By Donna Reuss
Alexandria, VA – Ah, the 4th of July! Picnics, flags, fireworks, everything red-white-and-blue! And it’s an even more auspicious date this year as we celebrate our Nation’s semiquincentennial.
Of course, the most important thing that happened on this date in American history was the adoption by the Second Continental Congress of the Declaration of Independence. What some have called the nation’s “birth certificate,” the document officially severed political ties between the 13 colonies and Great Britain.
The drafters of the declaration also asserted the revolutionary concept that all people possess fundamental human rights: “all men are created equal.” Human dignity and individual freedom are at the core of the American political experiment. Further, they contended that legitimate governments were founded through consent of the governed. If a government subverts the natural rights of its people, those citizens have the right and duty to institute a new system.
The 4th of July has seen other important historical events that have impacted our lives and helped shape the country we have today. Here are just a few.
On July 4, 1802, President Thomas Jefferson signed legislation establishing the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Starting with just ten cadets and five instructors, West Point became the nation’s premier engineering school, producing generations of professional military leaders, including Generals Grant, Lee, Eisenhower, MacArthur, and Patton, and reshaping the course of our military history.
Sadly, the jubilee anniversary of the Declaration of Independence was marred by the deaths on July 4, 1826, of both Thomas Jefferson, the document’s principal author, and John Adams, one of the “Committee of Five” appointed by the Continental Congress along with Jefferson to draft the formal declaration. Five years later, on July 4, 1831, James Monroe became the third of the first five presidents to die on Independence Day.
On July 4, 1884, the Statue of Liberty was presented to the American minister to France in a ceremony in Paris. Lady Liberty holds a tablet bearing the date of the Declaration of Independence in her left hand. The statue was shipped to New York City in 1885, where it stands as a symbol of hope and promise to people around the world.
President Lyndon Johnson signed the Freedom of Information Act on July 4, 1966. The law requires federal agencies to make records, with certain exemptions, available to the public on request. It represented a huge change in the relationship between the national security military and intelligence communities and the public.
The practical impact on military history was enormous. Any individual can submit a FOIA request to obtain declassified military and intelligence documents. Materials concerning the Vietnam War, Cuban Missile Crisis, Bay of Pigs, early years of the National Security Agency, and the U-2 program are among the records released through FOIA requests.
Finally, Pathfinder ended its seven-month journey when it landed on Mars on July 4, 1997. From independence to landing on Mars in just 250 years. It’s hard to believe!
As you celebrate this 4th of July, take a moment to reflect on all of our Nation’s accomplishments over the past 250 years, and how truly great this country is. Wishing you and your families a safe and inspired Independence Day!
______________________________________________________________________________
If you are a veteran or know a veteran or family member who needs help, go to Virginia Board Veterans Services at www.dvs.virginia.gov/dvs; or contact American Legion Post 24 Veteran Service Officer at [email protected]. For crisis intervention and suicide prevention, dial 988 and Press 1, or text 838255 for the Veterans Crisis Line.
