Today is July the 4th, also known as Independence Day in the United States. Today we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776. The Declaration was the start of a long war against the British forces which was finally completed in 1781. Another war then had to be fought to finally expel the British from the colonies, which was the War of 1812.
At the start of the Revolutionary War, the British were a major world power, and had the greatest navy in the entire world. They were confident in their power and authority, and wielded their reputation as a mighty weapon of fear, intimidating those who would dare oppose them.
Their weakness was over-extension of their forces, and debt. The American colonies were a source of income, and the natural resources of what became the United States were used by all of Europe, since they had depleted their own forests long ago. The great white pines of America, so tall and straight, were chopped down to provide the masts for British ships, for example.
But the pioneers and pilgrims in the colonies were not really soldiers. They were independent and creative–not good traits in a soldier. Many of them did not have guns, but rather protected themselves with swords, or even pitchforks when the time came. They left their young sons and daughters behind to tend the crops, and had nothing then to provide for protections of their wives, so they had to protect themselves. The revolutionary soldiers had many needs of their own that went unmet, for important things like shoes and food. The irony is that they had to give up many of their liberties in order to fight for full independence from the British.
Why did they do this? We have been working our way through the John Adams mini-series, and so far (we are about half-way through) the producers have done a good job of putting the viewer right into the history. Some of the colonists had been in the country for over a hundred years by the time the Declaration of Independence was signed, and there were many who did not want to sever relations with England. The “Loyalists” undermined the efforts of the “Patriots,” and so there was a lot of cloak and dagger stuff going on.
Thomas Jefferson was a wonderful inventor, who created a cipher-wheel that could be used to encrypt messages and then decode them on arrival. Disappearing ink would sometimes be used on the back of an invoice to get a message through the streets of Boston, where the colonists could be stopped and searched at the will of the red-coated British soldiers.
Our history is rich with turmoil, as various ones struggled to decide for themselves which was the right path to choose, or how to best serve his or her loved ones. In the end, the Declaration was signed, and those who signed it also signed their death warrant if they should happen to be captured by the forces of the English crown.
“We must hang together,” Benjamin Franklin is said to have famously quipped, “or surely we shall all hang separately.”
One of the names associated with our Independence wrote our National Anthem. Frances Scott Key was a successful lawyer, and his part in the founding of the United States happened during the War of 1812.
In September of 1814, just a month after Washinton D.C. had been captured and burned, the British naval ships began firing at Fort McHenry, which was the last defense of the city of Baltimore. Baltimore was the last stronghold for the United States, and if it fell, the British could claim victory.
Francis Scott Key, who was a lawyer from Georgetown, was on a merchant ship in the harbor with British Prisoner Exchange Agent, Colonel John Stuart Skinner, negotiating for the release of Dr. William Beanes. Beanes was colleague of Key’s who had refused food and drink for the British soldiers who visited his home in Maryland. His refusal caused him to receive the sentence of death by hanging, and so Key was there to negotiate for his freedom, and he did so successfully.
Though Beane was now free, Frances Scott Key and Skinner were privy to the position of the British and knew of their plan to attack Baltimore, so they were not allowed to go to shore. For twenty-four hours, British rockets and shells bombarded Fort McHenry, and Frances Scott Key watched from the harbor. Fear of what would happen to the fledgling nation if the fort fell must not have been far from his mind.
The next morning, Major George Armistead raised a thirty by forty-two foot United States Flag over the fort as an act of defiance, and the glorious sight of the huge flag raised over the battered fort inspired Key to jot down the notes for the poem that became the lyrics for the Star Spangled Banner.
We often hear the first verse at the start of a sporting event, but the third verse reveals the One who, both in Key’s mind and in truth, was the source of the miraculous preservation of these United States: The One True God.
He makes reference to “a heaven-rescued land, blest with victory and peace,” he praises “the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation,” and says “let this be our motto, ‘In God Is Our Trust’!” It’s still the perfect motto, don’t you agree?
Tony created this video today in honor of our country’s 248th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a reading of all three verses of the Star Spangled Banner, including the third, which makes no reference to slavery, but instead talks about “free-men,” those who successfully won independence from the British. Long may she wave!
You can read more about the epic history connected to our national anthem here.
Please look at this wonderful short film by Hillsdale College about the Declaration of Independence, from the perspective of Thomas Jefferson, the author of the document.
The Fullers Four 