WHEN IN THE COURSE OF HUMAN EVENTS....

Happy 230th Birthday America......How many of us actually take time on July the 4th to remember where we are today ....where we came from ......This post is going to touch on some things about the 4th of July ....the struggle for independence ....and as always a few quotes

Every year we celebrate the 4th with fireworks, partys at the lake and beach,good cookouts,parades, attending ballgames ....On July 2 1776 John Adams wrote the following "an epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated , as the day of deliverance, by solom acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward, forevermore."
How great is it that he was right .....although he was talking about July 2nd.
I think about my grandfather who was in England,North Africa, Italy for three July 4ths. He fought, killed, was almost killed and then came home and helped build America in the 20th Century. He is what our founders talked about when they talked of defending freedom ...not just here but all over. Freedom is Universal.

Founding Fathers,July 4th and others...

1. July 4th has been celebrated as our national birthday since 1777 but Congress finally made it an "official" holiday in 1941.
2. Fireworks have their start all the way back to 11th Century China.
3. George Washington,John Adams,Ben Franklin and countless others who framed our nation knew Betsy Ross. Sorry to say but there is no historical "paper trail" that actually links her to sewing the first flag of the USA.
4. The Star Spangled Banner was of course written as a poem by Francis Scott Key but the tune it was set to was an old British drinking song called "The Anacreon in Heaven"
5. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4th, 1826.
6. Independence Hall was the statehouse of Pennsylvania.
7. George Washington began his public service at age 17 and was an elder statesman visited by hundreds right up until his death in 1799.
8. US population in 1776-2.5 Million.........US population in 2006-Almost 300 Million.
9. By an act of Congress all American Flags MUST be manufactured in the USA. Mexico imports thousands each year.
10. John Hancock signed the Declaration Of Independence so large so that King George III could read it without his eyeglasses.
11. George Washington picked the spot for the new "Federal City". No suprise that it was mere miles from his beloved Mt. Vernon
12. George Washington is the only US president not to live in the White House.
13. For years if July 4th fell on a Sunday ....the Holiday was actually celebrated Monday July 5th!

Just a few facts ....

"Give me your tired ,your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, send these, the homeless, the tempest-tossed to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door." Emma Lazarus-Poet These words are etched on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. These words were written when we welcomed new people to this country. We forget that we are a country mixed backgrounds. We are all "tempest-tossed" in some way. How many people stand outside our borders wishing for a new start. People wanting to live the dream that began 230 years ago.

Happy Birthday America.......heres to 230 more.