Today is the fourth of July. A day when all of us take upon ourselves the moniker penned by Irving Berlin, "Yankee Doodle Dandy." It was 230 years ago today...well, actually, let's get it right. It was 230 years 2 days ago, on July 2, 1776, that a group of revolutionaries, and some of the greatest minds ever assembled on American soil voted to declare independence from England. The Declaration of Independence itself was approved two days later.
In the days leading up to the 50th anniversary of the Declaration, two of the revolutionary generation's greatest sons, John Adams of Massachusetts and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia were asked to give toasts at respective local celebrations.
Jefferson was invited to Washington, but declined. He wrote instead:
May it be to the world, what I believe it will be (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all) the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government....All eyes are opened or opening to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few, booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately by the grace of God. These are the grounds of hope for others for ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.
Adams, asked to provide a toast for the celebration at Quincy, Massachusetts, provided the following for the revelers:
Independence forever!
When asked if he wanted to say more, he replied "Not a word." Far more eloquant and more to the point than Jefferson, but that was Jefferson's style.
These two great giants, at one time friends, and then political enemies, and in their retirement from public life, friends again, these two giants of our history, died on the 50th anniversary of America's Declaration of Independence. Jefferson died at Monticello at approximately 1:00 in the afternoon on July 4, 1826. Adams, at approximately 6:20 uttered his final words, "Thomas Jefferson survives," and drew his final breaths.
Much went into declaring and ensuring our independence and freedom to self-govern. Today we honor those men (and to be sure, women) who risked their lives, both on that day 230 years ago and everyday since, to keep that freedom alive.
