Two hundred thirty nine years ago on July 4, 1776, our forefathers set a course of independence for the 13 American colonies. It was a bold move by a band of rag tag colonists to dare go up against mighty Great Britain, a major power on the world scene at the time. They approved a document entitled, “The Declaration of Independence.” The 56 men who signed the document as representatives of the 13 colonies did so at great risk  to themselves, their families and possessions. Had they been caught, they could have been executed. However, they were a hearty people yearning for independence and fully aware of the risk involved.

Each signer of the Declaration understood and agreed with the pledge as written in the  document: “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 Second Continental Congress officially approved the Declaration on July 4, 1776, therefore, it is the date we celebrate the occasion. However, contrary to popular belief, the actual signing of the engrossed Declaration didn’t occur by most of the delegates until Aug. 2, 1776. Actually, New York didn’t give its approval until July 9 due to waiting on their home assemblies authorization. One of the signers from the Pennsylvania delegation was James Smith. Now, I would like to think I was named for his namesake. However, that is more than a little far fetched, but how many of you have your name on the Declaration of Independence?

The first public reading of the Declaration occurred on July 8, 1776. Legend has it residents of Philadelphia were summoned to Independence Hall by the tolling of the Liberty Bell. It fulfilled the iconic message engraved on the bell itself, “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”

The colonists had embarked on a daunting task of which the outcome was for sure uncertain. According to statistics provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the American Revolution covering the period from 1775 to 1783 involved 217,000 service members sustaining 4,435 battle deaths and 6,188 non-mortal woundings. Now those numbers may seem small in comparison to the Civil War or World War II and others, but the estimated population of the 13 colonies at the time was only 2.5 million. Our first census on Aug. 2, 1790, enumerated 3,929,214 as the population of our fledgling nation.

The colonial militia was referred to as “Yankee Doodle” yanks by the British regular army due to a tune written by Dr. Richard Schuckburgh, a British Army Surgeon. He penned the original verses in the early 1750s as ridicule of the colonial militia for their appearance as compared to the British army. It implied the colonial militiamen were poorly dressed Yankee simpletons, or doodles. At the time, some of the colonial militia wore buckskins and fur while the British were spit and polished in bright uniforms. Although it began as ridicule, the colonists took the tune for their own adding many verses mocking the British, praising the Continental Army and George Washington. Legend has it, they played it when Cornwallis surrendered to Washington at Yorktown.

The Fourth of July is an all American holiday, enjoy it, but on the fifth join us in church to pray seeking guidance in solving some of the grave social and fiscal problems we face as a nation.

Take a lesson from our founders and though the task may be daunting, set your jaw for victory. It’s the American way.