Behind Our Independence

Behind Our Independence
The 4th of July: A Day Which Would Change the World!

 

Here at Select Fire, we like to send out blog-style articles on firearms and related topics for both education and fun… but today, let’s take a few minutes and discuss the quintessential American holiday, the 4th of July!

 

To most modern Americans, the 4th of July entails a day off of work, maybe a barbecue or picnic with family and friends during the day, followed by fireworks (either at a public show, or at home) in the evening. Virtually all Americans know that the 4th of July is “Independence Day” (the anniversary of the day when America declared itself independent from England), but how much thought do most of us really give to what the founding fathers did, the real risks they took, and the long-lasting effects of that day?

Our legacy of firearm ownership (and many other freedoms) extends back to the armed ‘citizen-soldiers’ (both militia and regulars) from the original 13 colonies who took on and defeated the most powerful army in the world… and while the movement towards independence began well before then, it was on the 4th of July 1776 that something happened which would change the world forever. But how and why did it really happen? What has it all meant since then?

Prior to the 1760’s, England largely left the American colonies to govern themselves. However, following the French and Indian Wars, things began to change. By the early 1770’s political unrest was sweeping through the American colonies, with resentment largely stemming from England imposing a series of taxes and laws in which the colonists had no say (“taxation without representation”). These included the Stamp Act, the Currency Act, the Sugar Act, the Quartering Act, and others. Protests began to grow violent, with confrontations between American protesters such as the Sons of Liberty and British soldiers leading to riots and several deaths. The dissent culminated in the Boston Tea Party, which was a protest against a new tax on tea, in which the Sons of Liberty boarded a British merchant ship in Boston and dumped its cargo of tea into the harbor. The British response was to impose a number of new laws cracking down on the civil unrest, known collectively in the colonies as the “Intolerable Acts”.

 

As this unrest grew, the colonies formed the First Continental Congress in 1774 to develop a unified approach to respond to England. Open combat broke out between American militia and British soldiers in spring 1775; by summer, a full-blown revolution was under way. Though the Second Continental Congress attempted peaceful negotiations with England in 1775, their efforts were ignored, so discussions began about full independence. In June of 1776, the Congress appointed a 5-man committee to develop a document to declare the formation of a new country; on that committee, Thomas Jefferson was tasked with writing the first draft. The Declaration of Independence was written by Jefferson over the course of about two weeks, with Congress approving it on July 2, and formally signing it on July 4th…the United States was born!

While most Americans know at least the broad outlines of that story, what’s sometimes not talked about is the incredible courage and bravery of those men who actually signed the Declaration. These were mostly prominent, wealthy businessmen, who due to their wealth, could easily have stayed quiet and lived comfortable lives…. but they chose to make a stand, and in so doing, put their lives at risk. Had England won the war, these men certainly would have been hunted down and executed as traitors. Ben Franklin is said to have stated “we should all hang together, or else we’ll all be hung separately”, meaning that if they weren’t unified, they would be defeated (and eventually, executed). In hindsight, knowing how the Revolution turned out, we sometimes forget the bravery of these men; they were betting on the courage and determination of an unorganized band of armed citizens, along with the help of God, to defeat the most powerful military on the face of the earth. All Americans today should be thankful that they did!

The aftereffects of that day changed the world and are still being felt to this day. Our very existence as a nation is a result of those men’s actions, and of the heroes who followed them in serving our country (and often laying down their lives). In forming the United States, they laid the foundation for a nation which would lead the world in industry, technology, and finance… it would later be the difference-maker in multiple world wars, saving the world from the darkness of Nazism and Communism… it would provide more direct economic and material relief to suffering people around the world than any nation in history. By the time the American Civil War was done, the U.S. would provide more freedoms for its citizens than any nation in the history of the world…. among those freedoms is our 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms, which is vitally important to all of us in the Select Fire family, and to many, many Americans.

 

So, when you’re having your barbecue or watching those fireworks on the 4th of July, take a moment and think about the Founding Fathers, and all of the heroes who followed them.  We wouldn’t enjoy the freedoms we have today without them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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