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| Patriots all! (click to enlarge) |
Two hundred and fifty years ago today, a group of men gathered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and committed the ultimate act of treason against their Mother country– England. They signed a document, called the “Declaration of Independence,” effectively telling King George III and the British government that the “Colonies” were now independent and a new sovereign nation. Enough! Hands off!
This was a huge gamble as only a minority of the population, about 40-45%, supported succession and wanted to be free of what they felt was tyrannical rule. About 15-20% remained loyalists to the Crown. The rest, 35-45% or so, tried to stay out of the fray. If this effort failed, they all would be executed for treason. If successful, a new nation is born “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal,” as was stated by President Abraham Lincoln in November of 1863 in Gettysburg, again, in Pennsylvania.
What is often forgotten is just how improbable the American victory truly was. At the time, Great Britain possessed the most powerful navy and one of the finest professional armies on Earth. The Colonies had little money, almost no manufacturing capability, a loosely organized militia and a cause many around the world viewed as hopeless. Yet against staggering odds, farmers, merchants, blacksmiths, shopkeepers—men and boys, stood against an empire and somehow prevailed.
The men who signed the Declaration were not reckless young radicals with nothing to lose. Many were wealthy landowners, successful merchants, lawyers and respected leaders in their communities. By placing their names on that document, they knowingly risked their fortunes, their homes and their lives. Several lost everything during the war. Had the Revolution failed, history would not remember them as Founding Fathers, but as traitors swinging from British gallows.
The American Revolution did far more than create a new nation. It sent shockwaves through the world. Monarchs across Europe watched nervously as ordinary citizens challenged the long-accepted idea that kings ruled by divine right. The radical notion that government derived its power from “the consent of the governed” would eventually inspire democratic movements far beyond the shores of the young United States.
We all know the outcome. What started in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 4, 1776, ended at Yorktown, Virginia on October 19, 1781 with the surrender of the British forces.
Happy 250th Birthday to the United States of America!
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This was in one corner of the battlefield in Yorktown, Virginia. Yorktown is where the Revolutionary
War ended. The flag is a facsimile of the original flag of the United States of America. |
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Dennis A. Mook
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Had those who signed the Declaration been captured and tried, they would have surely been charged and convicted of High Treason Against the King. The prescribed punishment would have included an incredible array of vicious measures brought forward from the Middle Ages. Those convicted would be hung by the neck, but not until death. The punishment included the removal of their intestines and stomach while still alive, and then dismemberment. Their wives and family would suffer lesser but still vicious punishments. All lands and fortunes would be confiscated. This had to be a consideration for those who signed. The future of their loved ones was put at great risk.
ReplyDeleteAs stated, the English military was the most powerful on earth. There were only volunteer militias in the colonies. Not an even match by any stretch of the imagination.
I have to wonder who of our generations would have taken such a risk based upon life under English rule of that day.
To succeeding generations, their acts of courage, provided a start to a new and great nation.
Amazing courage! Thank you for your comment. ~Dennis
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