Tomorrow is Declaration Day
While the Fourth of July is the holiday most people associate with the American Revolution and the birth of the United States, and while we may have declared ourselves independent on July 4, 1776, the event itself only set the course for the next seven years of struggle. There are other dates that are more significant to honor.
???????????????? ??, ???????? - Under international law, we did not actually achieve sovereignty until another great power recognized us as an independent sovereign nation. This date marks the true beginning of the United States as a sovereign nation. That was the date of the signing in Paris of two monumental treaties: a Treaty of Amity and Commerce as well as a Treaty of Military Alliance, which collectively pledged the support of France to aid our fledgling country commercially, financially, and militarily. (Representing the Continental Congress were diplomats Silas Deane, Benjamin Franklin, and Arthur Lee.)
?????????????? ??, ???????? - No one hour of the American Revolution is more decisive than the one that took place on this date at Kings Mountain (North Carolina). This was the first real major Patriot victory following the “Reduction” of Charleston in May. British hopes of winning the war — the much-touted British Southern Strategy — were built on securing their left flank (Georgia and the Carolinas) and turning Northward to link up with General Sir Henry Clinton and the British Navy. At Kings Mountain, the dominoes started tumbling and never stopped. General Clinton, writing about that event in The American Rebellion, wrote: “This leads me, of course, to mention an event which … unhappily proved the first link in a chain of evils that followed each other in regular succession until they at last ended in the total loss of America.”
?????????????? ????, ???????? - 1781 was the year when American went from independence declared to independence achieved. On October 19, 1781, Lieutenant General Cornwallis surrendered his British army to the combined Franco-American army commanded by General George Washington besieging it at Yorktown. This effectively ended the Revolutionary War.
?????????????????? ??, ???????? - The Treaty of Paris was made between Britain and the “free, sovereign, and independent” states of America, and signed on this date by David Hartley, representing Great Britain, and John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay (who, by the way, signed their names in alphabetical order) for America. (Here is a link to the numerous pages of the original document as well as the transcript of that text:)
?????????????? ??, ???????? - Congress ratified the Treaty.
?????????????????? ????, ???????? - Twelve of the thirteen states signed the U.S. Constitution.
So while July 4 is “Declaration Day,” the true and official separation — Independence Day — took place on September 3, 1783. That event was the absolute goal of all the events prior.
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There is a story, often told, that upon exiting the Constitutional Convention in 1787 Benjamin Franklin was approached by a group of citizens asking what sort of government the delegates had created. His answer was: "A republic, if you can keep it." The brevity of that response should not cause us to under-value its essential meaning: democratic republics are not merely founded upon the consent of the people, they are also absolutely dependent upon the active and informed involvement of the people for their continued good health.
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On tomorrow's “Declaration Day,” while we honor our Founders and our Flag, we must also pray for our republic. It is not in good health.
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#GodBlessAmerica #AmericaFirst #UltraMAGA
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Here is a link to the The 100 Best American Revolution Books of All Time, as compiled by the editors of the Journal of the American Revolution, to which I subscribe; I have read many of these books. I suggest you do the same.
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