OPINION: Our simple history
It's worth pondering, as we approach July 4, exactly what happened 250 years ago.
The simple version goes something like this: The King of England imposed taxes without giving the American colonies a fair say, and so after dumping tea in Boston Harbor, the colonists declared independence, then beat the British Army after Washington crossed the Delaware River. Something like that.
Not entirely wrong. But it misses something: Argument, politics, disagreement, wrangling over nit-picky procedural stuff. And very, very meticulous attention to the power and importance of words.
Military battles with the Brits actually started more than a year before, in April, 1775. But most colonists, even at that point, still hoped for reconciliation. The Second Continental Congress - a body of representatives in the 13 colonies - convened in May 1775, in that context.
And then they started arguing. Keep in mind that these were all British subjects, and a public declaration of independence was treason, punishable by death. Several of the delegations were under instructions from the colonies that elected them not to support independence. There were a bunch of arguments about whether anybody even had the authority to do so, or to submit a declaration. It took what one historian called a "complex political war" to move the pieces of the puzzle into place to make happen what eventually happened.
One key factor: The publishing of "Common Sense," the pamphlet by Thomas Paine, in January, 1776, in which he argued for independence, linking the cause to Protestant beliefs, among other rhetorical devices. Word - and ideas - matter.
Eventually, after months of debate, walkouts, arguments over process, procedural maneuvers and competing resolutions, in mid-June, the Congress appointed a committee to draft a declaration. The task of writing it fell to Thomas Jefferson, who holed up in a boarding house during off-hours from the Congress and came up with the key draft, between June 11 and June 28. The committee tweaked it, then presented it to Congress on June 28.
More debate, wrangling, arm-twisting. Back and forth. Deal-making, for better or worse. Politics.
Finally, on July 2, Congress approved the resolution with 12 colonies in favor and one - New York - abstaining; New York's reps said they didn't have the authority. John Adams said at that time that July 2 would eventually become a great national holiday, celebrating the day of the declaration.
Turns out he was slightly off. Congress made a bunch more edits to the document - more political squabbling - before a final draft was approved July 4. So that became the magical day. That's what we're celebrating. The reason it wasn't July 2 - or any date before - was because of delays related to fighting over words.
To be fair, what they ended up with was - with one glaring ethical catastrophe that I'll come back to another day - a masterpiece, centered on this: "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."
Probably the most important words in all of American history. Created and produced in spite of - or maybe because of - disagreement, debate, politics and compromise.
That's our origin story. Still true, 250 years later.
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