Posts Tagged “Independence Day”
The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite.
— Thomas Jefferson
This photo is of my two precious sisters Judy and Trisha on the beach in May on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. As you can see it is always a good time to celebrate our beloved America and its freedoms.
As a family, my sisters and my wife Vivian have been able to vacation there in recent years. We always marvel at God’s marvelous and beautiful creations. Watching the dolphins gliding effortlessly through the sea waters and the pelicans flying overhead in perfect formation.
As we celebrate our nation’s 241st anniversary, I continue to be so grateful I was born here and have lived in America all of my life with the exception of serving in the Navy four years. Having been to other parts of the world, I realize how fortunate we are to live in the United States. The poverty and suffering in so much of the world is almost beyond comprehension.
Our freedoms in American have come at great sacrifice. I think of a handful of young men I grew up with in a small Oklahoma town who died fighting in Vietnam. One of the most moving moments in my life was visiting The Wall in our nation’s capital and seeing their engraved names.
I think of my brave cousin Martin L. Johnson who fought in battle and was in three wars (WWII, Korea, and Vietnam) serving our country as a Marine and then in the Air Force. He passed away in 2015 at the age of 88. His beautiful wife Irene, 84, was a Marine and thankfully is still with us.
As we celebrate Independence, I pray for our country, and remain true to the principals of our Founding Fathers. Freedom comes at a great cost. But it is worth it. Wishing all of you the best celebration of Independence Day ever!
And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
~Lee Greenwood
The United States is the only country with a known birthday. ~James G. Blaine
My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy! ~Thomas Jefferson
The American Revolution was a beginning, not a consummation. ~Woodrow Wilson
Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have. ~Harry Emerson Fosdick
Let freedom never perish in your hands. ~Joseph Addison
You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism. ~Erma Bombeck
Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed – else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die. ~Dwight D. Eisenhower
In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt
This, then, is the state of the union: free and restless, growing and full of hope. So it was in the beginning. So it shall always be, while God is willing, and we are strong enough to keep the faith. ~Lyndon B. Johnson
For what avail the plough or sail, or land or life, if freedom fail? ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you. ~Author unknown, sometimes attributed to M. Grundler
Liberty is the breath of life to nations. ~George Bernard Shaw
America is much more than a geographical fact. It is a political and moral fact – the first community in which men set out in principle to institutionalize freedom, responsible government, and human equality. ~Adlai Stevenson
May the sun in his course visit no land more free, more happy, more lovely, than this our own country! ~Daniel Webster
We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls. ~Robert J. McCracken
If our country is worth dying for in time of war let us resolve that it is truly worth living for in time of peace. ~Hamilton Fish
I prefer liberty with danger to peace with slavery. ~Author Unknown
I love my freedom. I love my America. ~Jessi Lane Adams
As we prepare to celebrate our Nation’s 237th Birthday on Thursday, here are some interesting details about how we have observed this holiday through the years. Source: Wikipedia
- In 1777, thirteen gunshots were fired in salute, once at morning and once again as evening fell, on July 4 in Bristol, Rhode Island. Philadelphia celebrated the first anniversary in a manner a modern American would find quite familiar: an official dinner for the Continental Congress, toasts, 13-gun salutes, speeches, prayers, music, parades, troop reviews, and fireworks. Ships were decked with red, white, and blue bunting.
- In 1778, General George Washington marked July 4 with a double ration of rum for his soldiers and an artillery salute. Across the Atlantic Ocean, ambassadors John Adams and Benjamin Franklin held a dinner for their fellow Americans in Paris, France.
- In 1779, July 4 fell on a Sunday. The holiday was celebrated on Monday, July 5.
- In 1781 the Massachusetts General Court became the first state legislature to recognize July 4 as a state celebration.
- In 1783, Moravians in Salem, North Carolina, held a celebration of July 4 with a challenging music program assembled by Johann Friedrich Peter. This work was titled “The Psalm of Joy”.
- In 1791 the first recorded use of the name “Independence Day” occurred.
- In 1820 the first Fourth of July celebration was held in Eastport, Maine which remains the largest in the state.
- In 1870, the U.S. Congress made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees.
In 1938, Congress changed Independence Day to a paid federal holiday.