Retiree News

Independence Day or July the 4th is a holiday enjoyed by Americans every summer. It’s the family picnic with food and games – and the public fireworks.

But we often forget our national holiday celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.  This document announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as thirteen newly independent sovereign states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. Instead they formed a new nation — the United States of America.

John Adams was a leader in pushing for independence, which was unanimously approved on July 2. A committee of five had already drafted the formal declaration, to be ready when Congress voted on independence. The term “Declaration of Independence” is not used in the document itself.

To many in the Continental Congress, war was unthinkable. So why did they finally create this revolutionary document?  This short four-minute video explains more about the Declaration of Independence.  http://ow.ly/yDwf9

How long has it been since you actually read the Declaration of Independence – read it again!  http://ow.ly/yDwr6

Happy 238th Birthday America!

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