AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY

July 4th, 2004

On the Fourth of July, we celebrate not only America’s birthday but the birth of the great principles on which our nation was founded.

On July 4th, 1776, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and approved the Declaration of Independence. One of the most famous and influential political documents ever written, the Declaration made the revolutionary claim that government must serve the people – who had the right to "alter or abolish" any government that failed to do so:

"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...."

Ever since that first Fourth of July, Americans have worked and struggled to fulfill the promise of freedom embodied in the Declaration of Independence. First the colonists had to fight a seven-year war of independence. Then the principles of equality and freedom were tested and forged in the fire of Civil War. In the 20th century, America’s great principles were again tested and strengthened by two World Wars, the Great Depression, and the Civil Rights movement.

In this new century, America faces a new challenge from threat of international terrorism. As we struggle to meet this challenge, let us never forget what we are fighting for: democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and respect for all – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

In the midst of another war, Abraham Lincoln resolved that "this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

This July 4th, as we gather to share our picnics or watch the fireworks, let us once again celebrate – and pledge to defend – the rights and freedoms that make America the greatest nation on earth.

THE HISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE DAY

On December 16, 1773, fifty members of the Sons of Liberty boarded three ships docked in Boston Harbor, and dumped 9,659 British Sterlings-worth of tea into the sea in protest of British tax policies. The event became known as the Boston Tea Party. In response, Great Britain closed Boston Harbor until the destroyed tea was paid for. In addition, town meetings were restricted to only one per year, and British soldiers were protected from arrest for any crimes they might commit in the Colonies. These laws became known as the Intolerable Acts.

On September 5th, 1774, the First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia. Delegates representing twelve of the thirteen colonies (Georgia did not attend) declared that colonists should have the same rights as Englishmen, and called for the suspension of trade with Great Britain until Parliament abolished the Intolerable Acts.

On April 19, 1775, Paul Revere made his famous ride through the countryside outside of Lexington, Massachusetts, to warn that the British Regular Army were on the move. Ordered to capture any rebel leaders and confiscate all military supplies, the British were met by Minutemen (colonists ready for battle at a minute's notice), who drove the army back at the Battle of Concord. This was the start of the American Revolution.

On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence. It was written by Thomas Jefferson (who later became the third President of the United States).

On October 19, 1781, the British Army, surrendered at Yorktown after a five-day battle against the combined French and American armies, led by Comte de Rochambeau and General George Washington (who later became the first President of the United States).

In September, 1783, the Treaty of Paris granted independence to the American colonies.

INDEPENDENCE DAY EVENT LOCATOR

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