07/04/2019
Happy 4th everyone! Though it should have been the 2nd of July. Wait. The 2nd? I must be mistaken. No, friends it should be the 2nd. And here’s a little story to say why:
On July 2nd 1776, the Continental Congress voted to declare our independence from England. Due to the fact we were at war at the time, not everyone was present to sign it. So that lovely painting we always see depicted in history books never happened. That’s some bad history telling for you. Unfortunately, another aspect that history often leaves out is the fact that Thomas Jefferson originally wrote a section about slavery. It gave slaves equal rights as well.
However, being a slaveholder along with many other founding fathers of the time, it was edited out because slavery was another issue they would need to discuss at a later time. They felt if it remained many members would refuse to sign it since they were also slaveholders. As horrible as that sounds it could have held the country back from declaring independence.
Interestingly enough, the fathers didn’t consider that if they kept that section and paid reparations to the slaves and gave them equal rights and freedom they may have avoided the next almost 100 years of history.
They could have avoided the abolitionist movement and forced the South to come up with a different economy that wasn’t based on slave labor. It may have in turn helped prevent the Civil War, not because it was solely about slavery, but because the Southern economy wasn’t moving towards an industrialized system alike the North. Many people in the South were illiterate, poor farmers. Land rich and not really rich in the means for industry, the South was slow to develop an industry. Upset over possible taxes on even slaves along with their goods that were exported to a world market, the South seceded. The rest is another story.
It was left out and everyone managed to finally sign it by August and mail it off to England. So why not August? Well let’s remember my friends that we had to send this declaration on a boat across the sea to England. That’s a long time to wait to celebrate a breakup. Copies of the Declaration went to the printer on July 4th and was given out to the masses. That’s why we celebrate breaking up with England on July 4th. We further solidified that new date when Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died in 1826 on July 4th. The last two alive that helped pass and compose the Declaration.
It should be the 2nd, but I think we can forgive the printer for making it July 4th. Congress made it a national holiday on that day since it would be too difficult to explain why it wasn’t sent to the printers on the 2nd-making that many copies at that time took longer than it does now. Printing presses were no Xerox machine.
Happy 4th, Happy 2nd, whichever you choose to go by. Just know that sometimes what you know about history may not be entirely accurate or bad history.
https://youtu.be/DT0qNAYJQWU
