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What – No Fireworks on the 2nd of July?
July 2nd, 2012
I am currently on a plane headed back from Philadelphia where I attended a three day invitation
only Leadership forum at the Wharton School of Business with some of the nation’s top
investment advisors. It was a real treat and very educational. However, for an American history
buff and student of the American Revolution, the highlight of my trip was visiting the
Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall). It is hard to fathom that the “most potent
and consequential words in American History” were conceived in this little hall.
When in the Course of human events…..
Talking about leadership: in this humble place 56 delegates representing the 13 original
colonies gathered to debate the unthinkable – independence from Great Brittan. Who were
these brave men that would decide the fate of so many? Of course today we know the likes of
Jefferson, Adams and Franklin, but what about the rest. Of the 56 men, twenty-four were jurists
and lawyers (some things never change), 11 were merchants and tradesmen, and nine were
simple farmers. They were soft-spoken men of means and education that had risen to a position
of importance in their respective colonies. They had achieved security but valued freedom more
– and unfortunately their stories have not been told nearly enough.
But we do know for certain that on July 2nd, 1776 (that’s right July 2nd) these 56 men after great
debate voted to declare independence from Great Britain and gave birth to these United States.
For those counting, the initial vote on July 1st was not unanimous, South Carolina and
Pennsylvania both voted against the declaration, the New York delegation, lacked permission to
vote for independence and abstained and Delaware cast a no vote because the delegation was
split 50/50.
However, on July 2nd the South Carolina and Pennsylvania delegation reversed its positions, the
tie in the Delaware delegation was broken with the timely arrival of a third delegate, the New
York delegation abstained once again, since they were still not authorized to vote for
independence (although they would be allowed to do so by the New York Provincial Congress a
week later) and the resolution of independence was adopted with twelve affirmative votes and
one abstention. With this, the colonies had officially severed political ties with Great Britain.
Then why not celebrate July 2nd?
In a now-famous letter written to his wife on the following day, John Adams predicted that July
2nd would become a great American holiday. Adams thought that the vote for independence
would be commemorated; he did not foresee that Americans—including himself—would instead
celebrate Independence Day on the date that the announcement of that act was finalized.
After voting in favor of the resolution of independence, Congress turned its attention to the
committee's draft of the declaration. The Declaration was to be a formal explanation as to why
Congress had voted to declare its independence two days earlier. Over several days of debate,
Congress made a few changes in wording and deleted nearly a fourth of the text. Then on July
4, 1776, the wording of the Declaration of Independence was approved and sent to the printer
for publication.
A handwritten copy was sent a few blocks away to the printing shop of John Dunlap. Through
the night he printed about 200 copies (without signatures for their and their families protection)
of which 26 are known to exist today. The first official public reading of the document was in the
yard of Independence Hall on July 8th. The first translation of the Declaration was published in
Philadelphia on July 9th. And before long, the Declaration was read to audiences and reprinted
in newspapers across the thirteen states. In fact, many historians now believe that a parchment
paper copy of the Declaration the now rests in the National Archives was not signed by all 56
signers until Aug. 2nd 1776.
For now we will just stick with the 4th
So this July 4th, not unlike John Adams, I too will enjoy my barbeque while watching the
fireworks with family and friends. I may even tune into some of the many speeches by politicians
and other public figures in this most important of election years. Most of these speakers will give
their audiences exactly what they expect to hear on the Fourth of July: a feel-good address that
celebrates the accomplishments of the past and talks about the nation's promising future. How I
wish that today’s politicians only had half the courage and leadership as our founding fathers,
but we will save that for another commentary.
What about July 2nd…
But today, July 2nd, I will remember the band of 56 patriots – ordinary, yet so unique that
we have never seen their like since - that knowingly surrendered their own liberty,
security and in many cases their lives in order to declare on this day 236 years ago… Our
Independence.
So Happy July 2nd
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