This post has just turned into another daily political thread, which we already had. Comments are now closed.
The colonies had been in conflict with England for over a year in June of 1776. A Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia on June 7 of that year. Richard Henry Lee from Virginia offered up a resolution with these now famous words:
“Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”
Lee’s words spurred the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. A committee of five was appointed to draft a statement making the case for the colonies, a statement to the world of the intent and the reason behind that intent.
Members of the Committee were John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Robert R. Livingston of New York and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. Jefferson took on the task of actually drafting the document as we know it today.
The Continental Congress reconvened on July 1, 1776, and on the following day, the resolution for independence by Lee was adopted by 12 of the 13 colonies, with New York not voting. Minor changes were made to the Jefferson document.
Work on the document continued through July 3 and into the afternoon of July 4, when the Declaration was officially adopted by the Congress. Of the 13 colonies, nine voted in favor of the Declaration, two — Pennsylvania and South Carolina — voted No, Delaware was undecided, and New York again abstained.
As we all know, John Hancock, President of the Congress made his signature large enough for King George to read “without his spectacles.”
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. – That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, – That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. – Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
The complete list of those who signed were:
John Hancock (president of the Continental Congress), Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry, Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery, Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott, William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris, Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark, Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross, Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean, Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton, William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn, Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton, Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and George Walton.
Check out this link for the sobering fate of many of those who so pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor. [H/T to TheOriginalG-d&Country for this source.]
Those are the facts about our Declaration of Independence, the history that we as school children have learned since the creation of this great nation that we celebrate, that we love and honor so.
Usually we humans can’t adequately find words to express our own sentiments, let alone those of a nation and successive generations to come, but Jefferson and that Continental Congress did just that.
The words have stood throughout several centuries as a clarion call for freedom, for breaking free of tyranny, for men to put aside their individual causes and join together to battle for the right of every man, woman and child together to become a people united in goal and resolve.
Today as we celebrate, today as we pledge allegiance to a flag that has gone from 13 stars to 50, may we remember not only the sacrifice, but the resolve. May we honor not only the words, but the unity and deeds of our forefathers. May each of us dig deep into our hearts and work out our differences for the betterment of our nation and our children and grandchildren.
Say a prayer for America today. Rekindle hope today. Honor the past by determining the future.
Please remember that this is a post in honor of our Independence Day. No political content, no rants, so slamming the other side. Today we are just Americans, honoring our country and each other.
As Lee Greenwood sings it: “God Bless the USA!”
Some exceptional Patriots, put together a magnificent document. The Declaration of Independence 📜. Fellow Treepers, it’s up to us to continue what they started. Their vision turned this country, into the greatest the world has ever seen.
The Founders created a form of government so uniquely legitimate and just that almost all nations of the world have sought to adopt its structure and even despots strive to create a veneer of legitimacy by mimicking its form, always seeking to demonstrate their legitimacy by being representatives of their people.
It’s a remarkable accomplishment.
We have a grave duty and an onerous task before us in effecting the Restoration of our Republic; the hopes of the nation and the peace of this world depend upon us; thank God we have the words and examples of the Founders to guide and inspire us.
“O God, who art the author of peace and lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom; Defend us thy humble servants in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in thy defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen”
~The Book of Common Prayer ~
The disagreements they had and the risks they took in issuing this most awesome of documents is astounding. Divine provenance and it changed the world.
Those founding fathers were an incredible collection of men of all different strengths and God set them on the course to change human history.
Done By the Mighty Hand of the One True Living LORD God of All Creation. Amen. Selah. Pause and Calmly Think on, Meditate, and Seriously Consider and Contemplate That.
Selah!
It looks better every day
To me, the simplicity of liberty and religious freedom has been entirely mucked up by over governance, which is exactly what those founders abhorred.
Every person, every family in our great Constitutional Republic, these United States of America, should take 8 minutes of their time to read, and reflect what is before us.
God Bless America!
That’s a beautiful photo!!! Thank you for sharing
It IS the most beautiful flag.
And forever in Peace may it wave 🇺🇸
Magnificent ,
Thrawlbrauna 💐🇺🇲🎆
👍🇺🇲🎇💕
Despite our serious current problems, the United States remains the most exceptional government ever devised. Our founders created a government unlike any that preceded it.
But, they, our enemies are coming for us. Treason has become sport in D.C. and has been for awhile now. Eventually we won’t know who to trust and where to turn. Our founding fathers knew because they had experienced tyranny.
Thank you Managerie,
Can’t be repeated too often.
Happy Independance all
“For the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the
protection of the Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each
other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”
God Bless the USA
Amen!
“We Must All Hang Together, or Most Assuredly, We Will All Hang Separately” (Ben Franklin quote, google)
God smiled on me when I left the gritty, urban California for the truly American beauty of small, rural Utah, 3 years ago.
We live in beauty, break bread, in the shade of blossoming, mature trees, raining blossoms.
Families everywhere. Complete families.
Tushar Mountains rising up in our backyard.
Yep, God smiled on me.
Happy 4th Treepers.
I probably haven’t read The Declaration through completely since high school.
The parallels between their time and our time are eerie…
Indeed. One could literally substitute Obummer, oops, I mean Bidan, for King George and the shoe would still fit.
An excellent time to listen to Red Skelton’s reading The Pledge of Allegiance too …
https://bgmcclure.com/Historical/Allegiance.htm
I’ve never seen that before. Thanks!
In high school I may have thought that king was quite a tyrant. Reading the full document today I realize the degree I have been kowtowed into acceptance of tyranny. No wonder the left wants to minimize observance of Independence Day.
Excellent Maquis… It’s Too Late to Apologize…pleasing music with impactful words.
And I have no intention of apologizing for loving the True God, loving my family, loving our children, loving America, loving Sundance, Menagerie et al, loving my fellow Treepers and yes, loving Donald John Trump.
I’ve burned all my ships.
We are in an epic and historic battle…and it all comes back to the children.
We are winning…God is winning.
To God be all the Glory!
AMEN!!
The Founders were incredible men who had great foresight and saw the greatness that lay ahead for this country.
Happy birthday, and May God bless the USA!
Thank you for this sobering post. I often wish we could declare our freedom anew, but without the eight year war which followed the first Declaration.
It is good to be reminded of the great price paid by so many.
Again, the 4th of July is a celebration of an ACTUAL REVOLUTION. NOT some guy leading a demonstration wearing a buffalo horned headdress……..
And NOT taking a knee for any commie.
These were educated, sober men who wrote and voted the Declaration. The Lord blessed us.
They knew what they had done. The didn’t dance on the tables & whoop & holler when they voted for independence, they sat there in silence. And they knew when they signed the declaration they had probably signed their own death warrants. And Washington had no guarantees of winning the war. A lot of the signers were in their 30s. These were not the 30-somethings of our day. #BASED. 🇱🇷
Still a miracle unmatched in human history. Lord helps us save her.
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
John Adams.
The reading of the Declaration was done ever year at the 4th of July, and questions of the Document with prizes. It was a big party for the those on the left and token Conservatives. We lived in the penthouse apt across the way, so it was all cool. I was there to add diversity? Shooting fish in a barrel seems easy, but is not. The vitriol is so ugly.
No ideology was changed, but maybe more thought would come into play politically. Portland, OR before the town burned.
I cannot understand what you are saying.
“These united Colonies…are free and independent states.” And then a coup happened in the summer of 1787 which ruined what could have been.
????
Shay’s Rebellion and later the Constitutional Convention that replaced the original Articles of Confederation with the US Constitution.
and 1913
Mark levin said we had about 10 years left at the going rate of things.
It ain’t much longer than that if that long.
😳
Colonel Douglas Macgregor: ‘I Don’t Think We’ll Ever Get to the 2024 Election’
https://rumble.com/v2xwokq-colonel-douglas-macgregor-i-dont-think-well-ever-get-to-the-2024-election.html
They were not a bunch of old men. The ages of some of them:
George Walton (Georgia), John Penn (North Carolina), and Samuel Chase (Maryland) were 35.Arthur Middleton (South Carolina), James Wilson (Pennsylvania), and William Hooper (North Carolina) were 34.Thomas Jefferson (Virginia) and Thomas Stone (Maryland) were 33.Elbridge Gerry (Massachusetts) was 32.Benjamin Rush (Pennsylvania) was 31.Thomas Heyward Jr. (South Carolina) was 30.Thomas Lynch Jr. (South Carolina) was 27.And Edward Rutledge (South Carolina) was a mere 26 years old!https://intellectualtakeout.org/2023/07/the-amazing-maturity-of-the-young-declaration-signers-2/
They were Men! Thank God for them.
Very young men. Younger than practically all of their modern-day detractors. And far wiser.
On Father’s Day I attended a church in my neighborhood. The preacher focused on what it means to be a man. I was shocked at the knowledge he showed and and passion he had for the subject.
Every man needs to hear that sermon and live a life that is God fearing and shows the strength our Lord intended man to have. Our world would not be where we are today if some men were not like Adam and full of greed and such….ways God never intended.
They were men indeed Deborah D….and the women were glad they were men.
God bless those brave, young men. Generations have benefited. May we pick up the flag and keep moving forward with this glorious experiment — America! 🇺🇲💕
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St. John’s Church, Richmond, Virginia
March 23, 1775
MR. PRESIDENT: No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do, opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely, and without reserve.
This is no time for ceremony.
The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfil the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country.
Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offence, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.
Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope.
We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts…
Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain.
Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves.
Sir, we have done everything that could be done, to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne. In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope.
If we wish to be free² if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight!
I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us!
They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary.
But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance, by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?
Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone.
There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations; and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us.
The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle?
What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?
Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
https://res.cloudinary.com/colonialwilliamsburg/image/upload/q_auto,f_auto/v1583265702/blog/patrickhenry
.
I’ve never read Patrick Henry’s entire speech. Thank you so much for sharing it here!
There’s a certain Treeper who plays this role at St. John’s. Happy Fourth to him and all.
And we had a Treeper, who went to Heaven a while back…Patrick Henry Censored.
I did not know that Aggiegirl… blessed be his memory.
I admire Patrick Henry for being an anti-federalist. When the Constitution was written it was flawed; as written it supports the formation of an oligarchy. The Bill of Rights was an afterthought for God’s sake. People keep screaming about reading the Federalist Papers. Well, these support a centralized power. People should read the Anti-Federalist Papers. Our “republic” today in no way resembles the confederation of states before the Civil War.
I hadn’t previously connected the timing of Patrick Henry’s speech which seems to predict what happened a month later.
March 23, 1775
“The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms!” –Patrick Henry
April 19, 1775
“The shot heard round the world” –the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen and Amen!!!!!
Many reasons & resolutions listed in reasons for the Declaration of Independence, are in play today, not from a foreign king, but internal attempts at establishing a homegrown monarchy.
I reaffirm the Declaration of Independence in opposition to the current situation.
Better to have one tyrant 3000 miles away than 3000 tyrants in your own neighborhood. In a nation of thieves the thieves rule.
Up until 2021 the Constitutional Republic was celebrated on July 4. The Constitutional Republic, and the rule of law, and the right to vote, were all erased when the Crime of the Century was certified as a “legitimate election” and the ludicrous, and terrifying, Great Pretending began. From then on there has been nothing but darkness and tyranny to “celebrate” and everyone knows it. I will not participate in the pretending.
How about participating in the joyfulness of America and citizens who bravely live principled lives every day? Look up. That is not a denial. It is a celebration honoring the history and bravely moving forward.
Then pray for the rest of us who want the Republic restored.
Thanks for this Menagerie-
i don’t think I’ve ever read it all the way thru. So appropriate to revisit this document given the circumstances we’ve come to.
We must now somehow reclaim our government, which has been turned against us in the hands of corrupt men.
God Bless us, our country and our efforts to accomplish this task.
Simply fabulous! I have only known a portion of that story, the whole one is so incredible. Thank you so much!
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
I notice Object is capitalized. And the same Object is pursued today by most in our own ‘elected’ Government today.
Happy Birthday , America !
🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲
Happy 4th to Sundance and Stellar Crew
and
All You
Wonderful Treepers 🎆
God Bless Us ,
Every One 🇺🇲
💕🇺🇲🎇
Today my flag flies out front of my home. It is tattered, torn and ragged around the edges. It is representative of a nation in deep peril. Those who seek it’s destruction are in our very halls of government. The judges who flaunt our laws, the politicians who seek profit over prudence, our law enforcement agencies who do the bidding of these men.
All of these who seek to destroy our nation will fail. My flag can be replaced, my trust in government restored, but not this day. Rebels one and all must stand as those who came before us. We must seek the council of like minded men and try to instill what one was. A free and independent people.
300
How do I post a picture in the comments? I searched the website and don’t see any instructions on how to post a picture.
First, know that you cannot post a picture directly from your own computer, it has to be hosted on a server somewhere.
If the picture you want to post is already on another website, you can right click it then from the menu click on “copy image link,” you can then paste that here . . . but the link must end in .jpg or .jpeg, otherwise it will not populate here.
If the image is in your computer, or it’s on another site but unsuitable for posting here due to being a different file type, then you need to upload the image to an image hosting site, such as imgur.com or postimage.com. You can upload an image to such a site from your computer and they will provide a URL that you can paste in your comment here.
It can sound a mite overwhelming, but it’s not really too difficult, it gets easier with practice for those of us that aren’t digital dervishes dishing data all day.
Bonne Chance!
It is good that we should read the entirety of our principal Founding Document on this day.
God smiled on the Founding of this “…new Nation conceived in Liberty…” and blessed us with His peace.
Thank you, Menagerie, for reminding us of our sacred root.
May you and Sundance have an awesome inspired Fourth!
God Bless America!
To quote Superman (George Reeves), “Truth, Justice, and the American Way.”
This happened after the Constitution was adopted, but still a good reminder for Independence Day!
Happy Independence Day 2023! Unfortunately, we are not independent, and I’m not happy about it.
Please stay safe and enjoy God, family, and friends like there’s no tomorrow.
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY – !!!!
Our beautiful Flag – Old Glory – stands for Liberty and Justice for ALL!!!
America has a wonderful history of seeking truth and justice and freedom but now that tradition is slipping away.
Most of our politicians are corrupt, and are aiding our leftist enemies in undermining our freedom and rights every day!
We must resist their tyranny!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The cases of the JANUARY 6 PRISONERS – whose rights are being violated – need to be taken to the Supreme Court!!!
The enemies of “The American Way” have long sought to create a system in America, where those ‘decision makers’ fancy themselves as ‘leaders’….
And want to be a form ‘royalty’ in America…where they contrive to be better than the rest of us.
3% of the Colonists pushed back on the tyranny of ol’ George. And won.
Treepers are now embarked on the task of restoring this, Our Country, to the blessings of Liberty. To this end we should renew Our commitment that this New Birth is for ALL citizens and those that seek Her citizenship.
When you see how few signatures made their mark on the Declaration and how few fought on the side of the rebellion, it makes you wonder how they won our freedom back then. All it takes is a few good men and little help from an unseen hand.
I have always been struck by the fact that John Adams (2nd president) and Thomas Jefferson (3rd president) both died on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration, on July 4, 1826. James Madison (4th president) died June 28, 1836, a few days shy of the 60th anniversary. James Monroe (5th president) died on July 4, 1831 (the 55th anniversary). By the way, James Monroe was with George Washington when he crossed the Delaware. All were Founding Fathers.
The colonists asked themselves, “Are we good enough to be a free people?”
“So help me God.” (not just words for a moral person)
The Oath of Enlistment (for enlisted):”I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”
The Oath of Office (for officers):”I, _____ (SSAN), having been appointed an officer in the _____ (Military Branch) of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God.”
Oath of office for the members of Congress of these United States:
“I, AB, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
Since the 80th Congress (1947–1949), Members have also been required to sign an oath, which is held by the Clerk of the House.
Oath of office of the President of the United States as prescribed by the Constitution of the United States.
Article II, Section 1, Clause 8:
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:–I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are required to take two oaths before they may execute the duties of their appointed office.
The Constitutional Oath
As noted below in Article VI, all federal officials must take an oath in support of the Constitution:
“The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”
The Constitution does not provide the wording for this oath, leaving that to the determination of Congress. From 1789 until 1861, this oath was, “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States.” During the 1860s, this oath was altered several times before Congress settled on the text used today, which is set out at 5 U. S. C. § 3331. This oath is now taken by all federal employees, other than the President:
“I, _________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
Richard Hofmeister, Smithsonian Institution
Retiring Chief Justice Warren E. Burger (in robe) administers the Constitutional Oath to his successor, Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist, in the East Room of the White House. Mrs. Natalie Rehnquist holds the Bible while President Ronald Reagan looks on.
The Judicial Oath
The origin of the second oath is found in the Judiciary Act of 1789, which reads “the justices of the Supreme Court, and the district judges, before they proceed to execute the duties of their respective offices” to take a second oath or affirmation. From 1789 to 1990, the original text used for this oath (1 Stat. 76 § 8) was:
“I, _________, do solemnly swear or affirm that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as _________, according to the best of my abilities and understanding, agreeably to the constitution and laws of the United States. So help me God.”
In December 1990, the Judicial Improvements Act of 1990 replaced the phrase “according to the best of my abilities and understanding, agreeably to the Constitution” with “under the Constitution.” The revised Judicial Oath, found at 28 U. S. C. § 453, reads:
“I, _________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as _________ under the Constitution and laws of the United States. So help me God.”
The Combined Oath
Upon occasion, appointees to the Supreme Court have taken a combined version of the two oaths, which reads:
“I, _________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as _________ under the Constitution and laws of the United States; and that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.
I ask, are we involved enough to be a free people?
A rousing hurrah for all the citizens of the past who were “good enough” and involved enough and who sacrificed to get us to today!
Happy Fourth of July
God Bless America!
In the early days of Seattle’s CHAZ and CHOP lawless occupations, while vandals and looters attacked cities and businesses and law enforcement officers across our country, tore down statues in DC and across the country, people in Chicago, Portland and NYC and other cities were assaulted by Antifa, Occupy and BLM*, and streets were being painted with the slogan: BLACK LIVES MATTER….
In the midst of all that chaos and violence, Mark Levin ended his week’s broadcast on a Friday evening with America The Beautiful – by Ray Charles
It was stunning and the perfect prayer for this time of political and spiritual strife in the life of our nation.
I was on my way home from the grocery store and the song brought me to tears – I rolled down the windows of my minivan, turned the volume up full high – and played it all through my neighborhood as a prayer for peace and truth.
All the words of this beautiful anthem are a plea to GOD for what our country desperately needs….
May they resound in every heart and bring conviction of sin, healing love and peace to all Americans.
America the Beautiful
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!
O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine!
O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
—
Words by Katharine Lee Bates with melody by by Samuel Ward
*(BLM was/is a mob protection racket and scam – and the funds coerced from corporations to prevent blacks from looting and vandalizing their businesses, go straight to Act Blue and into the DNC coffers – and to buy luxury homes for BLM leaders)
💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕
I’m glad I checked to see if someone had posted this.
I love this rendition, grew up on it. It still brings tears to my eyes.
Thank you, Sibyl.
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
God, I have so much respect and awe for the men that signed that document. May their reward in Heaven be great. God bless the United States of America.
Taken from the Collect of today’s Mass in the Baltimore Diocese:
“Father of all nations and ages,
we recall the day when our country
claimed its place among the family of nations;
for what has been achieved we give you thanks,
for the work that still remains we ask your help,
and as you have called us from many peoples to be one nation,
grant that, under your providence,
our country may share your blessings
with all the peoples of the earth.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
(One) God, for ever and ever. Amen.”
This conservative Lutheran joins with you in that prayer, my friend.
Influenced by Thomas Paine who said common sense will tell us that the power which hath endeavored to subdue us, is of all others the most improper to defend us.
True story : My niece is married to a constitutional lawyer who works in the Federal Government in D.C. -the Navy Yard . He claims there are only about 50 of these type jobs in the US government . I once asked him : so we go into all these countries and overthrow their government , then we want to draw up a new Constitution for them . Why don’t we just use our own ?
Because our’s doesn’t allow us to do some things we would like to be able to do .
Those other Constitutions are written by Atheists.
america is on the edge of darkness.
Then open some eyes,
I met a neighbor in the grocery store yesterday who is an administrator for a local church. Since I just returned from a two week trip to Israel one political comment lead to another. One comment by her was for more gun control and the other about abortion. I had previously given her a flyer to post for her parish members to defeat LD 1619, a FULL TERM abortion bill, in Maine. She declined to do so since it may have offended some members.
Then, she said it would be a good idea to scrap the Constitution since it was out dated. My come back was it’s the backbone of our republic and if you don’t like something about it, amend it. I doubt that she even knows the details or rationale behind the signing of the Declaration of Independence either. July 4th is just a day off from work for her and numerous other dimwits who push housing for illegal immigrants in hotels while Veterans camp in tents in our parks.
My point, as though CTH readers didn’t know this already, WE HAVE FAR TOO MANY STUPID, INDOCTRINATED, FEEL GOOD, BRAINWASHED, LEFTIST MILQUETOASTS LIVING AMONG US ESPECIALLY IN POSITIONS OF EVEN MODEST INFLUENCE. Did I mention the pastor at her church is a lesbian?
On the flip side, as I left the store I saw a beat up pick up truck with a “F**k Biden!” bumper sticker. That improved my mood greatly especially in a Yuppie (is that word still in use?) bedroom community on the outskirts of the People’s Republic of Portland.