"The Fourth of July. America's national holiday. Parades, picnics, flags waving, and fireworks mark this day as special. Many people know that the Fourth is our nation's birthday, that on this day in 1776 we became a new country, separated from Great Britain by the signing of the Declaration of Independence. How the Declaration was ratified by the Continental Congress is a fascinating story.
Horse hooves pounded down the dark streets. Spurring and shouting, Caesar Rodney urged his horse on even faster. He had to reach Philadelphia's State Hall before the Continental Congress reconvened on July 2. It was July 1 and Rodney had 80 miles to ride. If he could reach the State House before 9:00 AM on July 2 (when its doors closed), Rodney could turn Delaware's vote from an "undecided" to "Aye!" The thought of his important mission made Rodney grit his teeth and press on. Horse and rider disappeared into the night.
Two months earlier, on May 15, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced a resolution that "these United Colonies are, and by right ought to be, free and independent states." Despite fighting against Great Britain for a little over one year, the colonists were still undecided about what they were fighting for. Were they fighting for better treatment in the British Empire? Or were they fighting to become an independent country?
Lee's resolution was supported by many of the delegates in the Continental Congress and many of the populace of the 13 colonies. Congress then appointed a five-man committee to draft an official document outlining the colonies' grievances against King George III and presenting a legal case why the colonies should be independent of Great Britain. The five men in the committee were Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston. The committee decided that Thomas Jefferson should draft the document…"
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Armand
's motivation to paint Napoleonic ships returns!