June 29, 2012

Celebrating our Nation’s Freedom

The Fourth of July, formally known as Independence Day, is a festive time.  It is a day of celebration to commemorate our freedom and our nation’s independence.  Many people celebrate Independence Day with parades, fireworks, and cookouts.   

The days leading up to Independence Day are a great time to reflect on the magnitude, the seriousness, and the importance of the events leading to our nation’s independence.  The significance of this historic day is beyond measure.  It was over two hundred years ago, on July 4, 1776, that the United States of America officially began as an independent nation, with the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. 

The thought of thirteen colonies waging a war and declaring independence from the greatest empire in the world at the time was quite a revolutionary idea.  Yet they did, and America is now the greatest nation in the history of humankind, and the Declaration of Independence is one the most important documents in history.

Over two hundred years ago, the British Empire was all-powerful, and our nation was a smidgeon of thirteen colonies on the eastern coast of North America.  The thirteen colonies were part of a larger set of colonies along the Atlantic coast belonging to the British Empire, including what is today eastern Canada.  Originally stemming from early settlers to America in the 1600s, by 1776, there were just 2.5 million people living in the thirteen American colonies.  By comparison, today the population of Wisconsin alone is 5.7 million, and our national population has grown to 314 million.

The thirteen colonies were self-sustaining, prosperous, and had developed their own political and legal systems and militia.  Tensions between the colonies and Britain began to occur, especially during the 1760s and 1770s.  The colonists believed the government of Britain was being tyrannical, especially in its form of military governance in the colonies, and by imposing taxation without representation of the colonists in the British parliament.  The colonists tried repeatedly to peacefully resolve their disputes with Britain.

The Revolutionary War began with the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 when the British army arrived to capture and destroy colonial military supplies and to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock, two colonial militia leaders.  

Seeking to avoid war with Britain, the Continental Congress extended the Olive Branch Petition to Britain, affirming the colonists’ loyalty to Britain and entreating King George III to prevent any future conflict.  The king rejected the petition and instead formally declared the colonies to be in rebellion.  This ended any hopes of reconciliation and furthered the cause for independence.

The Revolutionary War was more than a year old when the Continental Congress reconvened in the summer of 1776.  On July 2, 1776, the Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence, which declared the colonies independent from Britain.  This was the beginning of a new nation.

Now that independence had been unanimously affirmed by the colonies (with New York abstaining), the Congress turned its attention to explaining its decision for independence.  The Declaration of Independence describes the reasoning for colonial independence, lists a series of grievances with the King of England, absolves all allegiance to Britain, and announces the independence of a sovereign nation, the United States of America.

On July 4, 1776, the Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, thereby proclaiming the independence of the United States of America, and setting the thirteen colonies on the road to becoming a free nation.

The war would continue for a total of eight long years.  Eight thousand of our countrymen died for the cause of liberty.  With assistance from France and other countries, in 1783, the colonists won the American Revolution. 

The thirteen colonies coming together to become the United States of America took great courage and unity to secure our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Our founding fathers risked their very lives and all they held dear to establish the freedom that we enjoy to this very day.   

Independence Day is a great time to celebrate the historic and courageous events that led to our nation’s founding.  However you celebrate Independence Day, may you relish in the freedom that we have in America.  Have a Happy Fourth of July!

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Sen. Kedzie can be reached in Madison at P.O. Box 7882, Madison, WI 53707-7882 or by calling toll-free 1 (800) 578-1457.  He may be reached in the district at (262) 742-2025 or on-line at www.senatorkedzie.com