Each July 4,
we celebrate Independence Day with fireworks, barbecues, and sales. How often
do we think about the great cost of adopting this document that birthed our
nation?
Signed by 56
men comprised of teachers, farmers, ministers, sailors, university professors,
and business men each took upon himself the possibility of execution by the
British government for treason.
As the great
responsibility of their actions loomed ahead, Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of the
signers and the man labeled the father of American Medicine wrote to John Adams
in 1781:
“Do
you recollect the pensive and awful silence which pervaded the House when we
were called up, one after another, to the table of the President of Congress to
subscribe to what was believed by many at that time to be our death warrants?
The silence and gloom of the morning was interrupted, I well recollect, only
for a moment by Colonel Harrison of Virginia (a big guy) who said to Mr. Gerry
(small in stature) at the table: 'I shall have a great advantage over you, Mr.
Gerry, when we are all hung for what we are now doing... From the size and
weight of my body I shall die in a few minutes, but from the lightness of your
body you will dance in the air an hour or two before you are dead.' This speech
procured a transient smile, but it was soon succeeded by the solemnity with
which the whole business was conducted.”[1]
This young country not only had no organized army at
this time, there also were no financial resources to fund a war. No other
country wanted to take a chance on financing a fledgling republic against the
British monarchy and suffer future repercussions. For three years, the young
American government was funded by individuals who risked and lost all they had
to secure the independence of the colonies. France and Holland finally saw the
investment was worth the risk after some colonial victories.
Homes were torched, families were separated, health
deteriorated, and ultimately lives were lost in the midst of much suffering.
Our independence came at a great price.
May we continue to fight to retain the freedoms
these great men of valor purchased for succeeding generations. It’s because of their faith in God, their
integrity, and their love for freedom that they had the strength and
determination to stand for the rights the Bible promised each one of us.
God bless America!
What does Independence Day mean to you?
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