Four Little-Known Facts About the Fourth of July

Author: Daniel Doherty

Happy Fourth of July! Today we celebrate 238 years of American independence. To that end, here are four interesting facts about this uniquely American holiday that you might not be aware of.

(1) Did you know that the Second Continental Congress approved a resolution to dissolve all political ties with Great Britain on July 2, 1776? It wasn’t until two days later, on July 4th, that the Founding Fathers formally adopted the document we now universally refer to as the “Declaration of Independence.”

“The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America,” John Adams wrote his wife Abigail on July 3, 1776. As it turned out, he was off by a few days.

(2) John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both passed away on July 4, 1826 — 50 years after the Declaration of Independence was formally adopted. The fifth president of the United States, James Monroe, also died on July 4th shortly thereafter — in 1831.

(3) Fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence. Pennsylvania’s Benjamin Franklin (70) was the oldest to sign his name, and South Carolina’s Edward Rutledge (26) was the youngest.

(4) John Hancock was the first delegate to sign the Declaration; and he was only one of two delegates to do so on July 4, 1776. According to legend, he decided to sign his name in big, ostentatious letters so that, as he put it, the “fat old King could read it without his spectacles.”

So there you have it. Have a great day, everyone. I’ll leave you with this: an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence — one of the most important political documents ever written (or ever will be written):

When, 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 to 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.

 
Published on TownHall

The 4th of July

It’s time for the “Barbecue”
And the “Fireworks” galore!
And the “Beer” and the “Friends”
And the “Burgers” for sure!

But most important
And I really must say
Is that “America” got
Its “Independence” today!

Yes in “1776”
The famous politician
Senator “John Hancock”
Had signed the petition

That stated that our country
Was “free” from all others!
And that we would “only be governed”
By our “American brothers”!

So while we are celebrating
This “great day of fun”
Let us always remember
What our forefathers had done!

Published on FunMunch.com

 

Good morning, my very precious family & friends. I wanted to take a moment to thank each of you for your love and prayers during my time of loss. There are way too many of them to responds to each. I hope if you are one of those individuals that personally emailed me or left comments are reading this. Your words of comfort, prayers and blessings mean the world to me. I would ask that you continue to keep Razzy and myself in your prayers, please.

I am not going to lie, this has been the worse week in my live. Tomorrow, it will be a week since Kiki passed. A week seems like an eternity. I still look for her. I expect her to be following me to the kitchen. I expect her to be waiting outside the shower for me when I get out. I believe the hardest is not having her waiting for me on the other side of the door when I get home. Home now is very, very empty and a place I try not to spend much time at.

She was given a funeral and was buried under a big shade tree out in the backyard. I put one of my pentagrams in her little tiny paws along with a favorite toy and bone. Her grave is where I can look out my bedroom window and see her. She is checked on daily. A concrete slab was fashioned on top of her grave so the coyotes couldn’t get to her. That would absolutely kill me.

The sudden outburst of crying still occur. I ask the Goddess and the Morrighan to replace my sad thoughts to those of the happy memories I have of her. I also asked both of these dear Ladies to give me strength and comfort. I know with their help and your prayers it will ease but it will never totally go away. A piece of heart is buried with my dear precious Kiki. A piece I don’t want back it was hers and it belongs with her.

I wanted to say thank you before we get started this morning. I ask again for your continue prayers and prayers that I get through this morning. Everywhere I look are reminders of her, I don’t won’t them removed nor do I want to ever forget her.

Thank you my precious family, I can never put into words how I feel about each of you.

I Love You,

Lady A