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As much as the American book-buying public has shown deep interest in the superstars of the nation's founding period, too little attention has been paid to some of the other legislative workhorses and statesmen of the period, and too few lessons thus learned from their examples. As we celebrate Independence Day on Monday, we should move beyond the famous Jefferson-Adams-Franklin troika, in order to marvel at the great decades of public service of the two other members of the committee charged with drafting the Declaration of Independence. Those two were Roger Sherman of Connecticut and Robert R. Livingston of New...

American Minute with Bill Federer July 4 The Declaration of Independence was approved JULY 4, 1776. John Hancock signed first, saying "the price on my head has just doubled." Benjamin Franklin said "We must hang together or most assuredly we shall hang separately." Of the 56 signers: 17 served in the military;  11 had their homes destroyed; 5 were hunted and captured; Abraham Clark had two sons imprisoned on the British starving ship Jersey; John Witherspoon's son was killed in battle; Francis Lewis' wife was imprisoned and died from the harsh treatment; many, such as Thomas Nelson and Carter Braxton,...

WASHINGTON -- Our nation confronts a challenge this Fourth of July that we face but rarely: We are at odds over the meaning of our history and why, to quote our Declaration of Independence, "governments are instituted." Only divisions this deep can explain why we are taking risks with our country's future we're usually wise enough to avoid. Arguments over how much government should tax and spend are the very stuff of democracy's give-and-take. Now, the debate is shadowed by worries that if a willful faction does not get what it wants, it might bring the nation to default. This...

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — It's William Whipple's turn to be recognized. The New Hampshire merchant is one of the lesser-known signers of the Declaration of Independence. This year, there are plans for Whipple and 11 others to be honored for their place in history with a small bronze plaque at their gravesites or homes, thanks to a group of descendants of the Founding Fathers. Whipple, one of three men from New Hampshire who signed the famous document — the others were Josiah Bartlett and Matthew Thornton — had no direct descendants. His only child, a boy, died as an infant...

Two hundred and thirty five years ago a group of concerned citizens after repeatedly trying to work within the existing government announced their intentions. By openly declaring their views and putting the government on notice they risked everything. All peaceful methods and petitions got them nowhere. They knew the consequences of their actions. By signing this document they would be wanted criminals. That is why John Hancock signed with such flourish, so those in power would not mistake his signature with anyone else. We know what transpired after that and it is what we celebrate today. Continue reading on Examiner.com...

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that...

DAD, WHAT's UNABHANGIKEITSTAG? "Is that when the thirteen colonies broke away from England?" My ten year inquired out of nowhere at 6 AM German time this morning. "Yeah, why do you want to know, eat your breakfast," I mumbled, too sleepy to be very curious. "Because I am afraid my teacher will ask me, since I am wearing this T-shirt and I'm the only American in the class." With an effort, I adjusted my gaze upward to his white T-shirt. It was brand new. Prominent on his breast was an image of the flag and below that: OLD NAVY FREEDOM...

...The 4th of July is the the day when people gather all over the United States of America to celebrate their Independence. Fireworks light up the sky, families and friends will join to remember those who gave their lives so that the promises set forth in that Declaration of Independence could inform a new Nation. 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...

The Jubilee of the Constitution A DISCOURSE Delivered at the Request of The New York Historical Society In the City of New York, On Tuesday, the 30th of April, 1839 Being the Fiftieth Anniversary Of the INAUGURATION OF GEORGE WASHINGTON as President of the United States on Thursday, 30th of April, 1789. by John Quincy Adams   (Eldest son of John Adams, born in 1767, served as Minister to the Netherlands under President Washington, as minister to Prussia and to Russia, as Secretary of State, and as U.S. Senator.  He was the Sixth President of the United States and...

(CNSNews.com) – In a statement released Friday, President Barack Obama declared that "LGBT persons are endowed with" what he called "inalienble rights," but ommited the word "Creator" from what clearly was an allusion to the famous language of the Declaration of Independence.The president's June 17 statement was in response to a U.N. resolution on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity. “(T)his marks a significant milestone in the long struggle for equality, and the beginning of a universal recognition that LGBT persons are endowed with the same inalienable rights -- and entitled to the same protections -- as all human beings,” the statement said.The Declaration of Independence reads: “We...

Two New Examples!The Blaze managed to catch Obama omitting the word "Creator" when referring to words from the Declaration of Independence yet again!!As we’ve noted several times, Obama has a habit of leaving out “Creator” when he quotes the founding document (see here, here, and here). And he did it once again while speaking to supporters in San Francisco last night:Obama had a problem with leaving out that phrase back in 2009 and 2010 but seemed to get with the program during the last couple of months in 2010. (He must have gotten the message around October 2010 because he...

Declaration of Independence. "America the Beautiful." Bad anthem. Bad commercials. Weird night. I admit to having watched it wrong. No one is supposed to pay 100 percent attention to the Super Bowl. You're not meant to stare at it. You're not meant to derive meaning from it.

Colin Powell is in it but try to get past that and its good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctKRPq2cPDQ

Rep. John Lewis Says Declaration's ‘Pursuit of Happiness’ Language and 14th Amendment Authorize Congress to Force People to Buy Health InsuranceBy Nicholas Ballasy Wednesday, January 19, 2011 (CNSNews.com) -Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) said on Tuesday that the government should require individuals to buy health insurance and cited the Preamble to the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence’s “pursuit of happiness” language and the 14th Amendment as the sources of Congress’ authority to enact such a mandate. “I think people should be required to get health insurance. We require people to get insurance for their automobile state by state but the federal...

Progressives delight in proclaiming that God is not mentioned in the Constitution.  But the Declaration of Independence does mention our Creator in the first two paragraphs along with the last.  Our Declaration is the why of what our Founding Fathers did.  The Constitution is the how.  The Declaration is the foundation, and the Constitution is the structure or framework of our government.  The Declaration is act one, and the Constitution is act two.  Both acts make for a viable construct.  Leave one or the other out, and the whole becomes incoherent. What is the purpose of the Constitution?  To set...

Rare 'Declaration' Copy Sold In Boston For $380KBroadside Copies Were Printed To Spread Word UPDATED: 6:44 pm EST November 14, 2010 BOSTON -- A rare copy of the Declaration of Independence sold at auction in Boston Sunday for $380,000. The rare historical document, a broadside, had originally belonged to the family prominent New Hampshire man who was a judge at the time the Declaration was signed in 1776. Broadsides were large sheets of paper on which notices and proclamations were printed in the 18th century. They were intended to alert townspeople of important events and were posted in various meeting...

On NOVEMBER 9, 1954, President Eisenhower addressed the National Conference on the Spiritual Foundation of American Democracy at the Sheraton-Carlton Hotel, Washington D.C.: "Now Dr. Lowry said something about my having certain convictions as to a God in Heaven and an Almighty power. Well, I don't think anyone needs a great deal of credit for believing in what seems to me to be obvious... This relationship between a spiritual faith...and our form of government is...so obvious that we should really not need to identify a man as unusual because he recognizes it." Eisenhower continued: "Our whole theory of government finally...

Part 5 of Bill Whittle's ongoing "What We Believe" series, focuses on the right to Keep and Bear Arms. . . the whys and the real reason for the Second Amendment. . .

Washington – No one should “read anything into" the fact that President Barack Obama repeatedly left out the word “Creator” when quoting the Declaration of Independence, nor should they read anything into the fact that he began using the word after the White House was questioned about the omission, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday. Gibbs did not say whether press reports about the omission prompted Obama to start using the term. The Declaration of Independence says “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed