The History of Independence Day, 4th of July | FULL EPISODE | Drive Thru History with Dave Stotts

hi i'm dave stotz from drive through history happy independence day [Music] [Music] [Music] as we all know american independence day is observed on the 4th of july the holiday celebrates our declaration of independence from the british monarchy in 1776 over the years the 4th of july has developed a rich and celebrated heritage throughout the united states [Music] during 4th of july festivities in 1837 john quincy adams the sixth president of the united states delivered a speech where he asked the crowd why is it that next to the birthday of the savior of the world your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day is it not that's in the chain of human events the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the savior that it forms a leading event in the progress of gospel dispensation is it not that the declaration of independence first organized to the social compact on the foundation of the redeemer's mission upon the earth that it laid the cornerstone of human governance upon the first precepts of christianity wow that is pretty powerful 60 years after the declaration of independence in 1776 john quincy adams went on to deliver a powerful speech connecting the birth of the united states with the birth of jesus christ the mission of our nation with the mission of christianity when you get a chance i highly recommend you reading the entire speech but for now let's go back to where it all began what is the history of independence day and what were the events that led to that first fourth of july in 1776 [Music] [Applause] [Music] ah [Music] [Music] this is boston the capital of massachusetts founded in 1630 it's one of the oldest cities in the united states boston is also home to the freedom trail a two and a half mile walking route through a number of historical sites that tell the story of america's founding i'm at boston common considered the start of the freedom trail established in 1634 this is america's oldest public park where puritan colonists would graze their livestock on what was considered common land later this park was known as a training field where some one thousand redcoats made camp during the british occupation of boston in 1775. it was from here that three brigades of redcoats made their fateful march to lexington and concord which we'll visit in a bit [Music] another stop along the freedom trail is king's chapel which was founded in 1686 as boston's first anglican church this stone structure was built in 1754 on the church's original site the interior of king's chapel is considered the finest example of georgian architecture in north america this church also houses the oldest american pulpit still in continuous use during the american revolution loyalist members of king's chapel fled to canada and the church's name was briefly changed to stone chapel famous americans who visited this chapel include george washington abigail adams and paul revere [Music] this bell was forged in england in 1772 but cracked in 1814. paul revere recast the bell in 1816 and it still rings to this day to summon people to worship [Music] this is the king's chapel burying ground this historic site was boston's first colonial cemetery a number of famous colonialists resided here including mary chilton the first woman to step off the mayflower and john winthrop the first governor of massachusetts [Music] built as an open marketplace in 1741 faneuil hall is where the sons of liberty proclaimed their descent against british oppression it was here in 1764 that colonialists first protested against the sugar act and the stamp act establishing the american doctrine no taxation without representation by the way the most famous weather vein in boston is faneuil hall's golden grasshopper tradition says that the weathervane was used to flush out spies anyone who did not know the answer to the question what's on top of faneuil hall was considered very suspicious [Music] this is the old south meetinghouse the largest building in colonial boston and the stage for some of the most dramatic events leading up to the american revolution built as a puritan meeting place in 1729 the old south meeting house stands today as one of the nation's most important colonial sites old south became the site of massive public protests against british actions in colonial boston from 1768 to 1775 patriots and loyalists met to argue on a wide range of issues whether to fight the conscription of colonial sailors into the british navy or to examine the events leading to the boston massacre of 1770 [Music] yet it was december 16 1773 that sealed old south's fate as one of this country's most significant buildings when over five thousand men crowded into the meeting house to debate britain's controversial t tax as the final attempt at compromise failed samuel adams gave the signal that started the boston tea party the sons of liberty followed his lead marched to the harbor and dumped 342 chests of tea into the icc and the rest as they say is history [Music] this is the famous old north church built in 1723 this is the oldest standing church in the city of boston [Music] up here in the bell ringing chamber of the old north church the site where at 15 years old paul revere himself was a bell ringer now to many the old north church is more than an historic church building it was the site that launched the american revolution with paul revere's midnight ride on april 18 1775. listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of paul revere on the 18th of april in 75 hardly a man is now alive who remembers that famous day and year he said to his friend if the british march by land or sea from the town tonight hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch of the north church tower as a signal light one if by land and two if by sea and i on the opposite shore will be ready to ride and spread the alarm through every middlesex village and farm for the country folk to be up and to arm on that evening in 1775 paul revere was given the task of riding to lexington massachusetts with the news that british troops were about to march into the countryside northwest of boston revere contacted a friend and instructed him to show lanterns here in the tower of the old north church as a signal two lanterns meant that the british troops planned to row by sea across the charles river to cambridge rather than march by land out the neck of boston revere went to charlestown across the river and informed the sons of liberty he made sure they could see the lanterns as signals in the north church tower revere then borrowed a horse and set off about 11 pm informing houses and a militia throughout the countryside the british are coming the british are coming he arrived in lexington sometime after midnight and went to the house where samuel adams and john hancock were staying about half past 12 revere traveled on to concord to make sure the military stockpiles had been properly hidden away along the way he was intercepted by a british patrol and his horse was taken left alone on the road paul revere returned to lexington on foot just in time to witness the first battle of the american revolution on lexington green [Music] [Music] on that same night in 1775 hundreds of british troops had sent off from boston towards concord in order to seize weapons and ammunition stockpiled there by american colonists when the british reached lexington they were met by approximately 70 minute men gathered here on the village green [Music] someone suddenly fired a shot it's uncertain which side in a skirmish started when the brief battle was over eight american colonists were dead [Music] the british continued on to nearby concord where they encountered armed resistance from a group of patriots at the town's north bridge gunfire was exchanged leaving two colonists and three redcoats dead afterward the british retreated back to boston skirmishing with colonial militiamen along the way and suffering a number of casualties the revolutionary war had begun [Music] this is the north bridge in concord massachusetts where on april 19 1775 colonial commanders ordered militiamen to fire back at british troops for the first time the battle of the north bridge was later memorialized by ralph waldo emerson in his 1837 poem conquered him which starts by the rude bridge that arched the flood their flag to april's breeze unfurled here once the embattled farmers stood and fired the shot heard round the world [Applause] emerson wrote conquered him for the dedication of this battle monument at the scythe of the north bridge which many believed to be the country's first memorial to its war casualties the shot heard around the world was immortalized forever as the official start of the american revolution [Music] [Music] while visiting the old north bridge at the minuteman national historical park i was fortunate enough to meet ranger roger an expert on the events that took place on that fateful day of april 19 1775. he was kind enough to spend a few minutes with me giving me some more details about what took place there at the bridge this is the place where the american revolutionary war began this is the opening day of the american revolutionary war the revolution has already gone on the minds of american people but the british government have other ideas about what british america is going to be used for and how it's going to be governed roger take us through really the events that took place here and maybe a little bit of the lead up to them as a result of the growing tension between great britain and the people here in this part of america especially this part of america the most rebellious of all the colonies uh the british have suspended civil government here they've closed the port of boston pretty much where there are redcoats that is british soldiers where they've been brought to act as police that's where these rules take have effect out here in the countryside they don't and the colonists are taking their militias now everyone has been a militia back then from if you're 16 to 60 and you're a male you're in the militia you appear for periodic military training and here in concord is where the growing militia army band it together for the purpose of possibly resisting the british if need be has its supply base the british are ordered by their commanders back home in england to send troops out here to destroy all this stuff we don't want to have a war happening because the british don't have enough men their army is actually very small they're sending a small scratch for us out here with 700 men overnight april 18th april 19th and the british also know where the guns and things like that are out here so the british see this is a major threat these 700 men under the commander lieutenant colonel francis smith of the british army march out here and uh the militia are alarmed they've been up since midnight and the british have gone to a place called lexington whatever happened to lexington was more of a massacre they were surprised they didn't think that their own government would shoot at them but they did and you will muster together your colonial troops your militia men and their better trained counterparts the minutemen they march down this road here and eventually they will come to the top of that hill over there and the men on top of the hill about a hundred they're up there wondering what do we do here's what you're gonna do march down upon the bridge there's a there's british soldiers down there go down confront them but do not fire unless fired upon they only do this apparently depending on what historical record you read after the colonists had seen fires burning downtown what's someone going to think all these fires burning look to the colonists up on that hill over there like they're destroying our town are we going to fight back are we going to let them do this to us look they're even burning down our own town this goads the commanders into action meaning to well we got a vote to go down and confront the troops they apparently decided to march down the road and confront the british troops and maybe kick them out i don't think anyone's really thinking about the consequences you know to follow through what's going on here all right they weren't intending to start the revolutionary war just they want to kick these men out of town there's a lot of anger it's been boiling up for the past 10 years i think a lot of these men were fed up they were now willing to throw their lives away at the point of a bayonet if need be and maybe kill if they have to and they're marching down they come to towards the bridge the british troops very quickly run across a bridge british troops started firing first warning shots bang bang bang does it mean they're trying to kill the colonists remember that both sides using smoothbore flintlock muskets they're not super accurate weapons within 50 yards you're going to reach out and touch somebody you're going to kill them so as the colonists are marching down towards the bridge british starts firing other british troops we think from just trying to put the records together apparently thought the order of fire have been given and started firing more and more and more gunfire is happening eventually two men are killed outright in the colonial column and at this point major john buttrick whom i mentioned before he yells out fire and the shot is coming down out of the sky onto these hapless british troops over here suddenly you've got one dead british soldier one mortally wounded several others wounded including uh officers and sergeants and now in an army which we thought was the world's best but really is no longer turned and run they sent for help from downtown it wasn't forthcoming in fact the commander down pounced that word back saying you're professional soldiers you should be able to deal with this they're a bunch of bumpkins they're a bunch of just they're the country people kings troops versus country people regulars versus the rebels this was really as i mentioned before a civil war initially brother against brother friend against friend relative against relative the militia and the minute companies kill about 73 british and wound better part of 200 and the colonists lose about 95 men we acknowledge what happened in lexington but here it's broad daylight they've got a better idea about what's happening here and the colonists fire back something they don't want to do but they've our government's shooting at us they're burning down our town they're ripping up our bridge we can't put up with this anymore by the end of the day everything has changed and we'll spend the next seven years fighting the british hearing ranger rogers excellent description of what took place there standing at the very location of the events really brought the history of that world-changing event to life if you ever get a chance to visit the old north bridge at the minuteman national historical park i highly recommend you do it it's an awesome way to make american history come to life the idea of freedom for everyone is a gift that keeps on giving and it's still going on to this day we get people coming from all over the world who view this as an inspiration you know from various countries various movements who just come here and they can't believe that farmers overturned essentially a king yeah the king wasn't put out of office but in america in a sense he was [Music] one of my favorite quotes from the revolutionary war period is give me liberty or give me death but i never really knew the history surrounding this inspirational motto turns out patrick henry declared this in church this is saint john's church the oldest church in richmond virginia built in 1741 it was the site of two important conventions in the period leading up to the revolutionary war it was here during the second virginia convention on march 23 1775 that patrick henry stood before delegates such as thomas jefferson and george washington and declared give me liberty or give me death patrick henry's awesome rally cry is credited with swinging the votes at the convention in favor of sending virginia troops to support the revolutionary war i thought that was a really cool moment in american history now let's get to the fourth of july part of our show for that we'll travel to the historic city of philadelphia [Music] this is carpenter's hall in the old city section of philadelphia it's the official birthplace of the commonwealth of pennsylvania and a key meeting place in the early history of the united states the first continental congress met here in 1774 it's also where the colony of pennsylvania declared its independence from the british empire in june of 1776 thereafter becoming the commonwealth of pennsylvania this is the site where the pennsylvania militia was mobilized to support the revolutionary war later carpenters hall was home to franklin's library company the american philosophical society and the first and second banks of the united states [Music] this is christ church in philadelphia it's probably one of the most recognized places of worship from the revolutionary war period built in 1744 this episcopal church welcomed patriots such as george washington benjamin franklin and betsy ross to its pews each sunday [Music] many of the signers of the declaration of independence are buried here at the christchurch burial grounds in fact this is where benjamin franklin and his wife deborah were laid to rest [Music] now apparently it's a thing to try to pitch pennies onto benjamin franklin's grave marker here i guess because of the a penny saved is a penny earned phrase that he coined see what i did there hey anybody got pennies pennies yeah thanks [Music] [Music] come on come on come on ow okay guys okay okay all right [Music] and this is independence hall the centerpiece of independence national historical park here in philadelphia built in 1753 this building was originally known as the pennsylvania state house from 1775 to 1783 this building served as the main meeting place for the second continental congress a body of representatives from each of the 13 american colonies here in june of 1775 the continental congress chose george washington as commander-in-chief of the continental army unknown to many the formal separation of the 13 colonies from great britain in 1776 actually happened on july 2nd not july 4th this is when the second continental congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that declared the united states independent from british monarchy after the vote for independence on july 2 congress then turned its attention to a declaration of independence basically a formal document justifying their decision the writing assignment was given to a committee of five members thomas jefferson was the main author for the committee congress debated and revised the final wording of the declaration finally signing and dating it july 4th 1776. [Music] during the debate process john adams wrote to his wife abigail the second day of july 1776 will be the most memorable 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 solemn acts of devotion to god almighty it ought to be solemnized with pomp in parade with shows games sports guns bells bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forevermore well john adams prediction was off by two days it turns out that americans picked july 4th to celebrate their independence the date shown on the widely publicized declaration of independence rather than july 2nd the date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of congress [Music] this is a reproduction of the declaration of independence which was read aloud to the public in the area of philadelphia now known as independent square the original document is displayed in the national archives in washington dc it's powerful and popular words begin the unanimous declaration of the 13 united states of america when in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bans which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's god entitle them a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to that separation 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 that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it and to institute new government laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to affect their safety and happiness the declaration of independence this is why we celebrate the 4th of july each year this is the meaning of independence day in america [Music] proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof this quote comes from leviticus 25 10 in the king james version of the bible it's also the quotes engraved on the iconic liberty bell in philadelphia due to a lingering pandemic i couldn't visit the liberty bell on my last trip to philadelphia but i did visit it a number of years ago so here's a blast from the past [Music] there she is liberty bell gotta admit i expected her to be a little bigger than that that's okay i'm gonna get through this [Music] although devastated from the shock i had just received my internal fortitude helped me push on now i'm on a mission to find the real liberty bell and settle things once and for all [Music] the pennsylvania assembly ordered a bell in 1751 to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of william penn's 1701 charter of privileges pennsylvania's original constitution the bell was displayed temporarily in the square outside the state house to a great dismay of onlookers however the bell was wrong and it cracked a replacement bell was cast by john pass and john stowe of philadelphia to prevent the new bell from cracking pass and stow cleverly added copper to the metal alloy while the copper did strengthen the bell the tone of the bell was now really really annoying the tone was so annoying in fact that angry neighborhood townspeople petitioned the government to destroy it and make a new one third time's a charm right so pas and stowe melted down the second bell and recast the bell again using the original metal alloy recipe the third bell sounded great and functioned perfectly it is said that the bell was wrong at the first reading of the declaration of independence so began a long pedigree of liberty inspired events that came to be associated with the bell the famous giant crack happened in 1846 it seems the bell was rung for several hours to celebrate the birthday of george washington apparently that was more than the bell could take many thought the bell was ruined but in fact the crack has added to its historical charm and mystique there is a bible verse cast on the bell from leviticus chapter 25 verse 10 which states proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof leviticus 2510 by order of the assembly of the province of pennsylvania this bell has come to symbolize freedom and liberty around the world now the first recorded use of the name liberty bell happened during the struggle to outlaw slavery then it became part of a traveling exhibit to help heal the wounds of the civil war and in 1915 a replica was forged of the liberty bell to promote the women's suffrage movement in short this bell has come to promote the rights and freedoms valued by people all over the world one example of this happened on june 6th 1944 or d-day even though the liberty bell's clapper has been immobilized since 1915 the bell rang that day with seven strikes of a mallet one for each letter in the word liberty to announce the historic allied invasion of europe on the beaches of normandy france during world war ii it gave the world one of the last chances to ever hear the sound of that famous bell standing as a symbol of our priceless freedom through the years is the american symbol of liberty the liberty bell in independence hall philadelphia silent through the years this bell once more peels out the strokes of liberty [Music] [Music] what do you get when you cross a dinosaur with fireworks dinomite what do you call a duck who likes watching fireworks a fire quacker [Music] when it comes to independence day i'm a sucker for fireworks i loved him as a kid growing up and i still love him today from roman candles to ground bloom flowers bottle rockets to the big stuff i can't get enough fireworks on the 4th of july but what's the history of these awesome exploding bombs of light and sound most historians believe fireworks originated in china as early as 600 a.d the first versions were a mixture of a salt seasoning called potassium nitrate charcoal and sulfur the chinese would stuff this earliest form of gunpowder into bamboo shoots and throw them into a fire to make a loud blast for special celebrations soon paper tubes replaced the bamboo stalks then by the 10th century the chinese started producing simple bombs and firecrackers they would even attach them to arrows in battle by the 12th century they learned how to fire explosives into the air and guide them toward enemy targets essentially building the first mortars and rockets outside the field of battle these same designs were used for the first aerial fireworks displays in the 13th century chinese gunpowder began making its way around the world the formulas became more and more powerful fueling the development of weapons such as cannons and muskets meanwhile firework displays became increasingly popular they were used to celebrate everything from military victories to royal marriages to religious ceremonies in medieval england fireworks experts were known as fire masters their assistants were called green men because they wore hats made of leaves to protect their heads from sparks yep in the early years it was considered a very dangerous profession by the time of the renaissance pyrotechnic schools were training fireworks artists across europe especially in italy which became famous for its colorful displays in the 1830s it was the italians who first used new materials to create colorful sparks until that time fireworks just made a big boom in a flash of orange light european leaders fell in love with fireworks in england the earliest recorded display took place on king henry vii's wedding day in 1486. in 1685 king james ii royal fire master pulled off such a dazzling show for his coronation that the king granted him knighthood history tells us that russia's tsar peter the great put on an incredible five-hour fireworks show to celebrate the birth of his son and french kings became renowned for their spectacular shows over the palace of versailles as far as fireworks on independence day well it appears they were considered part of the festivities right from the start recall the words of john adams when he declared the adoption of the declaration of independence as quote the most memorable day in the history of america he went on to say i am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival it ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade shows games sports guns bells bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forevermore [Music] illuminations was the term used for fireworks in 1776. the following year and every year since fireworks displays have been the popular highlight of our fourth of july celebrations [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] let's get out of here pomp and parade guns and bells bonfires and illuminations what better way to announce that this is the 100th episode of drive through history [Music] a top producer in the tv industry once told me that only one out of 100 shows that even make it to television ever reach 100 episodes he says it's a true milestone for celebration and thanksgiving so thanks tbn for partnering with us all these years you are truly awesome and we are truly blessed [Music] [Applause] on july 12 1776 a little over a week after the declaration of independence the continental congress introduced the articles of confederation they were an attempt to loosely knit the 13 states together in a union while leaving most authority to the individual states themselves in short the articles of confederation granted congress with the power to raise armies declare war and sign treaties but prohibited congress from other things such as the power of taxation regulating trade or collecting tariffs the articles of confederation were signed by such statesmen as john hancock samuel adams and john witherspoon i have to say i love the last line of that founding document it has pleased the great governor of the world to incline the hearts of the legislatures we respectively represent in congress to approve of and to authorize us to ratify the said articles of confederation the great governor of the world such an awesome title for god and his honored role in the formation of the united states of america all right let's return now to the founding era to see what happened next after a few years of debate the original 13 states finally ratified the articles of confederation on march 1 1781 this became the authorizing document for the u.s federal government for over six years during those six years the central government stepped in to deal with an increasing number of states rights issues such as taxes and trade many founders got worried that the states would lose more and more rights if the federal government was allowed to get more and more powerful [Music] as a result on may 25th 1787 the continental congress met in philadelphia to revise the articles of confederation however instead of revising them the representatives ended up replacing them all together with one of the most significant documents in world history the united states constitution we the people of the united states in order to form a more perfect union establish justice ensure domestic tranquility provide for the common defense promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity do ordain and establish this constitution for the united states of america after benjamin franklin left the constitutional convention in philadelphia he was asked well doctor what have we got a republic or a monarchy franklin replied a republic if you can keep it yes the united states of america is a republic a system of government where power is granted to representatives elected by the people america is also a constitutional republic where the representatives are limited by a set of rules approved by the people although the us isn't a straight democracy its representatives are democratically elected therefore as american citizens we participate in ruling ourselves when we pledge allegiance to the flag and to the republic for which it stands we're basically pledging allegiance to being in charge of ourselves exercising our authority through the government representatives we pick but as our founders warned us a republic only lasts as long as its citizens have morals values and self-control in 1798 john adams said our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people it is wholly inadequate to the government of any other we have no government armed with the power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion avarice ambition revenge would break the strongest cords of our constitution as a whale goes through a net during debates about the u.s constitution the founders continually voiced concern about giving their new government too much power they had just fought a war to free themselves from the monarchy in britain so they were totally done with that system of tyranny george washington delivered a simple recommendation to the drafters of the constitution first the general government is not invested with more powers than are indispensably necessary to perform functions of a good government second these powers are so distributed among the legislative executive and judicial branches that it can never be in danger of degenerating into a despotic or oppressive form so long as there shall remain any virtue in the body of the people it will at least be a recommendation to the proposed constitution that it is provided with more checks and barriers against the introduction of tyranny following george washington's lead some of the founders insisted on more so-called checks and barriers against the introduction of tyranny these men were called anti-federalists and included the likes of samuel adams patrick henry and george mason they feared the new federal government might become too powerful and take away individual liberties as king george iii had done in britain they pushed for restrictive clauses that should be added to the constitution to prevent an abuse of federal power anti-federalist george mason was a delegate to the constitutional convention when he helped write the us constitution his hard stance on checks and barriers earned him the title father of the bill of rights [Music] the first ten amendments to the u.s constitution are known as the bill of rights they stand as the foundation for american principles such as individual liberty limited government and the rule of law the first amendment is perhaps the broadest and most famous of the bill of rights it recites our inherent freedoms of speech press religion assembly and petitioning our government [Music] congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances without these individual rights we really don't have a free and functioning republic without our freedom of political opinions moral convictions and religious values we would quickly return to authoritarian regimes where one party controls everything with respect to religion president ronald reagan said the first amendment of the constitution was not written to protect the people of this country from religious values it was written to protect religious values from government tyranny [Music] the second amendment protects our right to bear arms the third amendment protects us against the housing of soldiers in our homes the fourth through eighth amendments focus on our rights to a fair system of justice including protections against unreasonable searches unfair trials and cruel and unusual punishment the last two amendments the ninth and tenth spell out that the list of individual protections in the bill of rights is not meant to exclude others by contrast all powers claimed by the federal government must be expressly stated in the constitution [Music] it's very clear powers not granted to the federal government in the u.s constitution belong to the states or the people in america today this seems more important to remember than ever before [Music] almost all government systems in history have been built on one consistent theme those in power declare the rights and those in power enforce the rights they declare but our declaration of independence says 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 this is a revolutionary premise god our creator provides the basic rights those in power serve as representatives of the people enforcing the god-given rights we already share if the representatives start using their power to change our rights we the people have the power to replace the representatives and maintain the god-given baseline this was an historic shift a revolutionary truth that has served the united states of america incredibly well since 1776. and contrary to what revisionist historians might tell you the founders didn't mince words thomas paine said the cause of america is in a great measure the cause of all mankind where some say is the king of america i tell you friend he reigns above during his signing of the declaration of independence samuel adams declared we have this day restored the sovereign to whom all men ought to be obedient he reigns in heaven and from the rising to the setting of the sun let his kingdom come john quincy adams later said the highest glory of the american revolution was this it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of christianity and in connection with our independence thomas jefferson warned god who gave us life gave us liberty and can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of god that they are not to be violated but with his wrath indeed i tremble for my country when i reflect that god is just that his justice cannot sleep forever despite what some people in today's culture might say the 4th of july is absolutely worth celebrating with pomp and parade with bonfires and illuminations it's a great day to celebrate our independence from tyranny while remembering that our gift of liberty is fully dependent on god happy independence day america

Channel: Drive Thru History with Dave Stotts

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Keywords: Drive Thru History, Dave Stotts, independence day, 4th of july, history of 4th of july, history of independence day, fourth of july, 4th of july facts, july 4th, declaration of independence, united states, american history, 4th of july fireworks, 4th of july history, united states declaration of independence, history of 4th of july celebrations, 4th of july video, 4th of july education, fireworks, constitution, History, D3T8H4, 3D8T4H, 3D2A8V3E, 7S8T608T8T7S, J5E3S7U8S7, america, usa

Id: jG-klHKOqxw

Length: 54min 50sec (3290 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 02 2022