HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!
Well, its that time of year again.....fireworks bbq's, potato salad....I would like to dedicate this blog to the brave men an women who sought freedom from fear, of speech, from want, and of worship! And to those who continue to risks their lives each and everyday to preserve our freedom. THANK YOU!!!
7 Fun Facts: Declaration of Independence
1. It wasn't actually July 4 The 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence did not sign at the same time, nor did they sign on July 4, 1776. The official event occurred on August 2, 1776, when 50 men signed it.
2. John Adams thought July 2 would be remembered...
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..."
3. The Liberty Bell
The Liberty Bell sounded from the tower of Independence Hall on July 8, 1776, summoning citizens to gather for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence by Colonel John Nixon.
4. The last signing was 6 months later
Thomas McKean was the last to sign the Declaration of Independence in January, 1777.
5. Where did the word Patriotism come from
The word "patriotism" comes from the Latin patria, which means ‘homeland’ or "fatherland".
6. Jefferson and Adams died 50 years later
Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on Independence Day, July 4, 1826, 50 years after the first Independence Day.
7. When did it become an official holiday?
In 1941, Congress declared 4th of July a federal legal holiday
A Nation’s Strength
By: Ralph Waldo Emerson
What makes a nation’s pillars high
And its foundations strong?
What makes it mighty to defy
The foes that round it throng?
It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand
Go down in battle shock;
Its shafts are laid on sinking sand,
Not on abiding rock.
Is it the sword? Ask the red dust
Of empires passed away;
The blood has turned their stones to rust,
Their glory to decay.
And is it pride? Ah, that bright crown
Has seemed to nations sweet;
But God has struck its luster down
In ashes at his feet.
Not gold but only men can make
A people great and strong;
Men who for truth and honor’s sake
Stand fast and suffer long.
Brave men who work while others sleep,
Who dare while others fly...
They build a nation’s pillars deep
And lift them to the sky.
And its foundations strong?
What makes it mighty to defy
The foes that round it throng?
It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand
Go down in battle shock;
Its shafts are laid on sinking sand,
Not on abiding rock.
Is it the sword? Ask the red dust
Of empires passed away;
The blood has turned their stones to rust,
Their glory to decay.
And is it pride? Ah, that bright crown
Has seemed to nations sweet;
But God has struck its luster down
In ashes at his feet.
Not gold but only men can make
A people great and strong;
Men who for truth and honor’s sake
Stand fast and suffer long.
Brave men who work while others sleep,
Who dare while others fly...
They build a nation’s pillars deep
And lift them to the sky.
Hope you've enjoyed......Happy Independence Day!!! Be safe, I hope you have a lovely holiday!
Allie
How will you be celebrating Independence Day? Let me know...
