IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

July 4, 1776 | Thomas Jefferson

[tiredoflaundry]

:0)

[ml/nj]

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

I remember being told by a teacher in high school (early 60s) not to pay too much attention to the list of grievances in the Declaration, and that these weren't the "real" cause of the Revolution. I thought then, and I think now, that people do not pay enough attention to this list.

My recommendation for reading about the Declaration is Gerber's To Secure These Rights, which surprisingly has no reader reviews at Amazon. This reader would give it five stars.

ML/NJ

[Drango]

WORD UP!

[black_diamond]

Thank you, Jim. As soon as my daughter gets her teenage butt out of bed we will begin our 4th of July as always, with a reading aloud of the Declaration of Independence.

[Nick Danger]

[RetiredArmy]

And, today, Americans will flock to bar-b-q’s, ball games and fireworks displays, and give little thought to what this day really means. Some will put up a flag, only to bring it down tomorrow for its 364 days sleep, to be brought out next 4th of July. Basically, I will guess maybe 10% of the American public will really, REALLY, give today any thoughts as to what this day actually means. The birth of the greatest country, under GOD!!!, on the face of of God's green earth. No other country has enjoyed what we have here today. But, just up the road, in Sodom on the Potomac, Marxist's seek to destroy this wonderful Republic, and basically, 55 million or so Americans want to assist them.

[hoagy62]

William Whipple, signer of the Declaration, is an ancestor of mine, on my dad’s side, by way of my grandmother. I have a small Bible, printed in 1843, which was a gift to Worthington Whipple, grandson of William.

As a descendant of a Signer, I wish all here a Happy 4th of July!

AMERICA SUPREME!

[firewalk]

Bttt

[VanDeKoik]

Words that speak with greater authority than anything we have today. I felt the raw power of the soul of our nation from just reading it. It feels like if you know these words, there is nothing that can convince you that this isn’t the greatest nation on the planet.

[cardinal4]

Thank you, Jim. I emailed this post to work (we have to work today)so while we are BBQing we can remember just why we are celebrating..

[MEG33]

Happy Birthday America

Land OF The Free Because Of The Brave
*Have A Great Fourth*

[EternalVigilance]

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.— That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed..."

America's founding paragraph.

The most profoundly important words ever penned, outside of the Holy Scriptures.

We must fight with every last ounce of our energy to preserve the gift that they gave to us.

[MeekOneGOP]

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Birthday, America!

God Bless our Free Republic!

[rockinqsranch]

Thanks for the post Jim, and enjoy the day.

[uptoolate]

Thanks Jim

Our forefathers still speak to us from the grave.
With 40-50 years if not more of the slow decline of governmental integrity, what happened over two hundred and thirty years ago may soon have to take place again.

Socialism is not what the founders had found, yet that is where our leaders are trying to take us.

The battle is coming!

And this is our answer:

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

[submarinerswife]

Thank you!

[submarinerswife]

that’s what I was looking for!

[MEG33]

Amen, Meek!

[mewzilla]

Turns out there's an FR thread as well...

The Americans Who Risked Everything (by Rush Limbaugh's father)

:)