Of all the research that goes into my blogs. I will say this is something I take much pride in sharing with others. Something so deeply rooted in our history it is a document that we take for granted everyday until it is utilized to prove necessary rights that are afforded to us. Inalienable rights that are not just common sense but are necessary to our way of life as Americans. Whether this is to be a 2-part blog for people to read is still up for debate. As much can and has already been written about this document I still have little faith in people’s ability to read past the first sentence of many things they arbitrarily will think is of little meaning to them even though they benefit from it every day. Kind of like how people can spit on the idea of capitalism when its sole existence is why they are able to afford anything at all and then think they are entitled to it by way of taxation.
I am currently reading Washington, A Life, by Ron Chernow. States in the book that “the American Revolutionary war was never a bloodless affair, as is sometimes imagined. Of 200,000 Americans who served in the war 25,000 died , or approximatley 1 percent of the population making it the bloodiest American war except the Civil War.” With how the book explains the war and what soldiers went through, an incredible read and I’m not even finished.
To start we begin with Magna Carta (or Great Charter) which in simple terms is the first constitution written in European history. (History.com)
“Later generations of Englishmen would celebrate the Magna Carta as a symbol of freedom from oppression, as would the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, who in 1776 looked to the charter as a historical precedent for asserting their liberty from the English crown.”
Though the document was not to be taken too seriously when it first came out in 1215, after a few alterations in 1216, 1217, 1225 and eventually became English common law. Very important when you are talking about what Bangov believes as a role of Government. Will do a later blog on that as well; but I digress. In 17th century 2 very import acts of English legislation were to be introduced such as the Petition of Right (1628) and the Habeas Corpus Act (1679.) Which states that “no free man shall be…imprisoned or disseised or (dispossessed) which is defined as: deprive (someone) of land, property, or other possessions, unless lawfully judged by his peers or by law of land. Habeus Corpus in simple terms is a fundamental right in the Constitution that protects against the unlawful and indefinite imprisonment. History.com
I’m sure everyone remembers the party on July 4th, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress and the 13 American colonies were officially separated from British Rule. This was a 12-1 vote with New York abstaining, but before you give New Yorkers shit for the next 100 years just understand Lee Resolution was delayed. Lee Resolution:
“On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution “that these united colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states,” acting under the instruction of the Virginia Convention. The Lee Resolution contained three parts: a declaration of independence, a call to form foreign alliances, and “a plan for confederation.”
And to clear up the mess:
“Because many members of the Congress believed the actions Lee proposed to be premature or wanted instructions from their colonies before voting, approval was deferred until July 2. On that date, Congress adopted the first part (the declaration). The words of the Lee Resolution are echoed in the Declaration of Independence.”
The 12 colonies had votes on July 2nd, 1776, but New York did not vote until the newly elected convention upheld the Declaration of Independence on July 9, 1776. Click the link and scroll down to see the link for the Adoption of Resolution calling for independence from England. After New York giving its consent, the New York Delegates voted in favor of independence on July 15th. On July 19th congress ordered the document to be presented to the public as The Unanimous Declaration of The Thirteen United States of America. The Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 delegates and if you want to know who they all are go look it up. (Britannica.com)
Ok fine: The signers were as follows: John Hancock (president), Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts; Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and George Walton of Georgia; William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, and John Penn of North Carolina; Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., and Arthur Middleton of South Carolina; Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, and Charles Carroll of Maryland; George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, and Carter Braxton of Virginia; Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, and George Ross of Pennsylvania; Caesar Rodney and George Read of Delaware; William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, and Lewis Morris of New York; Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, and Abraham Clark of New Jersey; Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, and Matthew Thornton of New Hampshire; Stephen Hopkins and William Ellery of Rhode Island; and Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, and Oliver Wolcott of Connecticut. The last signer was Thomas McKean of Delaware, whose name was not placed on the document before 1777. (Britannica.com)
Please share and comment
