After describing the many reasons and causes why separation was necessary, the Declaration of Independence outlines the steps that are being taken. Read and reflect this 4th of July on the courage of those 56 representatives of the 13 original colonies who had the courage to stand up for what was right and established this great land of ours.
“We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”
Signed by: New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton, Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry; Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery, Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott; New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris; New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark; Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean; Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton; Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton; North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn; South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton; Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton.
Many of the signees lost their families, fortunes, and even their lives in the ensuing struggles. Would you have the courage to sign if offered to you today?
As you celebrate today, take a moment to consider your response to John F. Kennedy’s now famous quote,
“Ask not what your country can do for you,
but what you can do for your country.”
Blessings for a safe and wonderful 235th birthday celebration.
