We just finished celebrating the Fourth of July. Never mind that it was on Wednesday and that many of the big boom celebrations were on Saturday the 7th. In fact that sort of thing happens about every six years. The leap year causes the day of the week to skip one or it would be every seven years.
Some of the really articulate historians might argue about the choice of the Fourth as the day to celebrate the Nations birth. Actually there were several things going on during that week. Some might even argue that at that time we were still Colonies. Continental congress had declared those Colonies independent on the 2nd of July. Besides that we weren’t the United States until the constitution was ratified on March the 4th 1789.
Point is, those details aside, no one in his right mind would argue that the 4th isn’t the correct date. Now, while I think I might be in my right mind, I also know that many other things have happened on that date.
Interestingly in 1826, 50 years later, two of the more important members of the committee that was in charge of writing the Declaration of Independence, i.e. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, both died on July the 4th. They were friends who had argued about the way the country should be organized. An argument that we still debate today.
Another important event, for instance, is one many Texans know. On July 4th 1845 the Texas congress voted to let the United States join us as a nation. Or something like that.
Some years later many of the states let that old Jefferson, Adams argument come to a head and we entered into the Civil war. We are in the period of time where each year since 2011 till 2015 somewhere they are commemorating the 150th anniversary of that dispute. The argument was partially settled then. But there are still grumbles yet.
An important symbol of the United States would have to be the Statue of Liberty. That Statue has had a rocky life. It went through many disagreements. All took several years. So if statues and countries could talk amongst themselves they might have tales to tell. It was finally completed in France, where it was originally built. It was presented to the US Ambassador on July 4th, 1884.
It then had to be disassembled and sent by sea to New York where the US had built its pedestal. Over all the pedestal and statue are 455 feet tall. The system was completed in 1886 and except for war time when the torch wasn’t lit it welcomed folks here. My great Granddad came in that way. Those folks who came in from Indianola missed the statue but got the freedom plus the bonus of Calhoun county.
The years wore her down and in 1980’s she had to be rebuilt and it was quite a chore but she was reopened on July 4th, 1986. She was closed for a while after 9/11 but she is now open and still represents our Liberty.
