On The Fourth of July

 

Hello there once again and happy 4th of July everyone. This is a very special time for this monthly blog because we’re gonna talk about Independence Day here in Lawrence.

First, let’s start off with a brief history of Independence Day.

It all started in the year 1776, The Declaration of Independence helped unify the 13 American colonies and set the stage for the American Revolution in several ways. And it summarized the colonists' motivations for seeking independence. By declaring themselves an independent nation, the American colonists were able to confirm an official alliance with the Government of France and obtain French assistance in the war against Great Britain.

Thomas Paine once wrote about government in Common Sense: Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.

The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents in America's history, and signing is what we celebrate on the 4th of July every year because that's the day it was signed on in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Who were the members of the Committee of Five that signed the Declaration of Independence?

John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman.

Philip Livingston didn't write the Declaration, his brother Robert did.

John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin were members of the Committee of Five that were charged by the Second Continental Congress with drafting the Declaration of Independence. Franklin, Adams, and John Jay negotiated the 1783 Treaty of Paris, which established American independence and brought an end to the American Revolutionary War. The delegates of the Thirteen Colonies in Congress resolved to postpone until Monday, July 1, the final consideration of whether or not to declare the several sovereign independencies of the Colonies, which had been proposed by the North Carolina resolutions of April 12 and the Virginia resolutions of May 15. The proposal, known as the Lee Resolution, was moved in Congress on June 7 by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia. During these allotted three weeks Congress agreed to appoint a committee to draft a statement to outline the reasons for the Colonies seceding from the British Empire. The actual declaration of "American Independence" is precisely the text comprising the final paragraph of the published broadside of July 4. The broadside's final paragraph repeated the text of the Lee Resolution as adopted by the declaratory resolve voted on July 2. On June 11, the Committee of Five was appointed: John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Robert Livingston of New York, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. Because the committee left no minutes, there is some uncertainty about how the drafting process proceeded. Accounts written many years later by Jefferson and Adams, although frequently cited, vary in some respects.

On June 28, 1776, the committee presented this copy to the "Committee of the Whole" Congress, which was commemorated by Trumbull’s famed painting. The title of the document was "A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress assembled".

Although not officially noted, the estimated time was 6:26 p.m. (18:26 LMT) for the recording of this historic vote. The Congress then heard the report of the Committee of the Whole and declared the sovereign status of the United Colonies the following day, during the afternoon of July 2. The Committee of the Whole then turned to the Declaration, and it was given a second reading before adjournment.

On Wednesday, July 3, the Committee of the Whole gave the Declaration the third reading and commenced scrutiny of the precise wording of the proposed text. But for two passages in the Committee of Five's draft that were rejected by the Committee of the Whole the work was accepted without any other major changes. One was a critical reference to the English people and the other was a denunciation of the slave trade and of slavery itself.

Thomas Jefferson once wrote:

"The pusillanimous idea that we had friends in England worth keeping terms with still haunted the minds of many. For this reason, those passages which conveyed censures on the people of England were struck out, lest they should give them offense. The clause, too, reprobating the enslaving the inhabitants of Africa was struck out in complaisance to South Carolina and Georgia, who had never attempted to restrain the importation of slaves, and who, on the contrary, still wished to continue it. Our Northern brethren also, I believe, felt a little tender under these censures, for though their people had very few slaves themselves, yet they had been pretty considerable carriers of them to others."

And as John Adams recalled many years later, this work of editing the proposed text was largely completed by the time of adjournment on July 3. However, the text's formal adoption was deferred until the following morning, when the Congress voted its agreement during the late morning of July 4.

On the 4th of July, they signed that Declaration and honored those first 13 states. They turned the sky into a birthday cake when they've got it done.

The 13 first states were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

Here's what I quote in that Declaration.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.

And that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights.

That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Now look at this...

You can actually see The Committee of Five, pictured on an 1869 U.S. Postal Service 24-cent stamp. That's the same image that also appears on the present two-dollar bill. Isn't that cool?

Now that we've discussed the Declaration of Independence, let's talk about the times I remember spending the 4th of July in Lawrence Kansas. And stay tuned, because I have a special idea for spending Independence Day when I move back to Lawrence, Kansas. I've been thinking about having yet another 4th of July party celebration here in downtown Lawrence. There'll be plenty of food, music, activities, 

Get this. There was a time when my family and I got together and went to Riverfront Park to watch the fireworks there close to Burcham Park.

It was that time when I got there. We went there, found a place to talk and hang out, and I even got myself some ice cream from the truck. When night began to fell, the fireworks began to boom right out of the sky. I brought along my walkman with me so I can listen to music. Then as we all stood up for the national anthem, we sang the Star-Spangled Banner. And after that, it was the grand finale. The fireworks began to light up and shine during our country's birthday. It was great day to watch the fireworks here in Lawrence, and I hope that someday I will get to do it again soon.

Now go back before the 4th of July. This is where me and my dad both got together to buy some fireworks and shoot them in the air. And where did we go to get ourselves some fireworks? It was at Garrett's here in Lawrence.

As we got into our front yard of the house, we lit of some color smoke bombs and watch them burn. We even got some firecrackers to watch them pop. Plus some roman candles, bottle rockets, and of course, some sparklers. I love sparklers, they light up on a stick when I hold on to both of them. One of the other things I use those sparklers is that I put them on the ground to watch them light up like a cake. It was an incredible display to see in our front yard. Whenever I see fireworks here in Lawrence, I think of fireworks displays as a light show.

Kind of like...

IllumiNations at Epcot.

It reminds me of the time I saw that Epcot show in the night time while I was at Disney World for vacation.

What a fabulous display! I was planning on seeing the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom and Epcot during vacation though.

Speaking of which, have you ever been to The American Adventure at Epcot before? It's the centerpiece of World Showcase hosted by Mark Twain and Benjamin Franklin. Hey dad, next time when we plan our trip to Disney World, we can go around World Showcase at Epcot and we can check that out. I would like see what discovering America looks like in this attraction.

Anyway back to my story.

My favorite part of the story from back in the day was that I love watching fireworks in downtown Lawrence with my family. It helps me remember all the good times and all the memories we share as a family together.

Now let's go forward to 2009 where we were at a trip to Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia.

We got together for the 4th of July and we got to see the fireworks display here too. It was called 'Lights of Freedom'. And I gotta tell you more about it folks, these fireworks here in Colonial Williamsburg were huge. And they were incredibly awesome!

That was when me along with Mama Kim and my dad got together. But before night fell, we looked around at some historical merchandise, watch some shows, explored American history in the Colonial times, and did some shopping there too. That was when we did it before night fell. It was in the daytime in the afternoon though. It was really fun! My family and I really enjoyed it for the very first time. Mom and dad, if you're listening, if you'd like to plan another trip to Colonial Williamsburg in the future, please let me know.

Now here's something that you also remember when we lived in the farm. It was on the 4th of July, and we all got together by planning our first ever 4th of July party at the farm. We got ourselves some fireworks to shoot off in the air, (and not light them up and shoot them in the city because it was prohibited) set up the food and snacks, had some soda, and watch the fireworks explode in the air. It was awesome, especially when we invited all our friends over. Everyone was there, even my folks were there too. My stepsister Sarah and stepbrother Terry. We were so excited to shoot off those fireworks every 4th of July!

I've heard a song about the 4th of July once on a segment of Schoolhouse Rock once.

And you wanna know what the best part of it is? It’s like diamonds in the sky!

Here's the link to the song if you'd like to check it out. It's on YouTube.

Schoolhouse Rock - Fireworks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdZYyY7g8g4

A couple of fun facts:

You also might not know about this, but I’ve seen fireworks go off at night and blaze through the skies in a music video by The All-American Rejects.

Plus on special nights in Walt Disney World, there’s Fantasy In The Sky fireworks happening at the Magic Kingdom. I couldn’t even imagine what it looked like in the first place. Cool!

There’s also special episodes of shows that celebrate the 4th of July too.

The Simpsons celebrated Independence Day in that episode.

Even on the Rugrats, they celebrated it too. This time with a backyard barbecue. They watched the fireworks also.

There’s even an episode of Rocket Power where Ocean Shores does the 4th of July celebration too. Otto Rocket and his friends really enjoyed it.

If you've seen an episode of Liberty's Kids about the Declaration of Independence on PBS, then listen carefully. It started with Sarah Phillips writing to her Mother that James and Henri had gone to New York to interview George Washington. Meanwhile, James and Henri learn from Washington that King George had hired German soldiers called Hessians to fight with the British. If you haven't seen that show, then you should. You might learn something from it.

Anyway now that we're getting warmed up for July 4th, here's my idea for when I wanna celebrate Independence Day here in Lawrence Kansas once again. I've been thinking about this for a really long time, so listen up. I've been thinking when I finally move back to Lawrence Kansas, maybe we can plan a 4th of July party here at Burcham Park. We’ll have plenty of barbecue food, live music, activities, and so much more. It’ll be fun for the summer once we finally get things set up. Speaking of food, we’ll have hamburgers, hot dogs, barbecued ribs, deviled eggs, potato chips, baked beans, fruit, pulled pork sandwiches, pretzels, and fresh corn on the cob. Ice cream trucks are also included so they can grab some ice cream. For beverages, there’ll be Cola, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, A&W Root Beer, and maybe some cream soda. In fact, my friends will bring in some special 4th of July dishes made. These will look totally perfect for the 4th of July cookout. Everyone will enjoy the good food here. I’ll invite my friends over, even my friendly neighbors that I know. And who knows, maybe I can get the good folks from Americana Music Academy to do a special fiddle jam here at Burcham Park. We can also do a dance party there too. In fact, I can be the DJ and play the music as they request a song they wanna hear. So let’s hope that it’s the best place to do it before we watch the fireworks though. Just a reminder on that one that the party and celebration starts from 5-10PM sharp. Now let’s see if we can make all of this happen. If you guys like my blog entry, feel free to give me more info on my special 4th of July cookout party and fireworks celebration idea. I will appreciate it a whole lot for this one.

One other thing, if we had a special outdoor movie night at Burcham Park during 4th of July, we would show family movies such as Rugrats In Paris, Toy Story, Ella Enchanted, Mean Girls, Grind, The Benchwarmers, or perhaps maybe Flushed Away.

That might also be pretty cool, especially in the afternoon or evening. (Your call!)

That’s it for today! Hope you enjoy my next story in the Lawrence Kansas Monthly Blog. Check back later for another incredible stories on my next blog.

Before I sign off for now, please stand for our National Anthem.

The Star-Spangled Banner

O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Have a nice day and happy 4th of July!