Kansas Gov. Brownback: Stand Your Ground

"Americans United for separation of church and state is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to preserving church-state separation to ensure religious freedom for all Americans."

Americans United is crying "foul" to Kansas Governor Sam Brownback's "promotion of a fundamentalist prayer event" (a ReignDown USA rally):

Said Vickie Sandell Stangl, president of the Great Plains Chapter of Americans United, "The governor is really overstepping his constitutional bounds. He was elected to serve as governor of our state, not our state pastor-in-chief." (source)

The "separation of church and state," commonly believed to mean the prohibition of religious discourse in the public forum, is in fact a perversion of what Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802. His statement to indicate the protection of the church from government interference has been completely flipped on its head to mean no religion in public discourse at all.

Few people know that the US Congress commissioned the publication of the first English Bible in the US to be used in its schools, which clearly does not support this interpretation of what Jefferson said in this letter. Nowhere in the Constitution or Declaration of Independence is there a calling for the "separation of church and state," but instead it says that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion," meaning that they will not set up one denomination in particular as the official state religion of America (such as the Church of England), and "shall make no law...prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

According to Americans United, "Leaders of the fundamentalist movement want to tear down the wall of separation between religion and government and impose their religious viewpoint on all Americans."  Well, there never was a "wall" in the way you have interpreted it.

So Governor Brownback, continue to demonstrate the faith of our Founding Fathers--they would have wanted it that way.  God bless the State of Kansas.

Governor Brownback's Proclamation


TO THE PEOPLE OF KANSAS, GREETINGS:

WHEREAS, the State of Kansas will host the national simulcast of REIGNDOWN USA in Topeka on December 8, 2012, bringing thousands here from across the country; and

WHEREAS, people from across America will join the millions from around the world on TV simulcast live from MacLennan Park, in the heart of America; and

WHEREAS, the first REIGNDOWN celebration was held 2008 in Washington DC, on the Capitol Grounds, introduced by proclamation of the President of the United States of America, with millions participating on site, on TV, and by computer; and WHEREAS, regional REIGNDOWN events continued until the need was seen for the gathering to be held in the heart of our Nation; and

WHEREAS, many of our families have slid into poverty, endangering out next generation of citizens, our lands are parched by drought, our quality jobs are scarce, business and industry are struggling to expand, and many of our people have fallen into despair; and

WHEREAS, our Nation’s greatest leaders have called on a merciful God for favor during troubled times, such as:

“We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God.”- Abraham Lincoln, 1863.

“The propitious [favorable] smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” – George Washington 1789.

“I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.” Thomas Jefferson 1787; and

WHEREAS, we collectively repent of distancing ourselves from God and ask for His mercy on us:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Sam Brownback, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF KANSAS, do hereby proclaim December 8th 2012, as a Day of Restoration in Kansas and ask every citizen of our state to join in asking a Holy God to bring healing and restoration – help in mending broken lives, bringing peace to our families, our communities, and this land.

DONE: At the Capitol in Topeka under the Great Seal of the State this 23rd day of November, A.D. 2012

(source)

--Against All Enemies

Connect to AAE
   Blog: http://aaenemies.blogspot.com
   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AgainstAllEnemies (Click "Like")
   Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/@AAEnemies ("Follow")
   YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/AAEnemies ("Subscribe")
Disclaimer: These opinions are solely my own, and do not reflect the opinions or official positions of any United States Government agency, organization or department.

George Washington's Farewell Address and Where We Are Today

"But a solicitude for your welfare...and the apprehension of danger, natural to that solicitude, urge me...to offer to your solemn contemplation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments; which are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me all important to the permanency of your felicity as a People."

--George Washington in his Farewell Address to the People of the United States (1796)

Our first President, a man who pledged his Life, his Honor, and his Fortune to secure for us a nation wherein we could safely enjoy our God-given rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, left us with a series of warnings upon his voluntarily departure from the office of the Presidency.  These warnings did not come from any normal man, but from someone who had lived under tyranny and therefore understood its seductive quality and the oppression it brings to the people.

George Washington was a man who took up arms against the most powerful empire on the planet to free his people from this tyranny.  He was a man who was the first to administer the executive branch of a brand new form of government, designed to protect the liberties of its people.  He knew it would forever face enemies who would seek to arrest the freedoms of the people and restore power to the hands of a few.  He was a man who lived his life amongst a group of national leaders who had spent long hours studying human government and designing, discussing, and debating the new republic they were to create.

George Washington is someone who should be heeded.

Looking back at his thoughts on how to preserve our hard-won liberties, where do we stand today?  Have we as Americans been successful keeping the threats at bay, or have we violated his guidance and, whether consciously or unconsciously, taken the return path to tyranny?  Let us look at his advice, point by point, and consider where we are as a nation today.

1. The Union.  "The Unity of Government which constitutes you one people...is a main Pillar in the Edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home; your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very Liberty which you so highly prize.  But...much pains will be taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth..."  He advised us to "indignantly [frown] upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our Country from the rest..."  He also warns that "To the efficacy and permanency of your Union, a Government for the whole is indispensable.  No alliances however strict between the parts can be an adequate substitute."  He states that "your Union ought to be considered as a main prop of your liberty, and that the love of the one ought to endear to you the preservation of the other...the continuance of the Union as a primary object of Patriotic desire."

PASS.  We have effectively preserved our Union through the years, which provides the main pillar of strength at home to preserve our liberties.  A strong Union provides a bulwark against foreign adversaries who constantly seek to pick us apart, turn the parts against each other, and destroy our nation piece by piece. However, our Union could be torn asunder by the factionalism and Spirit of Party that have infected this nation, which will be discussed in points to follow.  Should our Union be weakened in the slightest, our enemies will be sure to exploit it.

2. Overgrown Military Establishments.  Because of the greater security the unity of the nation provides against external danger, we can therefore "avoid the necessity of those overgrown Military establishments, which under any form of Government are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to regarded as particularly hostile to Republican Liberty..."

FAIL.  Since the conclusion of World War II and the onset of the Cold War, the United States has maintained a very large military in response to the fear of external threats.  A constant threat of attack causes the people to be more apt to give up their rights in return for supposed protection by the government (The Patriot Act and the National Defense Authorization Act are cases in point.).  Some thinkers believe that a perpetual state of war is necessary to ensure the people's allegiance to their nation (see "The Report from Iron Mountain" study).  High levels of military spending gives the government control over a large part of the national economy, enriches and empowers the banks and military-industrial complex, and supports the continued rationale for a permanent tax on the population through both income tax and inflation.  Finally, this military force can be turned on the people should the wrong individual occupy the Oval Office.

3. The Sacred Obligation to Follow the Constitution.  "The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of Government.  But the Constitution which at any time exists, 'til changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole People, is sacredly obligatory to all."

FAIL.  Our leaders do not believe they have a sacred obligation to support, follow, and defend the Constitution, even though they have sworn oaths to do so.  Presidents such as Woodrow Wilson believed the Constitution needs to evolve in its meaning to remain up-to-date in changing times.  We have Justices on the Supreme Court who believe the Constitution is no longer relevant in this age.  Every branch of our government, both past and present, actively seek and find ways to circumvent and undermine that which the Constitution dictates.  Most concerning are the powers being abrogated by the Congress and given to the Executive Branch by such laws as the War Powers Act which essentially gives the President the ability to declare war.  Congress passes a great number of laws that should be handled at the State, local, or individual levels as per the 10th Amendment of the Constitution.  All are essentially "work-arounds" to the limits purposefully imposed on our form of government by the Constitution.

4. Obstructions to the Execution of Laws.  "All obstructions to the execution of the Laws...with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the Constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle and of fatal tendency.  They serve to organize faction...to put in the place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party; often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the Community....  However combinations...of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the Power of the People, and to usurp for themselves the reins of Government..."

FAIL.  We have an Executive Branch that refuses to enforce the laws passed by the Legislative Branch and makes laws through Executive Directive and regulation, and a Judicial Branch that legislates.  These are done to advance the agenda of particular parties in contravention to the will of the people.

5.  The "Spirit of Innovation" Undermining the Constitution.  "Towards the preservation of your Government...it is requisite, not only that you discountenance irregular oppositions to its acknowledged authority, but also that you resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its principles however specious the pretexts.  One method of assault may be to effect, in the forms of the Constitution, alterations which will impair the energy of the system, and thus to undermine what cannot be directly overthrown."

FAIL.  We have presidents calling for a Second Bill of Rights, a New Deal, a Great Society, and Hope and Change, all with grand ideas for social perfection that goes against the Constitution in its current form and will eventually lead to the establishment of tyranny in this nation.

6. The Danger of Political Parties.  "Let me now...warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the Spirit of Party....  It exists under different shapes in all Governments...but in those of popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness and is truly their worst enemy.  The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetuated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism.  The disorders and miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an Individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty....  It serves always to distract the Public Councils and enfeeble the Public administration.  It agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection.  It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption..."

FAIL.  In America today we are strictly limited to a two-party system with each party appearing to occupy diametrically opposed positions.  However, should those who hold great wealth and power "back both horses," they will control the agenda of both parties and wield great power over our nation no matter who is elected.  We are limited to the establishment's set of choices, where any voice outside of the established parties, no matter how right for the nation, cannot be heard.  This is even a greater threat today as the Executive Branch holds so much power that it was not originally designed to have.  But because it does, we cringe at the thought of who from the "other side"may occupy it, and anxiously await the day when "the chief of some prevailing faction more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty."

7. The Separation of Powers.  "It is important...that the habits of thinking in a free Country should inspire caution in those entrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective Constitutional spheres....  If in the opinion of the People, the distribution or modification of the Constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates.  But let there be no change by usurpation..."

FAIL.  The Executive and Judicial branches have succeeded in gathering more power to themselves at the cost of the Legislative Branch and the Constitution.  The Federal Government as a whole has taken upon itself the powers relegated to the States and the People not relegated to it by the Constitution.

8. The Importance of Religion and Morality.  "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports.  ...reason and experience both forbid us to expect that National morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."

FAIL.  We have perverted "freedom of religion" to mean the "separation of church and state," which essentially means "freedom from religion."  The Christian faith is being persecuted in America, driving the religion out of the public square and underground.  Carnality is being celebrated openly in public.  We have slaughtered millions of our children so that we can have "freedom of choice."

9. National Debt.  "One method of preserving [public credit] is to use it as sparingly as possible; avoiding occasions of expense by cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it; avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of Peace to discharge the Debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we ourselves ought to bear."

FAIL.  Our entire monetary system depends upon the creation of debt.  The more debt sold by the Federal Government, the more money the Federal Reserve can put into circulation.  The National Debt is increasing exponentially, with absolutely no plan to slow it down, let alone reverse the trend.  Economic collapse is imminent.

10. Foreign Relations.  "Observe good faith and justice towards all Nations.  Cultivate peace and harmony with all.  ...to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a People always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence.  Who can doubt that in the course of time and things the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any temporary advantages which might be lost by a steady adherence to it?  ...The Nation, which indulges towards another an habitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave.  ...The Nation, prompted by ill will and resentment impels to War the Government, contrary to the best calculations of policy.  ...Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest, in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and Wars of the latter, without adequate inducement or justification....  And it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens (who devote themselves to the favorite Nation) facility to betray, or sacrifice the interests of their own country....  Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence..., the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake...  The Great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign Nations is in our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connections as possible.  ...'Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent Alliances."

FAIL.  Our President is called the "Leader of the Free World," a burden which requires that we continually look to shape the world in our image.  We meddle in the internal affairs of other nations, and even go so far as to create reasons to go to war, such as in Iraq.  Our government is infiltrated with foreign operatives, as in the case of the Muslim Brotherhood.  We have carved up the world into "Combatant Commands" so that we have the command and control in place to "solve problems" anywhere in the world.  Our nation has become an empire, and an imperial power tends to dominate other nations instead of showing them good faith and justice.

11.  Foreign Commerce.  "But even our commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand: neither seeking nor granting exclusive favors or preferences...'tis folly in one Nation to look for disinterested favors from another; that it must pay with a portion of its Independence for whatever it may accept under that character..."

FAIL.  Two items that seem to violate this thought are free trade agreements and granting most favored nation status.

Conclusion.  With our nation failing to follow the advice of our first President in all but one category, how can that last category not fall as well with all its pillars removed?  We must immediately seek to restore our nation to its original founding and purpose, lest we risk losing it altogether and witness the return of tyranny.

--Against All Enemies

Disclaimer: These opinions are solely my own, and do not reflect the opinions or official positions of any United States Government agency, organization or department.

Questions We Should Ask Of Our Leaders' Actions

“But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of controversy.”

--Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi

What follows is the beginning of a list of questions we need to ask about the actions (legislation, regulation, policies) of our national political leaders to determine whether or not they conform to the Constitution and support what is best for the People.

1. Does it enhance/protect our individual liberties, or detract from them?
2. Will it cost Americans more or less (through tax or inflation)?
3. Will it increase or reduce the size of the Federal government?
4. Is this something the States can do?  Is it something the States should do?
5. What if we did nothing?  (Why is this really necessary?)
6. Who benefits from this?  Who does not?  (esp. monetarily)
7. Is this essential for our national security without unnecessarily limiting our liberties?
8. Is there another way of achieving the desired end, especially a way that does not involve the Federal Government?
9. Does it make the government system more predictable or less predictable for people to plan their lives and run their businesses?
10. Is it selecting the ends for people, or assisting the people in the achievement of their own ends?
11. Does it allow for the arbitrary implementation of the law, or does it apply equally to all people?
12. Does it undermine the separation of powers as described in the Constitution?
13. Does it infringe on a person's right to life?
14. Does it infringe on a person's right to property?
15. Is it being done with the consent of the governed?
16. Is it being established as a "work-around" in order to violate the Constitution?

Disclaimer: These opinions are solely my own, and do not reflect the opinions or official positions of any United States Government agency, organization or department.

The Great Divide

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

--The Declaration of Independence

Today in America we are faced with a choice about who is sovereign--God or Man?  Most other nations in the world have already made this choice and decided that Man is sovereign.  Our Founding Fathers strove to leave such nations.  When our nation was formed, they chose God.  Now we are faced with this choice once again, and we must have the courage to pick one or the other.

We are witnessing these two competing beliefs throughout our society, and it impacts where we as a nation believe Truth resides.  If Truth resides with a sovereign God, then Truth is an unchanging foundation upon which we can base our laws and society.  If it is with a sovereign Man, then Truth is an ever-shifting foundation that moves based on the desires of the human being (or beings) in power.

Frankly, it appears that we are moving full speed toward a rejection of God's sovereignty and an acceptance of Man's.  Moving toward a sovereign Man exhibits many tendencies:

1. The rejection of humans as created in God's image and the acceptance of humans as mere animals, just a little bit more "evolved" than the rest (this myth is perpetuated to create a competing explanation for the existence of humans that undermines God's Truth and replaces it with Man's)
2. Because we are animals, our behaviors result from our "nature" and "environment," removing personal responsibility for our actions
3. Because we are animals, we should not be restricted by "morality," but should instead give in to our "natural" desires and do as we wish
4. Because of the reduction in morality, there is an increase in the need for the Sovereign to control the populace, for they now cause more problems
5. As the populace becomes increasingly irresponsible, liberties will be taken away since the people can no longer responsibly govern themselves
6. Because we are animals, our population needs to be controlled to protect the health of our species and prevent overpopulation (eugenics and abortion)
7. To govern such a population of irresponsible human "animals," a centralized, collective government must be instituted, ruled by the "elite" and "enlightened."  The sovereign will have to instruct the populace on how to live their lives in order to protect them from themselves and to protect those around them.  In essence, the sovereign will determine the rights of the people.  The ultimate end of this sort of thinking is global control of the human population.
8. Finally, because Truth resides in the human sovereign, then anyone who either goes against the sovereign or does not believe that Truth resides with him is an enemy of the State and will be persecuted in order to maintain the authority of the human sovereign.  (tyranny)

The bottom line is that these two opposite beliefs, Man holding ultimate Truth and God holding ultimate Truth, are incompatible and cannot reasonably coexist in a nation.  As we witness Man's Truth in the ascendant in America, we must realize that a choice will have to be made.  That choice is whether this nation believes that Truth resides with God, or Truth resides with Man.  

As we continue forward, watching both beliefs vying for control of our nation, there are some potential courses of action for the resolution of this conflict.

1. Status Quo.  We continue on the current path, watching God's Truth be steadily pushed out of the fabric of our nation.  Basically, accept "fate," do nothing, and allow Man's Truth to take over the nation.
2. National Choice.  Convene something akin to a Constitutional Convention and lay out the issue before the American people to make a choice of our national sovereign.
3. State Choices.  Allow each State to choose its sovereign, effectively dissolving the Union, but allowing certain segments of society to go the way they wish.  This will most likely see massive migrations of populations.
4. Civil War.  This is similar to scenario #1, but instead of accepting "fate," the issue comes to a head and each side takes up arms against the other.  This could result in the dissolution of the Union, one side or the other being victorious and maintaining the Union, or foreign occupation.
5. Election.  Elect a President and Congress who execute a "reset" on the government and restore it to its Constitutional foundations.

These scenarios certainly do not address all potentialities.  However, the point is that our nation must decide on this issue, the effects of which will rest on the course of action taken.  

Our nation was founded upon the fact that Truth lies with our Sovereign, the Lord, Creator of Heaven and Earth.  Entities within our nation are trying to undermine and change that.  When all is said and done, we cannot allow them to do so below the table.  It must be a conscious decision, done with the consent of the People.  

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

--The Declaration of Independence

AAE on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AgainstAllEnemies
AAE on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/@AAEnemies

Disclaimer: These opinions are solely my own, and do not reflect the opinions or official positions of any United States Government agency, organization or department.

Big Gulp of Liberty

July 1st and 2nd, 1776: The Making of a Republic

Cross-posted by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

The following dramatic account of the days leading up to our "declaration" of independence and the signing of the document, is taken from David McCullough's John Adams, (hardback, selected portions of pages 125-163).

Monday, July 1, 1776:

...began hot and steamy in Philadelphia and before the morning was ended a full-scale storm would break....

John Adams:

This morning is assigned the greatest debate of all,...A declaration, that these colonies are free and independent states,...May heaven prosper the newborn republic.

At ten o'clock, with the doors closed, John Hancock sounded the gavel. Richard Henry Lee's prior motion calling for independence was again read aloud;...Immediately, [John] Dickinson, gaunt and deathly pale, stood to be heard. With marked earnestness, he marshaled all past argument and reasoning against "premature" separation from Britain.

Dickinson:

My conduct this day, I expect, will give the finishing blow to my once great...and now too diminished popularity....But thinking as I do on the subject of debate, silence would be guilt.

Then he sat down and all was silent except the rain...No one spoke, no one rose to answer him, until Adams at last "determined to speak"....Outside the wind picked up. The storm struck with thunder, lightning, and pelting rain. He spoke on steadily, making the case for independence as he had so often before. He was logical, positive, sensitive to the historic importance of the moment, and looking into the future, saw a new nation, a new time,...

To [Thomas] Jefferson, Adams was "not graceful nor elegant, nor remarkably fluent," but...

Thomas Jefferson:...

[Adams] spoke with a power of thought and expression that moved us from our seats.

...when later that evening a preliminary vote was taken, four colonies unexpectedly held back, refusing to proclaim independence. Pennsylvania stood with John Dickinson and voted no. The New York delegates abstained, saying they favored the motion but lacked specific instructions. South Carolina, too,...voted no, while Delaware, with only two delegates present, was divided. The missing Delaware delegate was Caesar Rodney, one of the most ardent of the independence faction. Where he was or when he might reappear was unclear, but a rider had been sent racing off to find him.

...Edward Rutledge [moved] that a final vote be postponed until the next day, implying that for the sake of unanimity, South Carolina might change its mind, Adams and others immediately agreed. For while the nine (9) colonies supporting independence made a clear majority, it was hardly the show of solidarity that such a step ought to have.

That night, at the City Tavern and at the lodging houses of the delegates, it was extremely tense. The crux of the matter was the Pennsylvania delegation, for in the preliminary vote three of the seven Pennsylvania delegates had gone against John Dickinson and declared in the affirmative, and it was of utmost interest that one of the three, along with Franklin and John Morton, was James Wilson, who, though a friend and ally of Dickinson, had switched sides to vote for independence. The question now was how many of the rest who were in league with Dickinson would on the morrow continue to "vote point blank against the known and declared sense of their constituents."

To compound the tension that night, word reached Philadelphia of the sighting off New York of a hundred British [war] ships, the first arrivals of a fleet that would number over four hundred.

Tuesday, July 2:

...it appears that just as the doors to Congress were about to be closed at the usual hour of nine 'clock, Caesar Rodney, mud-spattered, "booted and spurred," made his dramatic entrance....Almost unimaginable, he had ridden eighty miles through the night, changing horses several times, to be there in time to cast his vote.

Yet more important even than the arrival of Rodney were two empty chairs among the Pennsylvania delegation. Refusing to vote for independence but understanding the need for Congress to speak with one voice, John Dickinson and Robert Morris has voluntarily absented themselves from the proceedings, thus swinging Pennsylvania behind independence by a vote of three to two. What private agreements had been made the night before, if any, who or how many had come to the State House that morning knowing what was afoot, no one recorded.

Outside, more rain threatened, and at about ten came another cloudburst....New York continued to abstain, but South Carolina, as hinted...joined the majority to make the decision unanimous in the sense that no colony stood opposed....

July 2, 1776:

So, it was done, the break was made...on July 2 , 1776, in Philadelphia, the American colonies declared independence. If not all thirteen clocks had struck as one, twelve had, and with the other silent, the effect was the same.

John Adams:

...in the privacy of two long letters to Abigail [his wife] [Adams wrote]:

It ought to be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more.

Lest she [Abigail] judge him [Adams] overly "transported,' he said he was well aware of the...toil and blood and treasure that it will cost us to maintain this declaration.

Wednesday, July 3, 1776:

...But there could be no pause. There was too much still to be done. Congress had to review and approve the language of the drafted declaration before it could be made official. Deliberation of a different kind commenced at once, continuing through the next morning,...when mercifully the temperature had dropped ten degrees, broken by the storm of the previous day.

For Thomas Jefferson it became a painful ordeal, as change after change was called for and approximately a quarter of what he had written was cut entirely. Seated beside Benjamin Franklin, the young Virginian looked on in silence. He is not known to have uttered a word in protest, or in defense of what he had written. Later he would describe the opposition to his draft as being like "the ceaseless action of gravity weighing upon us night and day."

By July 3:

... 9,000 troops led by General William Howe had landed on Staten Island, where hundreds of Tories were on hand to welcome them. Howe himself had gone ashore on July 2, the very day that Congress had voted for independence, and in the days following, up the Narrows between Staten Island and Long Island came ever more British sails, including an armada of 130 warships and transports from England....

Thursday, July 4:

In later years the excessive summer heat of Philadelphia would frequently figure in accounts of Thursday, July 4, 1776. In fact, the day, like the one before, was pleasantly cool and comfortable. In Congress, discussion of the Declaration appears to have continued through the morning until about eleven o'clock, when debate was closed and the vote taken. Again, as on July 2, twelve colonies voted in the affirmative, while New York abstained. Again, John Dickinson was absent. It all went very smoothly.

Congress ordered that the document be authenticated and printed. But it would be another month before the engrossed copy was signed by the delegates. For now, only the President, John Hancock, and the Secretary of the Congress, Charles Thomson, fixed their signatures.

With passage of the declaration of Independence thus completed, and having thereby renounced allegiance to the King and proclaimed the birth of a new United States of America, the Congress proceeded directly to other business. Indeed, to all appearances, nothing happened in Congress on July 4, 1776.

Friday, July 5, 1776:

...printer John Dunlap had broadside editions available and the delegates were busy sending copies to friends.

Saturday, July 6, 1776:

...the Pennsylvania Evening Post carried the full text on its first page.

Monday, July 8, 1776:

The great day of celebration came Monday,...at noon in the State House Yard, when the declaration was read aloud before an exuberant crow. With drums pounding, five battalions paraded through the city and "on the common, gave us the feu de joie [thirteen cannon blasts], notwithstanding the scarcity of powder,"...Bells rang through the day and into the night. There were bonfires at street corners. Houses were illuminated with candles in their windows. In the Supreme Court Room at the State House, as planned, a half dozen Philadelphians chosen for the honor took the King's Arms down from the wall and carried it off to be thrown on top of a huge fire and consumed in an instant, the blaze lighting the scene for blocks around.

Friday, August 2, 1776:

The actual signing of the document would not take place until Friday, August 2, after a fair copy had been elegantly engrossed on a single, giant sheet of parchment by Timothy Matlack, assistant to the secretary of Congress. Nothing was reported of the historic event. As with everything transacted within Congress, secrecy prevailed. To judge by what was in the newspapers and the correspondence of the delegates, the signing never took place.

In later years, Jefferson would entertain guests at Monticello with descriptions of black flies that so tormented the delegates, biting through their silk hose, that they had hurried the signing along as swiftly as possible. But at the time Jefferson wrote nothing of the occasion, nor did John Adams. In old age, trying to reconstruct events of that crowded summer, both men would stubbornly and incorrectly insist that the signing took place July 4.

Apparently there was no fuss or ceremony on August 2. The delegates simply came forward in turn and fixed their signatures...Like the others, Adams and Jefferson each signed with his own delegation, Adams on the right, in a clear and firm, plain hand, Jefferson at lower center with a signature more precise and elegant, but equally legible.

The fact that a signed document now existed, as well as the names of the signatories, was kept secret for the time being, as all were acutely aware that by taking up the pen and writing their names, they had committed treason, a point of considerably greater immediacy now, with the British army so near at hand.

"The Declaration of Independence has produced a new era in this part of America," wrote Benjamin Rush, [a signer]..."The militia of Pennsylvania seem to be actuated with a spirit more than Roman. Near 2,000 citizens of Philadelphia have lately marched to New York."...

Even those in Congress who had been so ardently opposed, now, by word or deed, committed themselves to the "Glorious Revolution."

By mid-August:

...32,000 fully equipped, highly trained thoroughly professional British and German (Hessian) soldiers - more than the entire population of Philadelphia - were ashore on Staten Island, supported by ten ships-of-the-line and twenty frigates, making in all the largest, most costly British overseas deployment ever until that time.

By contrast, the American army gathered in defense of New York, digging in on Manhattan and Long Island...Nathanael Greene, wrote to tell John Adams that in reality the American force might number 9,000; and as Adams knew, they had no naval support - not a single available warship or transport.

When on July 12:

... with the wind and tide in their favor, the British sent two men-of-war up the Hudson River to demonstrate who had control, there was nothing to stop them. as the huge ships passed upstream, American militia stood gawking onshore, which evoked an angry general order from Washington declaring such "unsoldierly conduct" could only give the enemy a low opinion of the American army.

Early on Thursday, August 22:

... an exceptionally clear, bright day in New York, the British commenced their invasion of Long Island....wave after wave,...small boats...transports...15,000 English, Scottish, and Hessian troops were rowed across the Narrows from Staten Island to land without opposition on the broad shoreline near Gravesend, eight miles to the rear of the American stronghold on Brooklyn Heights.

Contrary to basic military doctrine, Washington had divided his forces between Manhattan and Long Island. Expecting a second, larger British landing on Manhattan, he remained there, while on Long Island his battalions braced themselves for the assault. But for days the British command under General William Howe made no move in force,...

... not until August 27:

... when a furious battle was fought to the southwest of Brooklyn Heights....Washington was by then on the scene with reinforcements....

But the inexperienced Americans were outnumbered, outflanked, and overwhelmed in only a few hours.

Through the night, under the cover of darkness, rain, and fog, Washington's army had been ferried across the mile-wide East River, through powerful currents, in every conceivable kind of small boat, most of them manned by Massachusetts fisherman - some 9,000 to 10,000 troops...all moving with utmost silence.

End John Adams text.

David McCullough's book, John Adams, is an awe-inspiring read recounting the vision of ordinary men who were extraordinarily great leaders, maintaining their vision to create, and then protect, our Republic, as had not been done before and has not been done since.

These words from David McCullough (page 163), writing of John Adams:

Few Americans ever achieved so much of such value and consequence to their country in so little time. Above all, with his sense of urgency and unrelenting drive, Adams made the Declaration of Independence happen when it did. Had it come later, the course of events could have gone very differently.

Technorati Tags: Declaration of Independence, John Adams, 4th of July, United States of America, David McCullough