“1776” & 3 ideas to consider for your Independence Day Celebrations

Have you seen “1776”, the Musical or the movie?

 I just completed the TCM online course with Ball State University, “Mad About Musicals”. It was a very interesting look at the birth of musicals in the 1920”s up to 1975. Since I have been studying musicals since the late 60’s, and my father had worked on the Wizard of Oz, and I subscribe to see Broadway Musicals to this day, I was interested in the growth of the medium. I am also producing a musical now. One of my assignments with the class was to watch “1776”, so I watched it again.

 This time I was amazed to see how close we came to NOT Declaring our Independence from England, the most powerful military force in the world at that time.

 Before I get too carried away with the miracle called the United States of America, here are 3 ideas you might want to consider as an addition to your 4th of July celebrations:

 1.        Read the Declaration of Independence. Although it is a short read, a few minutes, when it was written, nothing like it had ever been done in the history of the world. All the Founding Fathers who signed it, knew that they were committing Treason! By signing that document, if they were captured by the English, they would be hanged by the King of England.

 2.        Watch, the movie, “1776”. Although it is listed as a musical, it gives a fascinating look at the two months leading to July 4, 1776. (I think it is a drama not a musical, although there is some music in it.) It is worth watching with your friends & family, or even by yourself.  It is interesting in light of the political division we hear about today, to observe the “civility” in the discussions, in the midst of extreme disagreements. You might want to send a copy of it to your member of Congress, as a reminder of how our country was founded.

 3.        Watch “A Capitol Fourth” on PBS. They have an amazing cast, they have been doing it for years. The celebration in Washington D.C. will be a spectacular part of the end of your day, with the music, fireworks and more. You may want to record it on your DVR, and it is replayed later in the night.

 Do you know how many people lived in the thirteen colonies back in 1776? Go ahead, take a guess, just for the fun of it…..

 About 2 million people, most of the new residents had come from England. The thirteen colonies had sent representatives to meet in Philadelphia because the various offenses by the King of England were causing so many problems. While John Adams and about half of the group wanted to discuss the idea of declaring Independence, about half of the group did NOT even want to discuss it! We came very close to never even considering the concept!

 While thinking about the miracle of Independence, we should first remember what happened when the first English settlers sailed from England and formed Jamestown in 1607. 169 years before 1776, when the first English settlers landed on the beach in the town they named after their King in England, James, the planted a cross on the beach and prayed that this land would be blessed for the glory of God.

 “The leaders of the Virginia Company were members of the Church of England and brought the established religion with them to Jamestown. Men leaving for Virginia had to take an oath acknowledging the supremacy of the King, and the lack of power or authority over him by the Pope, before they could set sail to Virginia. The Church of England religion was central to the lives of the Jamestown settlers. Near the end of the voyage on April 29, the colonists erected a cross and gave thanks to God on a point of land they named Cape Henry in honor of the eldest son of King James. Captain John Smith tells of the settlers landing at Jamestown in 1607 and erecting a crude temporary structure to use for church services. It was made from a sail stretched among the boughs of trees, sides of rails and benches made of unhewed tree trunks. The altar was made by nailing a log to two neighboring trees as a cross bar. Later that year, the settlers built the first real church building.”  Religion at Jamestown, ? Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation P.O. Box 1607, Williamsburg, VA 23187.

 This is the only country which was originally founded with a prayer to God before a Cross planted in the ground. Clearly, God has blessed America. We have made mistakes, we are only people, however, sadly, much of the real history of our country is not being taught in our public schools. I have a lot of public and private education, however most of the history I am sharing here was never taught in my public school education.

 Any modern analytical military review of the chance of defeating the most powerful military force in the world in 1776, with a small “army” formed without military training, discipline or resources would be almost no chance. Many of the members of General George Washington’s first Army were boys between 15 and 20 who had grown up on farms.

 The real history of America shows many miracles. God blessed America in many ways which sadly have been forgotten today. If you would like to learn more , you are invited to visit : www.americanminute.com.  There you can sign up for a free daily email, or see many books written by William J. Federer.

 More than the barbeques, fireworks and other celebrations on America’s birthday, may God bless you, and may God Bless America.