July 2nd, 3rd and 4th are the beating heart of all America. As the US Election rages, and descends into ever greater mudslinging, I have decided to focus and contemplate these three key days in history:On the 2nd July 1776 the 13 Colonies of the United States Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence. Congress then turned its attention to a Declaration of Independece, fundamentally drafted on July 2-3rd by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, a committee of the greatest men who ever lived. This declaration was then debated and approved on the 4th July 1776, and signed as recorded in Trumbull's famous painting.Of course the reality is that Americans celebrate the 4th July, not the second. Bizarrely, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, were not only the only signers of the Declaration of Independence later to serve as President of the USA but they also died on died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration.The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. 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 shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.
Nowadays all the world knows that the 4th of July is Independence day - just as the 14th July is known the world over as Bastille Day in France. The actual text of the Declaration, finally signed on July 4th 1776 is here: http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/
As we debate the breaking of bonds with Scotland it is worth a read.
