Independence Day 250

On this day 250 years ago the Declaration of Independence was approved. This declaration set forth both a legal and philosophical precedent that would transform the direction of human history. 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 was the American Revolution. A change in the People's motivations and opinions. John Dickinson once tried to explain to the British People that Americans did not view rights as coming from parchment or seals, but "are created in us by the decrees of Providence which establish the laws of our nature." Shortly after, States throughout New England would abolish slavery in direct correlation with this revolution. 

America was not born with the establishment of a federal government. It was as the colonists always believed from the establishment of the Plymouth Colony. America was a refuge provided by divine Providence. The Declaration of Independence was the formal and final decree, that this land ought to be free from all foreign governments, that all People are entitled to life, liberty, and property, and that the American people were willing to die for this. 

Of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, only one repented. 5 were captured, 12 lost their homes, and 9 lost their lives. Hundreds of thousands shared in this strife, but in the end, they secured victory against the largest military power in the world. Later, America would establish the longest functioning national constitution which would influence most constitutions authored after it. 

May God continue to preserve our liberty, and may we be reminded of our call to be like a shining city upon a hill. 

“O! ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose not only the tyranny but the tyrant, stand forth! Every spot of the old world is overrun with oppression. Freedom hath been hunted round the globe. Asia and Africa have long expelled her. Europe regards her like a stranger, and England hath given her warning to depart. O! receive the fugitive, and prepare in time an asylum for mankind.” -Thomas Paine

In Liberty,

Apav