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Independence Day?
In the United States, Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States.[1][2][3]
And did you know?
During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the American colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia.[4][5] After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by a Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author. Congress debated and revised the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4. A day earlier, John Adams had written to his wife Abigail:
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.[6]
Adams's prediction was off by two days. From the outset, Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2, the date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress.[7]
Historians have long disputed whether Congress actually signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, even though Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin all later wrote that they had signed it on that day. Most historians have concluded that the Declaration was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed.[8][9][10][11][12]
In a remarkable coincidence, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the only signers of the Declaration of Independence to later serve as President of the United States, died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration.
And did you know?
During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the American colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia.[4][5] After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by a Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author. Congress debated and revised the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4. A day earlier, John Adams had written to his wife Abigail:
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.[6]
Adams's prediction was off by two days. From the outset, Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2, the date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress.[7]
Historians have long disputed whether Congress actually signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, even though Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin all later wrote that they had signed it on that day. Most historians have concluded that the Declaration was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed.[8][9][10][11][12]
In a remarkable coincidence, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the only signers of the Declaration of Independence to later serve as President of the United States, died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration.
Thank you!! You said this better than I did. As I said, the victors write the history. And unfortunately, political correctness has scrubbed our history books of "offensive" facts. Oh what a terrible price we pay when our history is not taught correctly. We will just repeat the same mistakes and condemn those who should be lauded.
In Texas, the tariffs and states rights issues are taught as the primary causes. Slavery is certainly discussed but not as the primary reason for the war as the history revisionists would like.
In Texas, the tariffs and states rights issues are taught as the primary causes. Slavery is certainly discussed but not as the primary reason for the war as the history revisionists would like.
I posted this once before it will verify a lot of what Sara is saying
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_Proclamation
You will find it full of the truth and make you question everything you’ve been taught. It will make you wander if slavery was more of a “Bargaining Chip” than a moral issue.
With a little research you will also find it interesting at how many Black Slave Owners there were.
Slavery was wrong but the whole truth about it is not being taught.
I hope you read the links I posted. You will find them interesting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_Proclamation
You will find it full of the truth and make you question everything you’ve been taught. It will make you wander if slavery was more of a “Bargaining Chip” than a moral issue.
With a little research you will also find it interesting at how many Black Slave Owners there were.
Slavery was wrong but the whole truth about it is not being taught.
I hope you read the links I posted. You will find them interesting.
I am not defending slavery and never have. The Confederate soldiers supported states rights, an issue rearing its head again today, more than slavery. Slaves fought on both sides of the war. This war pitted brother against brother. Some Yankees fought for the confederacy, not because of the slavery issue, but rather the states rights issue. Some Southerners fought on the Union side. Not that they disliked slavery, they wanted to force the South back into the Union.
Both sides had unbelievably atrocious POW camps. But it seems only the Confederate ones get the attention today. There was a particularly horrendous POW camp outside Chicago. You rarely hear of it. Victors write the history.
But I must disagree with your statement that there were despicable acts on both sides. It is a fact that you can easily verify that the only war crimes were committed by the Northern Aggressors. However if you are referring to slavery, well, here's one most people choose not to know. Maryland remained a slave holding state for the duration of the war. Maryland was a Yankee state, they never seceded. Also, the Emancipation Proclamation freed only the slaves in CONFEDERATE HELD TERRITORY. So when the Yankees took New Orleans, the slaves remained slaves for the duration of the war. New Orleans isn't the only area of which I'm speaking. There was Memphis, parts of Mississippi and other parts. And the slaves remained slaves under Federal Yankee control. Please feel free to verify my statements.
Both sides had unbelievably atrocious POW camps. But it seems only the Confederate ones get the attention today. There was a particularly horrendous POW camp outside Chicago. You rarely hear of it. Victors write the history.
But I must disagree with your statement that there were despicable acts on both sides. It is a fact that you can easily verify that the only war crimes were committed by the Northern Aggressors. However if you are referring to slavery, well, here's one most people choose not to know. Maryland remained a slave holding state for the duration of the war. Maryland was a Yankee state, they never seceded. Also, the Emancipation Proclamation freed only the slaves in CONFEDERATE HELD TERRITORY. So when the Yankees took New Orleans, the slaves remained slaves for the duration of the war. New Orleans isn't the only area of which I'm speaking. There was Memphis, parts of Mississippi and other parts. And the slaves remained slaves under Federal Yankee control. Please feel free to verify my statements.
Well, I certainly would never think it is ok to torch and burn people, murder civilians, etc. even in a time of war. The very thought of it makes me ill. What an awful thing, and I am so sorry your family fell victim to that. On the flip side, the mere thought of anyone owning another human being does the same. So if it's true that the confederate soldiers did not behave in such a way, then kudos to them. However, they did still support slavery and to me that is equally despicable. Seems there was horrific acts on both sides. I am looking forward to learning more.
One thing I'd like to add about the Civil War that I find notable is the difference in the behavior between the Federal and Confederate troops. To put it in a nutshell, when Confederate armies were in Union held territory, General Lee order his troops not to bother or molest the civilian population in any way. That was the rule of war during that time period and the appropriate and honorable thing to do. There were absolutely NO complaints against the Confederate troops by civilians. Ever!!
Now, contrast that with the barbaric hoard that invaded the Confederacy. Rapes, looting and indiscriminate shooting of the civilian population was commonplace. Private homes, churches, hospitals and other civilian buildings were shelled and burned with civilians inside them. Sherman burned everything in his path leaving behind dead women and children. Female slaves were the most commonly raped but white women certainly were not spared. As for my own family, lore has it that when the Yankees appeared they even tried to steal my great great grandmothers knitting. She was on the front porch. The house was torched with my family inside it. We had previously buried all valuables and hidden the stock and slave women in the woods to spare them the atrocities that could be expected from such a barbaric invader. The slaves were encouraged by the Yankees to leave with them. They refused to join in such a travesty.
The lesson here is that history is here to teach us. While the tactics of the Union forces did eventually aid in the victory of the Northern Aggressors, at the time these tactics were employed, it was considered a war crime. And should be viewed as such as that was the standard of the day. But we can learn here that tactic used in that war and repeated by the Russian army during WWII, while vile and inhuman, are effective.
Just my view of this. And my opinion.
Now, contrast that with the barbaric hoard that invaded the Confederacy. Rapes, looting and indiscriminate shooting of the civilian population was commonplace. Private homes, churches, hospitals and other civilian buildings were shelled and burned with civilians inside them. Sherman burned everything in his path leaving behind dead women and children. Female slaves were the most commonly raped but white women certainly were not spared. As for my own family, lore has it that when the Yankees appeared they even tried to steal my great great grandmothers knitting. She was on the front porch. The house was torched with my family inside it. We had previously buried all valuables and hidden the stock and slave women in the woods to spare them the atrocities that could be expected from such a barbaric invader. The slaves were encouraged by the Yankees to leave with them. They refused to join in such a travesty.
The lesson here is that history is here to teach us. While the tactics of the Union forces did eventually aid in the victory of the Northern Aggressors, at the time these tactics were employed, it was considered a war crime. And should be viewed as such as that was the standard of the day. But we can learn here that tactic used in that war and repeated by the Russian army during WWII, while vile and inhuman, are effective.
Just my view of this. And my opinion.
Admittedly I don't know a whole lot about this subject. When it comes to US history, we were taught some in school, but not all that much. I can tell you that many of the freed slaves came to Canada, to Halifax I believe. The idea of course was that they would be free to live their lives as they saw fit, and prosper. Well, we didn't treat them much better then the slave owners did. They wound up in little shanty towns and were treated terribly. People wouldn't hire them, they were completely shunned, attacked and beaten, accused of crimes not committed and even hung, etc. etc. So although we never had slavery in Canada, we certainly were far from innocent. However, as someone else in here once said, it's important to know the truth, warts and all. It's an important part of Canadian history, but it's not taught in our school systems. I find that sad.
I am going to start reading about the civil war. I would like to learn more for, as I mentioned before, I always thought is was almost exclusively about slavery.
I am going to start reading about the civil war. I would like to learn more for, as I mentioned before, I always thought is was almost exclusively about slavery.
I am not going to look it up for verification right now but I do remember discussions in history class and books that described how the South knew that slavery would have to come to an end at some point. And sure, there was plenty of opposition to this. But there was talk of a 20 year phasing out period. The children born to slaves would be considered free and slowly over a period of 20 years the slavery would have been out in its entirety. It's been a while but if anyone wants verification I'll see what I can do. But as I've gotten curious again, I'll probably try to find it.
I sometimes think that the freed slaves would have fared better using the phase out rather than the years of horrid abuse by the Jim Crow laws. And the South definitely would have been better off had Booth not assassinated Lincoln. Reconstruction was a killer for the South. Lincoln had a much kinder plan.
I sometimes think that the freed slaves would have fared better using the phase out rather than the years of horrid abuse by the Jim Crow laws. And the South definitely would have been better off had Booth not assassinated Lincoln. Reconstruction was a killer for the South. Lincoln had a much kinder plan.
It has been years since I studied The Civil War. I will let you know if any of the books I read comes to mind.
I lived in Fredericksburg Va. and was surrounded by battlefields. They still have the trenches the soldiers dug by hand to fight in. I would get an eerie feeling every time I would visit one.
I found myself intrigued and read several books.
I was amazed at how much I wasn’t taught about the Civil War. Don’t get me wrong, slavery did play an important role but it was about far more than that.
I wouldn’t say that everything I was taught was a lie, but I wasn’t taught the entire story.
With very little research, you will see that The Emancipation Proclamation did not become law until about 2 years after the Civil War started. You will also find that the Union still allowed some of there states to practice slavery. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_Proclamation
So you have to ask yourself, if this is true, how could the Civil War primarily be about slavery? You may find this article interesting. http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/19659
It is proof of how fast they moved in to distort the truth.
I lived in Fredericksburg Va. and was surrounded by battlefields. They still have the trenches the soldiers dug by hand to fight in. I would get an eerie feeling every time I would visit one.
I found myself intrigued and read several books.
I was amazed at how much I wasn’t taught about the Civil War. Don’t get me wrong, slavery did play an important role but it was about far more than that.
I wouldn’t say that everything I was taught was a lie, but I wasn’t taught the entire story.
With very little research, you will see that The Emancipation Proclamation did not become law until about 2 years after the Civil War started. You will also find that the Union still allowed some of there states to practice slavery. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_Proclamation
So you have to ask yourself, if this is true, how could the Civil War primarily be about slavery? You may find this article interesting. http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/19659
It is proof of how fast they moved in to distort the truth.
I was reading something a while ago that said a poll showed only about 29% of Americanss could name the country we were independent from! Do you believe that? They said they got answers like Japan, China etc. Back to the history class? The most ignorant age group seemed to be 19-29 years of age. I just find that hard to believe!
Now I am learning something reading these posts. I was one who assumed the Civil War was primarily about slavery. I see I have some self educating to do. My interest is now peaked, and I think I will go check out a few books on the subject. Any suggestions for me? My preference is something that gives me a well rounded perspective and is not slanted in either direction...the facts please!!!
Thank you. I too get disgusted when I hear people call slavery the only issue starting the war. It was much more complicated. Tariffs of 1828 and other. The just don't understand the South was highly populated with those of Irish and Scottish descent. They hated federal authority then and still do. In other words, states rights. I look upon the slavery issue as more of a battle cry, Remember the Alamo, Remember the Main etc.
RNC probably leaves it alone because technically, the South had the Constitutional right to secede. Nowhere is it stated in the Constitution that a state cannot secede. Not then and not now. So they may not want to be associated with a President who violated the Constitution and invaded another sovereign nation in order to impose his will. Just a thought. I know most view him as a hero but I have another viewpoint. But I shouldn't say what I really think! I do believe he was doing what he believed to be his duty as President and it took a terrible toll on him. And John Wilkes Booth is no hero in my book. Just an assassin. He rates right up there with all the other Presidential assassins for me. Low life scum.
RNC probably leaves it alone because technically, the South had the Constitutional right to secede. Nowhere is it stated in the Constitution that a state cannot secede. Not then and not now. So they may not want to be associated with a President who violated the Constitution and invaded another sovereign nation in order to impose his will. Just a thought. I know most view him as a hero but I have another viewpoint. But I shouldn't say what I really think! I do believe he was doing what he believed to be his duty as President and it took a terrible toll on him. And John Wilkes Booth is no hero in my book. Just an assassin. He rates right up there with all the other Presidential assassins for me. Low life scum.
I think we should leave it alone, Independence Day works just fine.
You are one of the few that actually knows the truth about the Civil War. Most just accept the twisted, partially true version of history.
The Civil War was very complex and most people are content to just accept that is was solely about slavery instead of doing a little research.
I wonder why The RNC doesn’t cash in on the fact that Lincoln was a Republican?
You are one of the few that actually knows the truth about the Civil War. Most just accept the twisted, partially true version of history.
The Civil War was very complex and most people are content to just accept that is was solely about slavery instead of doing a little research.
I wonder why The RNC doesn’t cash in on the fact that Lincoln was a Republican?
Margy: Enjoy a couple for me!! I do drink one occasionally if it's hot out and the beer is so cold when you put your hand it, it hurts! That's the perfect beer water!
But what do y'all think about this? Shouldn't we call the 4th of July "Secession Day"? After all, the Founding Fathers were first but technically the Confederacy did the same thing. Both seceded from their rulers because of tax and economic issues. So how is what our Founding Fathers did different from what the Confederacy did? Neither leader, King George or Abraham Lincoln, tried to negotiate a peace prior to the outbreak of violence. There just seem to be a lot of similarities to me.
I guess how you view it, either heroism or sedition, depends on what side you're on and how the victors wrote the story.
But what do y'all think about this? Shouldn't we call the 4th of July "Secession Day"? After all, the Founding Fathers were first but technically the Confederacy did the same thing. Both seceded from their rulers because of tax and economic issues. So how is what our Founding Fathers did different from what the Confederacy did? Neither leader, King George or Abraham Lincoln, tried to negotiate a peace prior to the outbreak of violence. There just seem to be a lot of similarities to me.
I guess how you view it, either heroism or sedition, depends on what side you're on and how the victors wrote the story.
well whenever it is I am glad I am here to celebrate it ..... 2nd or 4th works for me ....sorry had a couple of beers ....
It appears you are right on the money:
"The United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration is a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The birthday of the United States of America—Independence Day—is celebrated on July 4, the day the wording of the Declaration was approved by Congress.
After finalizing the text on July 4, Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in several forms. It was initially published as a printed broadside that was widely distributed and read to the public. The most famous version of the Declaration, a signed copy that is usually regarded as the Declaration of Independence, is on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Although the wording of the Declaration was approved on July 4, the date of its signing has been disputed. Most historians have concluded that it was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed."
For the full text please see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence
"The United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration is a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The birthday of the United States of America—Independence Day—is celebrated on July 4, the day the wording of the Declaration was approved by Congress.
After finalizing the text on July 4, Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in several forms. It was initially published as a printed broadside that was widely distributed and read to the public. The most famous version of the Declaration, a signed copy that is usually regarded as the Declaration of Independence, is on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Although the wording of the Declaration was approved on July 4, the date of its signing has been disputed. Most historians have concluded that it was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed."
For the full text please see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence
I always thought Independence Day is celebrated on July 4, because that was the day the Declaration was approved by Congress.
The signatures were at different dates because not all 56 (I think) were present.
The signatures were at different dates because not all 56 (I think) were present.
Independence Day should be celebrated on the day the Declaration was actually signed. Should indisputable proof be offered that July 4th is not day, it should be changed. But I doubt the country would welcome this change.
Yes I did know it was 2nd July 1776 and if the historians are correct we should have another celebration in August... Happy Independence weekend covers the bases for July .....
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