Richard Shank
Columnist
Friday of this week, America will pause to celebrate the 249th anniversary of the nation’s declaration of independence from England. Fireworks and speeches were introduced into colonial America, early in American history, to observe the celebration, and remain to this day.
Independence Hall in Philadelphia is where it all happened. On a trip to the city of brotherly love, as Philadelphia is affectionately known, I had an occasion to walk the sprawling structure and join dozens of other tourists peering inside a room appropriately named “Assembly Hall.” Here, 56 colonial Americans ratified a document, which signaled our end as a colonial property of England. George Washington, perhaps, the nation’s most famous colonial leader, was not in attendance as he was in the field commanding America’s army in battle against the British.
The Revolutionary War lasted eight years until ratification of a treaty signed in Paris in 1783, which gave America its independence.
Eleven years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, many of the same founding fathers returned to this very room to draft a constitution that has endured the test of time 238 years later. This time around, Washington was in attendance and was unanimously elected to serve as Chairman of the Constitutional Convention. Without question, this building and its Assembly Hall could lay claim as being the nation’s most historic site.
Ground was broken for Independence Hall is 1732, a project that took 21 years to complete. In 1753, the greats and near greats were on hand to dedicate the new home for Pennsylvania’s colonial government.
Relations between the colonies and the royal government in London soured soon thereafter as a result of new taxation imposed on the American colonies to cover the cost of King George’s European excursions. When the British launched an invasion of the colonies at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts in April 1775, a colonial congress met at Independence Hall, and as its first order of business was to select George Washington Commander of American forces.
One year later, 56 brave colonists made their way to Philadelphia, including two future Presidents named John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, to consider independence from the royal government.
As the story goes, the Continental Congress tapped Jefferson, then a young Virginia plantation owner barely 33 years old, to draft a document to proclaiming the colony’s independence. It is reputed that Jefferson labored 17 days in a Philadelphia rooming house now known as “Declaration House” where he drafted what would become a 1337-word document, with advice from two of his contemporaries, Adams and Benjamin Franklin. Most historians say Franklin, who was elderly at the time of the proceedings would have, more than likely, been one of the nation’s first presidents had he been younger. Still he left behind a long list of expressions and sayings which remain relevant to this day.
On June 28, 1776, Jefferson’s final product was unveiled at Independence Hall and it should come as no surprise that most of his 55 contemporaries suggested some edit, perhaps to one day lay claim that they were a part of what was about to become the nation’s most historic document. During the next week, about one- fourth of Jefferson’s original words were edited from the first draft, but on July 2, the Continental Congress approved the declaration, and two days later voted a second time to ratify.
Jefferson’s prophetic phrase, “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” is rated by most historians as the most consequential and potent words in American history. From what I read, Jefferson’s original document with sidebar edits survived.
As one should expect, an event of this magnitude has produced its share of great stories and trivia, some of which are worth repeating.
Adams, to his dying day, said the annual Independence Day celebrations should take place on July 2 since that was the date when the first vote to approve was taken.
Adams and Jefferson died hours apart on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the ratification of the Declaration of Independence. And, James Madison, the nation’s fourth President would die July 4 in 1831. Only one President, Calvin Coolidge, has a birthday of July 4.
In its formative years, preservation of historical attractions was not a priority in the new nation and during the 1800s Philadelphia used Assembly Hall to store feed for the city’s horses. In 1948, the National Park Service totally restored Independence Hall to its original appearance.
Then, there was the story of John Hancock who lectured his fellow signers how they must stick together. Ben Franklin, never a man short on words, rose and responded, “Yes, we must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
With the current political climate that has engulfed America, it is hard to imagine that those in charge in the nation’s capital would, in these times, be able to enact anything of this magnitude. The Senate would filibuster the idea to death and the House of Representatives would refuse to vote out of fear that it might pass.
Meeting for the first time in 1788, the electoral college unanimously elected Washington to serve as America’s first president. Four years later, he was unanimously re-elected to serve a second term. Adams, vice president for eight years, succeeded Washington to serve as the nation’s second president.
New York served a short time as the nation’s first capital before it moved to Philadelphia, and then, in 1800, to a new city of the Potomac River to be called Washington, D.C. . In 1790, Washington, visited the construction site located barely 20 miles from Mount Vernon, his Virginia plantation, and set the corner stone for a presidential residence to known as the White House. Washington is the only president who did not live in the White House during their time if office.
This July 4, let us celebrate our proud history and pledge to preserve a democratic form of government, which has served us for nearly two-and one-half centuries.
