Random Thoughts About the Fourth of July

How many people today know the names of those who pledged their “lives and fortunes” to declare independence?  I decided to see how many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence I could retrieve from memory.  Of the fifty-six signers, I also came up with 15 (and one of those did not sign the document)!  It bothered me that I could name so few.  Even after looking over the list, some of those signatures did not conjure in my mind any face or facts about the courageous gentlemen.  We always emphasize Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Ben Franklin, Richard Lee, and John Hancock, but many of the others are hardly known outside their states.  One of my favorites has always been Button Gwinnett from Georgia—I just think he has a cool name!  Try and see how many signers you can name WITHOUT looking at a list!   

Speaking of signers, so many students I encounter believe Washington either  a) signed the document, b) did not agree with it, or c) died before it was created.  Now most of these children are in grade school, but it would be interesting to see how many adults think Washington signed the Declaration of Independence.  Try and ask a few people and let me know the results! (Washington had been selected Commander of the Continental Army so he had left for the Boston area BEFORE the document was created).

NPR had a program that explained the 4^th of July became a big deal in 1790s when Jefferson was mobilizing against Hamilton and the soon-to-be Federalist Party.  The great holiday at this time was George Washington’s birthday.  Jefferson INCORRECTLY saw this as kingly-type worship rather than a Republic celebration.  Mmm. . . . So he wanted to celebrate the document he helped create rather than Washington, the man who won our Independence, refused “to be King” and had served his country in so many capacities.  As for me, I celebrate both holidays!

I had planned to go to a ball game in Oklahoma City and watch the fireworks at the stadium for the Fourth.  Mother Nature intervened and brought a much-needed rain to the area.  The game was postponed and I watched the fireworks display from the comfort of my DRY hotel room.  The next morning the sunrise was truly worthy of a “Fourth” celebration—sort of a Sunshine Patriot!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 at 12:09 am and is filed under George Washington. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.