Declaration Of Independence

bossfan · #1 (**permalink**) 07-04-2008, 10:18 AM

Quote:

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
hen 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.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, 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; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

— John Hancock

New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

source: http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm

And if you are interested, here is a great site for bigraphical sketches of each of the signers: Colonial Hall: The Biographies of the Founding Fathers

Quote:

4th Of July Article ~ 2001
David Barton

This year marks 230 years since our Founding Fathers gave us our National Birth Certificate. We continue to be the longest on-going Constitutional Republic in the history of the world. Blessings such as these are not by chance or accidental. They are blessings of God.

For full article: WallBuilders - Issues and Articles - 4th of July Article

bossfan · #2 (**permalink**) 07-04-2008, 10:18 AM

Happy 4th of July!!

cnredd · #3 (**permalink**) 07-04-2008, 12:18 PM

Here here!...

Gordon Shumway · #4 (**permalink**) 07-04-2008, 02:49 PM

A Flag City Tradition July 4, 2008

It’s been five years since I opened my newspaper to find that the July 4th fireworks display at the fairgrounds was cancelled. It was June 18, 2003 & by June 20, 2003 Cindy Moorehead printed a letter to the editor I wrote even though I had already been published recently. I cannot thank her enough for helping me in what ensued afterward.

I went about my workday & upon returning home I had several messages on my answering machine pledging money for fireworks. I immediately called Gene Stuckey who was the Fair Board Manager at that time. After being rather critical of Gene in my letter to the editor I asked him if I raised the money if he could still put on a show. Gene & the rest of the Fair Board took on the task.

Each day more & more pledges came in. I put flyers around town hoping to attract even more pledges. Everyone from local businesses to Cub Scout Troops to the average citizen pledged money for the event. Even folks from outside of Findlay sent money to help save our community tradition. The result was, for the first time in a long time, we had a fireworks display that was free to the public. If I recall correctly, 77 donors paid the bill of nearly $15,000. One of those donors was a young kid about 5 or 6 years old who wanted to give his allowance or birthday money so the community could have fireworks.

The following year there was a meeting between myself & some of Findlay’s leaders to include the Mayor, County Commissioners, a couple of Councilmen & a few others from groups like the Arts Partnership. This happened early in the year. Something like February if I recall correctly. I was astounded by the negativity I heard at the time claiming we didn’t have the time to do a full scale fund raiser. Apparently they either didn’t know or had forgotten that this community raised nearly $15,000 in less than two weeks the previous year. While I believe we have a great community, I don't believe our local leaders have always served us well. They had clearly dropped the ball in this situation.

Nonetheless, the fireworks were once again financed by donations. This time it seemed more businesses jumped on board. Since then the event has become much more commercialized with all the businesses putting money into the event. Mostly I'm glad that today we're not talking about the fireworks we used to have at the fairgrounds & that our tradition is still going strong.

Findlay, no matter what the outside world might think of us, never let this community tradition fall by the wayside as there is no more important day in our history than our nation’s birthday. Without the sacrifice our founders made in which July 4th symbolizes there would be no United States of America. A country in which masses from around the world wish to live. Let us never take our freedom & the sacrifices that have given us that freedom for granted.

Thank you Findlay, for I am ever grateful to have grown up & live in such a great community. Maybe I’ll see you at the fairgrounds today eating an elephant ear or a Westender.

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An Unconditional Love July 2, 2007

On this day in 1776 the Lee Resolution was passed proclaiming our independence. Two days later, on July 4, 1776 the Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America was adopted as an expansion of that resolution. Although, the lone holdout, New York didn't cast their vote in favor of the declaration until July 9, 1776. And, of course, the famous signing didn't actually happen until August 2, 1776. But, this listing of facts isn't my intention here today. We've all spent our time in school memorizing dates, places & people only to regurgitate them for the test. Today, I want to address our Independence Day & all that it means; at least to me.

July 4th, our nation's birthday, our Independence Day is the single most important day in American history. I find myself being thankful for that day & for everything that day symbolizes. I know we have Thanksgiving for expressing thanks but that pumpkin pie wouldn’t taste as sweet without our Independence.

I think about all the battles that have been fought & realize none of them are as important to our existence than the battles that were fought during the Revolutionary War. I think about Thomas Paine & the passion he had when he wrote Common Sense. I think about those men who may have signed their death warrant had they lost the war. And, I think about how John Hancock symbolically flipped the bird to King George with his now famous signature.

It’s those personal stories of people that are more important than what day this or that happened. It’s of men & courage. One such man is Benjamin Franklin who at the signing said “We all must hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” I think of those words from a seventy year old man who took a pen in his trembling hands with tears running down his face knowing that his signature would seal his fate if they were not victorious in the subsequent war. It takes a deep love to risk your life & the livelihood of your family just so that future generations might have an opportunity for Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness.

It is that love of those brave men that I hold dear. It is the same uncondtional love a parent gives to their child. Our forefathers gave to us a gift of unconditional love. I, in return, reciprocate with an unconditional love for their gift. Our nation, our independence.

bossfan · #5 (**permalink**) 07-04-2008, 04:15 PM

Gordon Shumway:

Quote:

Findlay, no matter what the outside world might think of us, never let this community tradition fall by the wayside as there is no more important day in our history than our nation’s birthday. Without the sacrifice our founders made in which July 4th symbolizes there would be no United States of America. A country in which masses from around the world wish to live. Let us never take our freedom & the sacrifices that have given us that freedom for granted.

~ A Flag City Tradition

and

Quote:

July 4th, our nation's birthday, our Independence Day is the single most important day in American history. I find myself being thankful for that day & for everything that day symbolizes. I know we have Thanksgiving for expressing thanks but that pumpkin pie wouldn’t taste as sweet without our Independence.

~ An Unconditional Love

Let me just say, Gordon Shumway, that you never fail to capture the spirit and essence of our celebrations with your excellent writing! Great stuff!

saltwn · #6 (**permalink**) 07-04-2008, 04:22 PM

bossfan · #7 (**permalink**) 07-04-2008, 06:51 PM

Quote:

July 4th - More Than a Day - A Way of Life
By Jackie Gingrich Cushman

Independence Day, July 4th, occurs this week. It is easy, 232 years after the event, to focus on the day the document was signed rather than on the importance of the document or the process it took to create the United States of America. The Declaration of Independence provided a vision of the desired outcome - a new nation, but meeting that vision required time, work, and sacrifice by its citizens.

The French and Indian War ceased in 1763. The British, burdened with debt, taxed the colonists (without their say) to help pay off the debt and the cost of maintaining troops in the colonies. Many colonists did not approve of the British taxes and friction grew between American colonists and the British.

A confrontation between a British sentry and colonist led to the Boston Massacre in 1770. Five colonists died. The news of this incident spread rapidly. Paul Revere, later know for his middle-of-the-night horseback ride, created an engraving of the incident that soon circulated throughout the colonies.

The friction between the British and the American colonist continued. To protest a new British tea tax, colonists organized the Boston Tea Party in 1773. No one was killed, but goods worth more than $1 million in today’s dollars were destroyed.

The American Revolution officially began with the Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. When the British army and the Minutemen met at Lexington, an initial standoff ended when a shot was fired. It soon came to be known as the “shot heard ‘round the world.” The American Revolutionary War had officially begun.

The Second Continental Congress voted on June 7, 1776 for a resolution stating “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.” Thomas Jefferson was tasked with writing this “Declaration of Independence.” He finished a draft within three weeks and, after a few revisions, Congress adopted it on July 4, 1776.

It says, in part:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,”

This document is incredibly important because it acknowledges that the Creator gives rights to men, who then loan the rights to the Government. In this model, the Creator comes first, then man and then the Government that man created.

The Declaration of Independence proclaims that life and liberty are the unalienable gifts of God – natural rights – which no person or government can rightfully take away. It affirms that the purpose of government is to protect these God-given rights, and that government is subservient to the people. The people, not the government, hold the power. Government derives its powers from the consent of the governed (the people). Our Declaration reduced the status of government from the master of people (as in English rule) to that of the servant of the people.

July 4, the day the document was signed, is the day we celebrate as Independence Day. However, at this point, we were far from independent.

The American Revolutionary War raged on for more than five more years. British General Charles Cornwallis formally surrendered at Yorktown on October 19, 1781. But the cost of the war had bankrupted the Congress. Many soldiers had fought for more than six years without pay. While we were an independent nation, it was unclear how long we would remain that way.

The inauguration of George Washington as the first president of the United States occurred on April 30, 1789, and signaled a move toward order and stability: our freedom had been declared and won, our Constitution adopted and our president elected and in office.

The work for a free country continues today. While celebrating the birth of our nation’s Independence on July 4th, we also celebrate our growth, trials and triumphs.

July 4th should be more than a simple celebration, but a time to reflect on the importance and responsibility of citizens of a nation who “hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Our rights come from God, to be loaned to the government - let us pay thanks to God for these rights while we remind the government that these rights are only loaned to them by the people. They govern only by the consent of the governed.

More about Jackie Gingrich Cushman at: Jackie Cushman About Jackie Cushman

Michael1 · #8 (**permalink**) 07-04-2008, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bossfan

Let me just say, Gordon Shumway, that you never fail to capture the spirit and essence of our celebrations with your excellent writing! Great stuff!

From my brief time here, I must agree.

Great stuff, and thank you!

Gordon Shumway · #9 (**permalink**) 07-05-2008, 12:48 AM

Thanks for the vote of confidence in my writing.

When writing about this country; especially these patriotic days the words really do come rather easy to me. They're already deep inside me just waiting to be expressed to others in the hope that they'll share the same love of country to others that I feel for this nation everyday. I cannot express it enough.
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I live in a rather small midwest community & am very proud of that community & my upbringing. However, the Washington Post found the need to misrespresent it & trash the community I deeply care about.

At the Fencepost: Washington Post: Flag City Full of Rumors about Obama

cnredd · #10 (**permalink**) 07-05-2008, 02:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon Shumway

Thanks for the vote of confidence in my writing.

When writing about this country; especially these patriotic days the words really do come rather easy to me. They're already deep inside me just waiting to be expressed to others in the hope that they'll share the same love of country to others that I feel for this nation everyday. I cannot express it enough.

That's how you can tell true national pride...

When it comes naturally and not written by your campaign staff informing the public how patriotic you REALLY are...

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