Independence Day's Forgotten Heritage
Bonnie Alba
June 30, 2007
The Fourth of July! Countless pleasurable memories come to mind from past family and community celebrations of this significant date on our calendar. As children, traditions of this annual summer event of celebration included, of course, the fireworks, those explosions of firelights across the night sky and the sparklers.
After the Continental Congress accepted the Declaration of Independence, John Adams wrote a letter to his wife, Abigail, on July 3, 1776: “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....”
How many Americans know “why” we celebrate this day? After all, it was 231 years ago. In the last 60-70 years of public school education, history textbooks have been carefully edited to eliminate any mention of the 13 colonies’ reliance upon God’s providence in the decision to fight for their independence from England.
The preservation of American traditions is important, but when the reason for the celebration is no longer taught, it becomes “just another holiday” instead of a nation under God. Under the guise of “separation of church and state,” we have been transformed into a materialistic, secularist country driven by a consumer-driven economy.
The people who fled tyranny and religious persecution risked all to come to a new land. They would not recognize what we have become. With the expulsion of God’s sovereign role in our history from public education and school textbooks, the younger generations are missing a vital part of the documented record.
How do we keep the “why” alive when education clearly rejects God’s role in our nation’s history? The fact is that the colonies and the members of the Continental Congress believed and acted as if God was in control and had his hand on this nation.
Thomas Jefferson, so shamelessly maligned of late, who penned the famous words of the Declaration of Independence, in part:
When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume... the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature’s God entitles them....
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...
We, therefore,...appealing to the Supreme Court judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions...with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”
The profound depth of this document has inspired minds and hearts all over the world. Countless people have died trying to reach this land where freedom, liberty and justice reign. Our people have shed their blood to preserve this nation under God and liberty for all citizens.
On July 8, 1776, the Declaration was read publicly for the first time on the steps of Philadephia’s Independence Hall, accompanied by the ringing of the Liberty Bell. The Bell was later engraved with “Proclaim liberty through all the land and to all the inhabitants thereof.” (Lev. 25:10)
What sticks in my mind from my 1950s education is the traditional respect shown by families, public school teachers and the community to the founders and their frequent references to God.
From Jefferson’s writings: “God, who gave us life, gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God?”
The founders were not “politicians” as defined today. They lived and breathed by their integrity, honor and reliance on God’s providence. Men with an uncommon wisdom, they were ready to sacrifice their lives and fortunes to advance the new republic. The governing documents they created, the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, have no equals in the annals of civilized nations.
As your families gather this 4th of July, watching the “firelights” in the night sky, maybe the wonder of how we got here from there will inspire your hearts. So why not kick your traditional celebration up a notch? Share your historical recollections and family memories with your children so that they will never forget the “why.”
2007 Bonnie Alba
comments: tttalba@hotmail.com
After the Continental Congress accepted the Declaration of Independence, John Adams wrote a letter to his wife, Abigail, on July 3, 1776: “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....”
How many Americans know “why” we celebrate this day? After all, it was 231 years ago. In the last 60-70 years of public school education, history textbooks have been carefully edited to eliminate any mention of the 13 colonies’ reliance upon God’s providence in the decision to fight for their independence from England.
The preservation of American traditions is important, but when the reason for the celebration is no longer taught, it becomes “just another holiday” instead of a nation under God. Under the guise of “separation of church and state,” we have been transformed into a materialistic, secularist country driven by a consumer-driven economy.
The people who fled tyranny and religious persecution risked all to come to a new land. They would not recognize what we have become. With the expulsion of God’s sovereign role in our history from public education and school textbooks, the younger generations are missing a vital part of the documented record.
How do we keep the “why” alive when education clearly rejects God’s role in our nation’s history? The fact is that the colonies and the members of the Continental Congress believed and acted as if God was in control and had his hand on this nation.
Thomas Jefferson, so shamelessly maligned of late, who penned the famous words of the Declaration of Independence, in part:
When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume... the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature’s God entitles them....
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...
We, therefore,...appealing to the Supreme Court judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions...with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”
The profound depth of this document has inspired minds and hearts all over the world. Countless people have died trying to reach this land where freedom, liberty and justice reign. Our people have shed their blood to preserve this nation under God and liberty for all citizens.
On July 8, 1776, the Declaration was read publicly for the first time on the steps of Philadephia’s Independence Hall, accompanied by the ringing of the Liberty Bell. The Bell was later engraved with “Proclaim liberty through all the land and to all the inhabitants thereof.” (Lev. 25:10)
What sticks in my mind from my 1950s education is the traditional respect shown by families, public school teachers and the community to the founders and their frequent references to God.
From Jefferson’s writings: “God, who gave us life, gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God?”
The founders were not “politicians” as defined today. They lived and breathed by their integrity, honor and reliance on God’s providence. Men with an uncommon wisdom, they were ready to sacrifice their lives and fortunes to advance the new republic. The governing documents they created, the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, have no equals in the annals of civilized nations.
As your families gather this 4th of July, watching the “firelights” in the night sky, maybe the wonder of how we got here from there will inspire your hearts. So why not kick your traditional celebration up a notch? Share your historical recollections and family memories with your children so that they will never forget the “why.”
2007 Bonnie Alba
comments: tttalba@hotmail.com