Show 9 0 11 N 11 n I 1 41 W P 0 4 I 1 vp AA I 1 01 11 LI I 1 A farsi 6 N john dinkins dickinson Di dkins som 3 hermar r IF Q A of anxious citizens had gathered in the T streets ot of philadelphia where congress was assembled tor for it was known thit that t the final cual ls ral vote on the declaration 0 of 1 1 independence would be taken that day sinco since the hour of the assembly of congress the old bellman of the liberty bell in independence dilall had been in the steeple ile he had placed his little grandson nt at the door to give him the word when the announcement no should be made As hour after hour passed by and no announcement came the old man shook his bead and said sadly they will never do it it suddenly a shout came up from below and there stood the little blue eyed ered lad clapping his hands for joy and shouting lung grandfather ring so the old grandsire swung the big bl iron tongue find and the liberty bell clanging times sent its brazen notes throughout the land proclaiming that uie tile united colonies were and of right ought to be free and ent and there was a tumult of rejoicing in the he city this in effect Is the first fourth of july as many an american schoolboy has been taught it it reads well and there Is a thrill thrift in it IL but it has one large fault it true As aa a matter of 0 tact fact there any real fourth of july celebration at all in 1770 there be tor for the reason that the lie declaration of independence was a continuing operation that lasted pretty much the whole summer of that year incidentally its culmination was july 2 instead of july 4 moreover it was not until 1777 that july 4 was fixed upon as tile the day we celebrate and it was in 1777 in philadelphia that the first fourth of july celebration was held to get the history of the declaration of independence straight we must start with the fact that the american revolution was nas not begun for the achievement of independence the american colonists began with the idea of securing the right guaranteed them as englishmen by magra magna charta the bill of rights and their own eb charters arters the idea of separation and independence was fin an afterthought and tin an outgrowth of the hostilities faced by the british at lexington and concord the historic declaration of the citizens of mecklenburg county north carolina in may 1775 was one of the eprile st manifestations of the trend of public opinion in january of 1770 thomas balnes pamphlet common sense appeared and gave the movement a tremendous dous impetus june 7 1770 richard henry glenry lee under instructions from virginia presented to the continental congress ills famous resolution which reads resolved that these united colonies nies are and of right ought to be free and independent states that they tire are absolved from all allegiance to the british crown and that all political connection between them and the state of great britain Is and ought to be totally dissolved that it Is expedient forthwith to take the moat effectual measures tor for forming foreign alliances nuit a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the respective colonies tor for their consideration and op probation liere in tact fact was tile the declaration of independence Inde pende nee la in a nutshell nut snell june 8 congress went unto a committee of whole to consider the resolution for various reasons the delegates were not dot Z 61 all really ready to vote on it it june 10 congress postponed final consideration for 3 weeks juno june 11 congress appointed a committee of five to draw up the declaration of independence leo w r td naturally have been made chairman but he had been called home by the illness of ills his wife thomas jefferson of virginia was made chairman and an d his colleagues were john adams of massachusetts benjamin franklin of roger sherman of connecticut and robert L livingston of new york the committee instructed ted jefferson to write out a draft of the declaration jefferson did so the committee made some changes and jefferson then made a clean copy congress reassembled july 1 nod and the lee resolution was passed july 2 how this action was then regarded Is shown by john adams letter to his alfe in which he said TIN fhe second day of july 1770 will be the most memorable epoch in the history of america I 1 am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by sue succeeding generation as the great anniversary festival it ought to be commemorated mem orated as the day of de dellver liverence ence by solemn nets acts of devotion to god cod almighty it ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade with shows games sports bells bonfires and illumination from one end of this continent confluent to the other from tills this time forward forevermore jefferson then presented tho the report of the declaration committee the document now known as the Declara declaration tl on of independence it was adopted the afternoon of july 4 john Il hancock ancock as president of the congress affixed ills signature charles thompson countersigned counter signed as secretary secretor 7 it was then printed and sent oft off to the several colonies july 15 the clerk was instructed to prepare the document for signatures properly engrossed it was signed by all who were present 60 members others signed in september and one member colonel mckean did not sign until 1781 seven me members for one reason or another never did sign it pennsylvania being the first colony to receive its declaration of independence pen dence wits was the first formally to make public the action of congress july 8 a general election day in pennsylvania syl sylvania vanla was chosen as the time A crowd of f about 1000 gathered near the platform erected by the philosophical ical society seven years before from which rittenhouse observed the transit of venus mounted upon this colonel john nixon alson read the document in his big voice and winsome deborah logan leaning over the wall of 0 the norris homestead which was upon the present site of the customs house heard him quite pl plainly ainaly both she and charles beddle writing of the scene in their diaries make the comment that ew respectable persons were present this was not remarkable for philadelphian Phila delphias wealthy class of that day was outright tory in its sympathy and john dickinson ed 1 ward biddle thomas willing and the others expressed its sentiments accurately cura tely when they voted against the lee resolution after the reading the crowd gave three buzzas and took down the kings arms from the state house bouse the bell in tho the tower loomed its message christ church bell keeping it company and the tunny funny old guns or of the association battery down at old swedes church roared out their salute the philadelphia fourth of july celebration of 1777 was a public demonstration on planned in advance fortunately tuna tely we have a short contemporary account of what took place the pennsylvania gazette published weekly by john dunlap tells in its issue of july 0 1777 0 of this first ot of a long line of independence day celebrations nere Is tile the full account friday the fourth instant being the anniversary of the independence of america was celebrated in this city with demonstrations of joy and festivity about noon all the armed chipi and galleys in the river were drazil up before the city dressed in the gayest manner with the colors of the united states and streamers displayed at 1 the yards being properly manned they began the celebration 0 of the day by a discharge of thirteen cannon from each of the galleys in honor of the thirteen united states in the afternoon an elegant dinner was prepared for congress to which were invited the president and supreme executive council and speaker of the assembly of this state the general officers and colonels of the army and the tha members of the several continental tin boards who were la town the lles hessian band of music taken in trenton the twenty sixth of december last attended and heightened the festivity with some fine performances suited to the joyous occasion while a corps of british deserters taken into the service of the continent by the state of georgia being drawn up before the door filled up the intervals with feux feus de jole after dinner a number of toasts were drunk all breathing independence and a genuine love of liberty nud aud commemorating the memories of those brave and worthy patriots pat riota who gallantly exposed their lives and fell gloriously in defense of freedom and the righteous cause of their country liach each toast was followed by a discharge of artillery and small arms and a suitable piece 01 ok music mus ic by the Iles hessian band the glorious fourth fourt h of july was reiterated three times accompanied with triple discharges of cannon and small arms toward evening several troops of horse and corps of artillery nod and a brigade of north carolina forces which hi was la in town on its way to join the grand army were drawn up la in second street and reviewed by congress congre sg and the general officers the evening was closed with the ringing of bells and at night there was a grand exhibition of fireworks which began and concluded with thirteen rockets on the common and the city was beautifully illuminated everything was conducted with the greatest order and decorum find the taco face of joy and gladness was universal thus may the fourth of july that glorious and ever memorable day be celebrated through america by the hosts of freedom from age to age till time shall be no more amen and amen |