Tomorrow, July the 4th, is the 229th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence from Great Britain, England as it was also known then. Our Independence Day is celebrated with parades, patriotic music, speeches, picnics and fireworks after dark. There are so many communities with celebrations that some begin the week ahead, like Darlington, in order for everyone to be able to attend the many celebrations.
What is the Declaration of Independence, who wrote it and why? Let us step back in time to the American Revolutionary period for the answers.
Today is July 3rd, 1776, the day before the determined United Colonies would officially declare their independence from England and the Tyranny of King George III. There is a meeting being held in Philadelphia known as the Continental Congress. On this particular day it is a "wiltingly hot day," to quote Rev. Forrest Church in his book The American Creed, A Biography of the Declaration of Independence.
The men there are dressed in clothing that cover them from high-necked collars to ruffled long sleeve blouses and waistcoats. Their legs are also covered with leggings and knee britches. No women are in the delegations from the thirteen colonies.
The intense personal pressure of defying the king overshadows the pressure-cooking heat of Philadelphia that day. Amid the discomfort they labor to get the words right. Listen to Forrest Church in his book:
[T]hey were fashioning precepts as sacred as they were secular. As a group they were not notably religious men. But they were united, almost miraculously, in forging a union that transcended, even as it encompassed, the historical particularity of the present crisis.
These were serious men. They were serious about the certainty of declared war by the king against them. Hostilities began at least a year earlier in skirmishes and protests against injustices and oppression which had been imposed upon the Americans. And they were serious about the wording of the document declaring America's independence. It would surely bring more British troops to their colonies to bring them back in line. But they could stand no more!
The delegates to the Continental Congress chose a committee of distinguished representatives to write the document. Thomas Jefferson of Virginia was appointed to prepare the draft of the document by the rest of the members of the committee—John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut and [Phil.] Robert Livingston of New York.
From the Preamble of Church's book:
Fired with ardor and apprehension—the prospect of a long war, its outcome uncertain—America's first citizens performed an almost perfect act of alchemy. In their crucible were transfigured the elements that would reflect America's promise and set the measure for its fulfillment.
They were determined men, and they were patriots. The reasons for the Declaration of Independence came from several incidents. You may remember from your high school or college studies of United States history that there were more than 28 separately listed grievances called Oppressions in the declaration document. These demands were put upon the colonists by King George III or the English Parliament. However, in their statements of oppressions and grievances they were explicit about blaming the king.
The British passed acts such as these: the requirement for Stamps to be affixed to legal documents and the posting of mail both of which carried a high price. The fees were sent to England; they did not stay within the jurisdiction. The colonists had no say in the matter. An interesting aside: The legal document stamps required today at the courthouse when you transfer property are a carry-over from that time. However, the money stays here.
Hear the words of the colonists:
The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let facts be submitted to the candid world. He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury.
- He has forbidden his Governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
- He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
- He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the consent of our legislature.
- He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power. He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging War against us.
- He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
These are but a few of the statements that give evidence for the defense of the colonists and give reasons for their declaring their right to independence. Reading these grievances we can visualize the atrocities visited upon the colonists by the British Army. The colonists would take only so much and no more. The Intolerable Acts were passed by the English Parliament in response to the Boston Tea Party, which in the beginning was a response to taxation without representation.
Of course, there were sympathizers and loyalists to the king, many of whom resided in Maryland. Those who were against the movement for independence fled to England as war became imminent after 1773. Those who stayed feared for their lives. Some were arrested by the colonists. This was a time for soul-searching, for laying one's life and fortune on the line. They chose to fight!
Near the intersection of Route 136, Calvary Road, and Route 7, Philadelphia Road, in our own Harford County, and which is about 10 miles from here, there is an historical marker which states: The Bush Declaration, Harford Town, County Seat of Harford County from its origin March 1774, March 1783. First Declaration of Independence ever adopted by any organized body of men duly elected by the people. Proclaimed March 22, 1775.
Harford County's Declaration of Independence predated the national declaration by over a year. The Harford County Seal quotes the citizenry: "At the Risque of Our Lives and Fortunes, 1773". These were the citizens—our colonial ancestors—putting their lives and fortunes on the line for their families so that all Americans could live in peace without fear. These were the citizens who huddled together some nights when the British soldiers were marching on Philadelphia Road. Our Philadelphia Road was the only passable road which connected Baltimore and Washington to Philadelphia.
These are but parts of the answer as to why we celebrate our independence from the Mother Country.
Who were these patriots and champions of our freedom from tyranny? From Maryland there were four: Samuel Chase, Wm. Paca, Thos. Stone, and Charles Carroll of Carrollton. All were lawyers, 2 were judges and Charles Carroll was also a farmer. I will focus on William Paca of Harford County.
In 1773 he was 33 years old, and an established lawyer from Harford County. His political career began in 1771 as a member of the Maryland House of Burgesses, which was a provincial assembly whose representatives were elected by the people. He felt strongly about the people's interests and understood their rights, and was sufficiently bold to defend his constituents against the proprietary governmental rule. In a very simple attempt to define proprietary rule, I mean that there was a person, often living in England, who was granted ownership by the British Crown of a North American colony. This person could allow or disallow the requests by the people in his colony.
William Paca was the man elected by his fellow citizens to be assertive and to resist the aggressions of avarice and the usurpations of tyranny. In Maryland, the problems with the proprietor had a long history. So long, that despite the fact that many Marylanders were loyal to the parent country, they appointed Paca and the others to the Continental Congress "to effect one general plan of conduct, operating on the commercial connection of the colonies with the mother country, for the relief of Boston, and the preservation of American liberty." Paca and the other three signed the declaration after much in person discussion with their constituents—remember, no telephones or Internet access. Philadelphia Road carried a lot of traffic.
Paca's name is prominent in Central Maryland with a street in Baltimore City and a Harford County public elementary school named for him on Philadelphia Road. He was elected governor of Maryland twice and served his constituents well. Biographers of William Paca speak highly of him.
And, who were the Unitarians and Universalists who signed the Declaration of Independence? One was Benjamin Rush, "the most celebrated physician and the leading social reformer of his time", as Charles A. Howe describes him in his biography of Dr. Rush in the Unitarian Universalist Historical Society's Dictionary of Unitarian Universalist Biography (DUUB). Rush "was a close friend of both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson and corresponded with many prominent figures of the revolutionary generation." Rush's "strong belief in universal salvation helped to promote acceptance of Universalism during its formative period in America."
He was born in Philadelphia in 1745 into a family of seven children of a Presbyterian mother and an Episcopalian father. When he was 6 years old his father died. From then on his mother raised him and his siblings in the Presbyterian faith. There he was exposed to Calvinist teachings. I quote from the biographer Howe: "He accepted these doctrines, he [Rush] later wrote, 'without any affection for them.'" Later he attended West Nottingham Academy and the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University).
Rush's medical background and experience is impressive. He advocated the simplification of diagnosis and the treatment of disease and was an early advocate of preventive medicine. Rush was a pioneer in the study and treatment of mental illness. He insisted that the insane had a right to be treated with respect. An interesting aspect of Rush's theological/medical opinion is this from Howe's DUUB biography:
One of the many causes of insanity he noted was intense study of "imaginary objects of knowledge"such as "researches into the meaning of certain prophecies in the Old and New Testaments."
He was acquainted with many prominent Universalists and Unitarians. In 1790 he played an important part in organizing the final report from the first general convention of Univeralists, and there met John Murray. Joseph Priestley, discoverer of oxygen, became a close friend because both were scientists, were interested in religion, believed in universal salvation and held progressive social views.
Moreover, his involvement in the founding of our country is even more impressive because by the time of the Continental Congress convention in 1775 he was elected to be a delegate. The following year he was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. During the ensuing Revolutionary War he served briefly as surgeon-general. He was 30 years old.
In 1787 Rush and James Wilson led the Pennsylvania convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution. They went on to lead a successful campaign to develop a more liberal and effective state constitution. It was his last involvement in politics for which he had an intense dislike. Ten years later President John Adams appointed him Treasurer of the Unites States Mint. He held that position until his death in 1813.
It is no wonder then that Rush and Thomas Jefferson became close friends. We know that Jefferson had Unitarian leanings, although he was not a formal member of any Unitarian church or any other denomination. Under colonial rule by Great Britain, the colonists who wanted to be involved in the colonial government had to be a member of the Anglican Church. That was a major change in the U.S. Constitution—the First Amendment spells it out quite plainly in its reference to establishment of religion.
It is an outrage to me to hear political opportunists and religious fundamentalists say that there is a myth about the wall which separates church and state in this country! There is a wall—put there by Thomas Jefferson and his compatriots. There are Americans as we speak who are attempting to eliminate that wall brick by brick, civil right by civil right.
One clarification about the religious opinions of Rush and Jefferson is this: Rush regarded Jesus as a savior, small "s", and Jefferson regarded Jesus as a man. Rush's connection with organized Universalism was peripheral. Like Jefferson, he never joined a church.
On the other hand, Jefferson's political and presidential biographies are well publicized. I will say this: He cut verses from pages of a Bible and pasted them in his own copybook. Benjamin Rush encouraged him to make his own book. It took over 15 years for him to accomplish this task because he was President of the United States, and a Virginia plantation owner, among his many accomplishments. But he did produce The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth Extracted Textually from the Gospels in Greek, Latin, French & English what we call today the Jefferson Bible. He left out all the supernatural and miracle verses.
The Christianity which was in vogue at the time of the Declaration of Independence was a personal one, not a political one. Having been forced to join the Anglican Church in order to be in colonial government, the new Americans distaste for forced religion was welcomed and it is not to be understated. They were not fundamentalist Christians at that time.
In his book, The American Creed, Forrest Church tells us about the religious heritage of the United Colonies and the foundation of religious beliefs established by the first English settlers, the Pilgrims and the Puritans.
When we celebrate Thanksgiving Day we talk about the Pilgrims coming to America for their religious freedom. However, the next group which arrived to ensure their religious freedom, the Puritans, were more firm in their beliefs that they were the chosen people "to make a way in the wilderness" of America. They thought that God spoke directly to them through Isaiah in the Old Testament.
President Howard Taft, who was a Unitarian, is quoted by Forrest Church: "We speak with great satisfaction of the fact that our ancestors—and I claim New England ancestry—came to this country in order to establish freedom of religion... Well, if you are going to be exact, they came to this country to establish freedom of their religion, and not freedom of anyone else's religion."
Church continues the thought: "It is no exaggeration to say that America's cornerstone is religious liberty—one can trace the beginnings of what came to be established as the American Creed. From 1620 onward, faith has invested the freedom Americans seek with meaning. And freedom has tempered the exclusionary strictures of faith."
A certain Reverend Roger Williams spoke of "soul freedom" in 1631. He considered "free association and free expression to be essential conditions to genuine religious conviction. For truth to be embraced, it could not be coerced." Forrest Church continues:
In Williams' view, governments are established not for the enforcement of religion, but for the preservation of mankind in civil order and peace. The world otherwise would be like the sea, wherein men, like fishes, would hunt and devour each other, and the greater devour the less.
Williams was a firm Separatist. The Puritans were not. They continued looking to the Church of England as their "dear mother." Williams found that intolerable. He was the first American to oppose the Sabbath Laws of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. An example of one of the violations is this: a resident named Baker was whipped for hunting on the Sabbath. Imagine being hungry, with a family to feed, and on the Sabbath?
Williams found the Pilgrims religious attitudes no better; in fact, worse! The Pilgrims were aligned with the Dissenters of England and had experienced persecution by the government there. Ironically, where upon arriving in the New World and establishing the Plymouth Colony, they ensured that it would remain in their orthodox religious hand! By so doing, a collusion between church and state evolved which was similar to the one from which they fled! The Pilgrims were determined to keep the Puritans in their place. They were intolerant of each other!
Williams' frustration with both groups led to his involvement in these areas of civil life: advocacy for Native Americans' rights to be paid for their lands and not simply seized; the oaths in court proceedings (the phrase "so help me God"); and he "questioned the state's right both to enforce religious uniformity and to collect taxes to support the clergy." This was 1633.
In our current United States Congress, we are in debate about the very issue of continuing tax exemption for churches and, at the same time, allowing the churches to espouse and dictate political dogma from their pulpits. We have to be as vigilant today about the separation of church and state as our colonial ancestors were in 1633.
Church gives so much evidence for the title of his book The American Creed by recounting certain key times in American history. One is the 50 year celebration of our independence, on July 4th, 1826. It was an auspicious occasion!
However, it marked the end of an era: on that day John Adams, our 2nd President and Thomas Jefferson, our 3rd President, both died. That coincidental happening confirmed their mythic stature. Both dared to oppose the King of Great Britain. Both signed the declaration, both were elected President of the United States. Both were aligned with personal freedom of thought, personal freedom of safety for one's person, and for freedom to worship as one pleased. And it can be projected to include not to worship. Freedom for one's religious liberty was unheard of on the whole planet! And they challenged the whole world to change by declaring America to be free from tyranny of all sorts.
Rev. Forrest Church wrote to his four children in the Dedication chapter of his book that "the four of them and their friends represent America's future." I quote:
We take so many things for granted: our health, security, sustenance and the creature comforts we enjoy. In the United States we take our freedom for granted as well, forgetting how our ancestors labored to ensure it as our birthright... American faith is one with American freedom. First religious and then civil liberty were the primary goals of our forebears. Having achieved these freedoms, they guaranteed them for us. Looking back over world history, we see a relative few have been born truly free. And many have died in the struggle for liberty. To forget this fact is bad for our souls. It is bad for you, as America's children. And it is bad for the world, given how powerful our nation is.
...When we exercise our power wantonly we can do great damage. But we also possess a history that instructs us in how to employ our influence and wealth. Ours is a good nation that sometimes does bad things. To be mindful of the latter and forget the former is both cynical and wrong. ...This is why I ask you to listen to Thomas Jefferson.
And I ask you to read the words of the Declaration of Independence again. And read the United States Constitution which was ratified in 1787. As you read these documents, our sacred texts, consider that we do have an American Creed.
You see flags, more flags, this weekend in your neighborhoods than at any other time of the year. As Forrest Church says, "To know a nation's spirit, look first to its holidays." Of course we have a national and patriotic feeling every Fourth of July. Most Americans, who were either born here or became naturalized citizens, honor the fact that we live in this society with certain "unalienable rights"—which means that they cannot be taken away—unalienable rights as set forth in the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution.
Our Independence Day is celebrated as heartily as other nations celebrate their independence from other nations' rule over them.
We have provided small American flags and copies of the Declaration of Independence. As you leave here today, please feel free to take them with you.
Copyright © 2005 JoAnn M. Macdonald. All Rights Reserved.