It was on July 4, 1776 that the Continental Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence. A draft had been submitted on July 2nd and it was on the 4th that the edits and changes were agreed. Now 248 years later, the importance of this date and of this document must not be forgotten.
In 1776, those living in the American colonies were outraged at the control that England bore over them. The Declaration carefully laid out their grievances as to why they were breaking away from Great Britain.
In all, there were 56 signers who were representatives from the 13 colonies. Their ages ranged from 26 (Edward Rutledge) to 70 (Benjamin Franklin), but the majority of the signers were in their 30’s and 40’s. More than half were lawyers, and others were planters, merchants and shippers. Together they mutually pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. They were mostly men of means who had much to lose if the war was lost. Some of the signers were taken captive during the war and nearly all of them were poorer at the end of the war than at the beginning.
A Constitution and Bill of Rights were later drafted providing the framework for the freedoms we cherish today.
America has been a nation that acknowledged, reverenced, ...
