphia. They discussed the war against England and independence for the colonies. On June 7 Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee said, “These United Colonies are, and of a right [should] be . . . free and independent States . . . ” Three days later Congress decided to write an independence declaration. They chose five men to write it: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingstone and Roger Sherman. They asked Jefferson to do the writing because they knew he was the best writer in the group. Then the representatives went home to their colonies to better understand the people’s thinking.

After returning to Philadelphia, the representatives agreed with Lee’s idea about independence on July 2^nd. They debated Jefferson’s first writing of the declaration, which took him about two weeks to write. He used ideas from church sermons of the day and common political ideas of that time. John Adams called it, “time’s greatest debate of all.” They made two, very small but important changes. Then after long discussions and a lot of prayer, they approved it on July 4, 1776. John Hancock was the first to write his name on the Declaration of Independence. Others did the same after him. After they all signed it, some men cried. Some looked out the window. Others stared at the floor. Samuel Adams, representative from Massachusetts, stood up and said, “We have this day restored [God], to Whom alone men [should] be obedient. He [rules from] heaven and . . . from the rising to the setting sun, may His Kingdom come.”

After representatives voted to approve the Declaration, John Adams, who later became America’s second president, wrote his wife Abigail. He said that the Fourth of July

. . . will be the most [remembered] . . . in the history of America. I . . . believe that it will be celebrated by [future] generations, as the great anniversary festival. It [should] be [celebrated] . . . with parade[s], with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, [big fires], and illuminations; from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore.

And so it has been. Celebrations include parades, picnics, patriotic speeches, church services, concerts, and lots of fireworks. Over the years many people were hurt and killed by fireworks during the Fourth of July. In the early 1900’s many states made laws against using fireworks privately. However, many still celebrate the holiday with fireworks and sometimes shoot guns in the air. American churches often celebrate Independence Day with sermons that show the relationship between civil liberty and spiritual freedom.

Who were these men who created the United States? At least 50 of the 56 men who signed the Declaration were faithful, active Christians who believed the Bible and went to church regularly. Their own writings, as well as their behavior, prove this fact. They believed that to obey God they must fight tyranny. They only wanted to put the government back in its proper place under God’s control. God is mentioned six times in the Declaration. The opening sentence of the Declaration says, “We hold these truths to be [clearly seen], that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain [unchangeable] rights . . .” It was the first time words like these were ever used to create a government.

What kind of men were they? Generally they were well educated and wealthy. Twenty-four were lawyers or judges. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers who owned large plantations. Yet they all signed the Declaration of Independence and promised: “For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the Divine Providence [God], we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.” They knew the penalty would be death if the British captured them.

Most of them suffered terrible losses for leading the colonies to freedom. Five were captured as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes burned. Nine fought and died of injuries from the war. Four of the founders’ wives died and two lost their sons who were killed in the battle. Others died in poverty. The cost of freedom for Americans was very high.

Some have questioned if the United States is (or ever was) a Christian nation. For example, people say that the Constitution, the document that created the government, has no ideas in it from the Bible. However, Declaration signer John Adams wrote, “Our Constitution was designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other.” One thing is clear: from the very beginning the United States was formed by men who got their ideas about man and government from the Bible.

Many people today say that the long life of America’s government is proof that God’s ideas about government work best. For over 200 years religious and nonreligious Americans have enjoyed many freedoms and human rights. The Constitution created many freedoms including worship, speech and private property. America is a country of laws that protect these freedoms. In America everyone should obey the laws. Early Americans believed that mankind was evil and needed these laws for society to be civil and successful. These ideas are found in the Bible.

There is a battle being fought these days for the future of America. The question is, “What kind of ideas should be the basis for modern American society?” History clearly shows that Christian ideas helped create the country. Since that is true, it should be clear that Christian ideas will help protect our country and guide the future of America in the 21^st Century.

Vocabulary

*American Colonies (noun) – the eastern part of North America settled by English people during the 17^th and 18^th Centuries.

ammunition (noun) – things that can be fired from a gun or exploded, such as bullets, cannon shells, etc.

*behavior (noun) – the actions of a person.

civil (adjective) – (in law) of a citizen’s rights and responsibilities.

*endow (verb) – to richly provide for.

*First Great Awakening (noun) – an event in the 18^th Century when many thousands of people in the American Colonies became excited about and interested in Christianity.

illumination (noun) – something that gives light.

loyal (adjective) – faithful to others, especially to one’s friends or country.

*mutually (adverb) – doing something with the same feeling towards each other.

official (adjective) – of or related to a position of power or authority.

patriot (noun) – a person who is proud of his or her country and eager to defend it.

poet (noun) – a person who writes poems.

poverty (noun) – the lack of money and property, the state of being poor.

*reliance (noun) – attitude of dependence or being dependent.

restore (verb) – to make something look like it did when it was new.

*revival (noun) – an event when people renew their interest in obeying God, joining churches and following biblical teachings.

sermon (noun) – a speech by a religious leader.

stare (verb) – to look at someone or something steadily.

torture (verb) – to abuse physically and cause great pain.

*tyranny (noun) – the abuse of governmental power; an illegal, cruel or brutal act by the government.

©Bill Perry. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author.