July 4 2014
This week America displayed its patriotic colors from
sea-to-shining sea, from its northern border to its southern border, and
throughout the week pyrotechnics from sparklers to firecrackers to fireworks
showing off in the darkened skies, voiced the pride of being an American and
the heritage of our freedoms.
We all learned in grade school about the beginning of the Revolutionary
War with shots being fired at Lexington and Concord and July 4th became the day
to remember those whose determination of a new country, free of the burdens of
British control. The signers of the Declaration were seen as betrayers and
liable for treason; their names were kept anonymous for nearly a year to
protect them and their families.
Actually,
the fourth of July was not really
acknowledged by the colonies for the first
twenty or so years but gained momentum after the War of 1812 and the coincidental
deaths of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, within hours of each other, on July
4, 1826, may have helped to encourage the idea of July 4 as an important date
to be celebrated. Celebrations of the
Fourth of July became more common as the years went on and in 1870, almost a
hundred years after the Declaration was written that Congress declared July 4
to be a national holiday.
We have picnicked over the past week with family and friends,
fixing a few dozen deviled eggs and several pounds of potato salad and coleslaw
to share.
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