Today I'm Going To Read.....

[Superman]

.....the Declaration of Independence. Out loud. At our family gathering. And some people are going to learn some things. It seems obvious to me that the Declaration of Independence did not create this nation. The thirteen colonies were coming together and sometimes finding consensus but they were not yet bound together. That binding happened with the Constitution.

But before that, the colonies were starting to find things they agreed on and one of those things was the rejection of tyranny. Which is the definition of the word "Liberty" as used at that time. And so those colonies unanimously declared themselves to be no longer the King's subjects. This is done in the last paragraph. All of the rest of the document is an explanation of why each of those colonies, separately according to the document, declare their independence. That's the best part. The explanation of why.

Quite a document. Enjoy your time with your families today.

[Arizona_928]

Go with the challenge and do the federalist papers…. At least the first one.

[Dixie]

Thanks Superman.

[pwd72s]

One could say it's this country's birth certificate.

[Superman]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

One could say it's this country's birth certificate.

It's more of a divorce decree.

[HobieMarty]

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[GH85Carrera]

[Seahawk]

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the revolutionary army, another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the revolutionary war.
They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners, men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.
Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.
Vandals or soldiers or both, looted the properties of Ellery, Clymer, Hall, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. The owner quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.
John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.
Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: ‘For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.’”

[Dixie]

How did the reading go Superman?