Enjoy a a word about July 4th from a founding father

12 years ago

PRIMARY SOURCE.... letter about "Independence Day" 1776 from John Adams to his wife:

"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 Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more."

Happy celebration, everyone.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

gadgets
12 years ago
That's excellent. Thanks for sharing.
chisue
12 years ago
Adams was speaking of JULY 2, 1776 -- not July 4.

July 2 is when the Continental Congress voted to declare independence, The July 2 Pennsylvania Evening Post published the news, saying, "This day the Continental Congress declared the United Colonies Free and Independent States."

Lest you think I'm so smart, I have to tell you I read this in an op-ed piece in today's Chicago Tribune, who took it from the Washington Post.

It includes a wonderful declaration by George Washington, also made July 2 , without his knowledge that the Congress had acted.. A section of it states:

"...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."

On July 4 the Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, largely written by Jefferson, but it was only signed in stages, beginning August 2. There was no actual joint signing as pictured in our school books, with all the signers in Philadelphia.

On July 8, Philadelphia celebrated.

The Army, camped near NYC under Washington, heard the news July 9 and celebrated.

Georgia got the word August 10.

London found out about August 30. And the fight for our republic began. Will we keep disproving Franklin's doubts about our ability to keep this treasure?
Related Discussions
4th of July tomato plants update! (Photos included)
Q
Comments (9)
Hi Piantini, Nice pics! You are like me, you can't wait to start the seeds and then we have them too early. I still have 5-6 weeks to wait myself, but you'll be alright! My pics below show the different size cups that I use, starting the seeds in the smallest (using Miricle Gro Seed Starting Mix), then transplanting to the 8 oz cup when they get true leaves (now I start using ProMix BX), then, one last transplant to the 16 oz cup when there is about an inch between the dirt line and the first branch. (I cut off the cotyledon before putting it into the 16 oz cup.) I bury the plant deeper, each time I transplant, up to the lowest branch. The stem will root and make the plant stronger! I use mini blinds with Avery #8167 Ink Jet labels covered over with 3/4 inch "invisible" scotch tape from Staples. They last all season for me out in the garden. The second pic is a pic of my 4th of July on the left, a Basil plant in the middle, and a Campari plant on the right. Last year, I had ripe Campari toms on June 30th. The Campari beat out the 4th of July for the first ripe! The 3rd pic is my three shelf growing setup with two 4' floursecent lights for each shelf, and the lights are adjusted with chains. The fourth pic is a tray of my plants that I transplanted today. Their next stop is in the garden outside after I harden them off during the first week of May. Then I enjoy the fruits of all my work for the rest of the summer! Hope you have a great growing experience! If you have questions, ask in this forum. The people are very willing to help you. Paul
...See More
4th of July pet training
Q
Comments (10)
Oceanna - that is good advice. Unfortunately, some dogs, and cats too (I have one) that are just frightened by thunder, fireworks or any other loud noises that do not regularly occur in their world. While we've tried to do the treats when the storms or fireworks are happening, it doesn't help with the cat or the pup who just become unhinged by these noises. The thing I find strange is that both of my dogs have the same mother in common. That said, their personalities couldn't be different. My younger boy (the one with the noise issues) is already on a prescription medication for anxiety reaction issues, yet when there are storms, he gets freaked out. I can tell when we are going to have the storms long before the sky even darkens. My younger lab starts early in the afternoon with the anxious behavior. I guess he can sense these storms, when even the meteorologists aren't predicting bad weather for our area, lol. My older guy doesn't react at all to any noise and never has. I hope the treat motivation is helpful to more people. We also use the tv or radio (a bit louder than usual) during storms as well. Also, downplaying and/or ignoring the reaction can be helpful too. Our vet definitely suggests that we not get pulled into the anxiety reaction. Thanks for posting this very helpful info.
...See More
Do you have a flag out for 4th of July?
Q
Comments (41)
Anyone's feelings for "The country" and any patriotism about it should be unaffected by the doings or positions of any temporary politician/office holder. The country is diverse and is the same from year to year, no matter who's in office and no matter what the government does or doesn't do. If you love the country, you should also respect the diversity of views (without needing to agree with them). That's a concept many don't understand or want to deal with. The frequency of Americans' overt expressions of patriotism, along with the same of overt religiousity, are two things about the US that many Europeans find puzzling. Most people around the world (other than political dissidents, and often even them) have affection and pride for their countries, they just don't feel the need to express them publicly or as frequently as Americans do. The flag represents everyone and every point of view, not just one's particularly favorite position.
...See More
Do you have a flag out for 4th of July
Q
Comments (43)
We live on a large lake year round and fly both a US flag and an Earth flag at all times. We also have a rainbow flag, the Jolly Rodger, several state flags and Tibetian prayer flags that are flown at various times, depending on the weather and my ambition level. Despite being a progressive, leftie super liberal who holds disgust and hate in my heart for many of the US elected officials, I believe in the US and believe we as a nation could (and should) do much better in terms of how we treat the rest of the world, women, LGBTQ persons, minorities, the poor, immigrants and prisoners (to name a few), I keep going back to what my late father always said "Our system is flawed, but it's the best there is, and only the laziness of our citizens will cause it to fail". Personally I think a few more Scandanavian principles would be in order, but overall, I have to agree with him, take marriage equality, which only a few years ago seemed far from our grasp, now is the law of the land. And that's why I fly the flag.
...See More
wanda_va
12 years ago
God bless our founding fathers. We owe them so much, for their wisdom and service to our country.

It's mind-boggling to me that three of our first five presidents died on July 4--John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe (Adams and Jefferson died on the same day, less than six hours apart)!
mojomom
12 years ago
Who among us has read the entire Declaration of Indeoendence recently and
took the time to really discuss it. That is what my DH and I did Today while we were driving. It was a fun and educational experience. Not to mention timely.
joyfulguy
12 years ago
One quote from one of your early leaders that I feel to be important in every democratic society is,

"The price of freedom is ... eternal vigilance".

Was it Nathan Hale?

Those in power often seek to expand theirs ... often by non-obvious, even devious, means.

It's part of our job to keep them in check ... and a major part of that enterprise in earlier times was carried on by objective and crusading newspapers, but they are but a shadow of their former selves, and television won't do it.

The new social media can help ... but it's being used effectively by the destroyers of free and democratic societies, as well.

ole joyful
joyfulguy
12 years ago
Thread killer ... again ... it seems.

Any words from, our founding mothers, by the way?

Perhaps, before getting too high and mighty about the place of women in many areas of the world, we should do a check of our not so distant past.

o j

Enjoy a a word about July 4th from a founding father

Comments (6)

gadgets

chisue

Related Discussions

wanda_va

mojomom

joyfulguy

joyfulguy

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US