AFA of PA ACTION ALERT
July 4, 2022
Issue
Independence Day – Do We Still Understand What They Did?
Details
What does July 4th mean to most Americans now? Probably for many it simply means parades, picnics, cookouts, and fireworks. What did it mean to those who signed the Declaration of Independence on that fateful day in 1776? It was the culmination of years of frustratingly imploring the King of England to treat them fairly, as fellow British citizens. The negotiations went nowhere and their only alternative was to declare their independence, even as New York City was burning and more British troops were on the way to beat the colonists into submission.
The Declaration of Independence listed 27 reasons why the colonists declared their independence from England. American Minute summarizes some of them:
“ . . . He has made judges dependent on his will alone . . .
. . . 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 . . .
. . . To subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution . . .
. . . For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us . . .
. . . For imposing taxes on us without our consent . . .
. . . For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of trial by jury . . .
. . . For . . . establishing . . . an arbitrary government . . .
. . . For . . . altering fundamentally the forms of our governments . . .
. . . 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 . . .
. . . He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us,
And had endeavored 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.”
When Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence, the original draft contained a line condemning slavery, as the King of England was part owner of the Royal African Company. Unfortunately, some delegates from the South objected and the line was omitted, as the Declaration had to pass unanimously with the British already fighting colonists in New York.
The Signers of the Declaration of Independence understood the risk they were taking. Of the 56 Signers:
11 had their homes destroyed;
5 were hunted and captured;
17 served in the military; and
9 died during the war.
Action Steps
This Independence Day lets take time to appreciate the sacrifices made by our Founding Fathers and the brave colonists who successfully took on the world’s super-power of that day. You can read the full transcript of the Declaration of Independence here
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