Declaration of Independence – Day-By-Day America

The Leaden George

A mob pulled down a lead statue of King George III in New York on July 9, 1776.

What do you think about pulling down statues? That and similar things happened during the American Revolution. Sometimes it was done by mobs, sometimes by the civil authorities. In New York City, for example, a mob pulled down a statue of King George III. Symbols of royal authority in government buildings were taken down and destroyed. A tavern in Worcester, Massachusetts, called the King’s Arms, used the royal coat of arms for its sign; the sign was taken down (and I’m guessing that the owner changed the name of the tavern thereafter). Many of these things happened just after the Declaration of Independence, which makes sense.

The Declaration of Independence

What do you know about the Declaration of Independence? Here are some trivia questions for you:

Who wrote it?
When and where was it written?
What was the purpose of it?
When was it approved by the Continental Congress?
Who made the first printed copies of it, and when?
How many accusations does it have against the king?
When was it signed by the members of Congress?
How many people signed it?

Independence at Last

In the State House in Philadelphia, later known as Independence Hall, the Continental Congress voted on July 2, 1776, to become independent from England.

The final vote for independence was taken in the Continental Congress on July 2, 1776. Twelve of the thirteen colonies voted for it. One (New York) didn’t vote at all, because the delegates hadn’t yet been authorized by their constituents to do so (but soon thereafter, they received authorization and gave their vote for independence).

“These United Colonies Are…”

Richard Henry Lee was the one who made the motion in the Continental Congress for independence.

Independence had been talked about more and more for several months, but June 7, 1776, was the day that forced the issue to a debate, when Richard Henry Lee of Virginia made a motion in the Continental Congress:

That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.

John Adams of Massachusetts seconded the motion.

The Twelve Colonies

The Olive Branch Petition was signed by representatives from twelve colonies, and the Address to the Inhabitants of Great Britain was from “The Twelve United Colonies”. Why only twelve?

Georgia was late. Not only was it founded later than the other twelve colonies (it was only 43 years old when the Revolutionary War started), but it took longer for Georgia to pull together and send delegates to the Continental Congress. Some reasons for this, in my opinion, are that it was relatively “young” and therefore more sparsely settled and less established than the other colonies, and that it was off by itself, being the farthest south of any of them (except East and West Florida, which are a different story). But perhaps there were other, more compelling, reasons.

Georgia didn’t send any delegates at all to the First Continental Congress in 1774. And while the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, it wasn’t until July 7 that Georgia’s Provincial Congress chose delegates to send to Philadelphia.

*Archibald Bulloch, president of the Georgia Provincial Congress in 1775*

No doubt many of the members of the Continental Congress were glad to have all thirteen colonies represented, and no doubt the president of Georgia’s congress (Archibald Bulloch, who also happened to be one of the delegates chosen to go to Philadelphia) was glad to report to the Continental Congress that Georgia was ready to fully join in. He wrote to the president of the Continental Congress:

As we appear so late in the American Cause, We must introduce ourselves with Expressions of Regret, that our Province has been so long divided, A Number of Incidents have Contributed thereto, which we think the less necessary to particularize as we hope they are pretty well got over…
We have already Resolved strictly to adhere to the Continental Association, and are heartily disposed Zealously to Enter into every measure that your Congress may deem necessary for the Saving of America…
Journals of the Continental Congress, vol. 2, pp. 192-3

The delegates chosen were John Houstoun, Archibald Bulloch (sometimes spelled Bullock; president of the Georgia Provincial Congress), John Joachim Zubly (a clergyman who had preached a sermon entitled “The Law of Liberty” when the Provincial Congress convened on July 4th), Lyman Hall (who later signed the Declaration of Independence), and Noble Wimberly Jones.

The Real Independence Day

When is Independence Day?

Well, it’s July 4th, but you could say that it’s really July 2nd. That’s the day when the Continental Congress actually voted to become independent. (Actually, they voted that they already were “Free and Independent States”.) John Adams, who had been working for quite a while to get Congress to declare independence, wrote:

The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, 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 solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.

So why don’t we celebrate July 2nd? Because of the Declaration of Independence. The things said in the Declaration are a whole lot more inspiring and famous than simply a vote saying that the colonies were independent of Great Britain. And the Declaration was finished (though not signed) on July 4th.

So which day is the real Independence Day? Take your pick; it doesn’t really matter. After all, it’s really the independence that should be celebrated, not just the day.

Source: “John Adams to Abigail Adams, 3 July 1776,” Founders Online, National Archives, accessed April 11, 2019, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/04-02-02-0016. [Original source: The Adams Papers, Adams Family Correspondence, vol. 2, June 1776 – March 1778, ed. L. H. Butterfield. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1963, pp. 29–33.]

Note: “Epocha” means “a memorable event or date”.