Wanted to wish everyone a very happy Fourth of July today! Here is a website from the National Archives about the Declaration of Independence:Read a history of the Declaration of Independence and see other Charters of Freedom on the Archive's site. You can also read more about today's holiday here.
Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, the Declaration of Independence is at once the nation's most cherished symbol of liberty and Jefferson's most enduring monument. Here, in exalted and unforgettable phrases, Jefferson expressed the convictions in the minds and hearts of the American people. The political philosophy of the Declaration was not new; its ideals of individual liberty had already been expressed by John Locke and the Continental philosophers. What Jefferson did was to summarize this philosophy in "self-evident truths" and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify before the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the mother country. We invite you to read a transcription of the complete text of the Declaration.
Happy Birthday, America! Please join me in praying for our country today and for the advance of freedom around the world.
America(First and last verses)
My country, ‘tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims’ pride,
From every mountain-side,
Let freedom ring!
Our fathers’ God, to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee I sing;
Long may our land be bright
With freedom’s holy light;
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God our King!
--Samuel Francis Smith (1808-1895)
American Baptist pastor and poet
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