Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Independence Day
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is the annual celebration of nationhood. It commemorates the passage of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.
The Congress had voted in favor of independence from Great Britain on July 2 but did not actually complete the process of revising the Declaration of Independence, originally drafted by Thomas Jefferson in consultation with fellow committee members John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and William Livingston, until two days later.
During the early years of the republic, Independence Day was commemorated with parades, oratory, and toasting, in ceremonies that celebrated the existence of the new nation. These rites played an equally important role in the evolving federal political system. With the rise of informal political parties, they provided venues for leaders and constituents to tie local and national contests to independence and the issues facing the national polity. By the mid-1790s, the two nascent political parties held separate, partisan Independence Day festivals in most larger towns. Perhaps for this reason, Independence Day became the model for a series of (often short-lived) celebrations that sometimes contained more explicit political resonance, such as Washington's birthday and the anniversary of Jefferson's inauguration while he served as president (1801–09).
The bombastic torrent of words that characterized Independence Day during the 19th century made it both a serious occasion and one sometimes open to ridicule—like the increasingly popular and democratic political process itself in that period. With the growth and diversification of American society, the Fourth of July commemoration became a patriotic tradition which many groups—not just political parties—sought to claim. Abolitionists, women's rights advocates, the temperance movement, and opponents of immigration all seized the day and its observance, in the process often declaring that they could not celebrate with the entire community while an un-American perversion of their rights prevailed.
With the rise of leisure, the Fourth also emerged as a major midsummer holiday. The prevalence of heavy drinking and the many injuries caused by setting off fireworks prompted reformers of the late 19th and the early 20th century to mount a Safe and Sane Fourth of July movement. During the later 20th century, although it remained a national holiday marked by parades, concerts of patriotic music, and fireworks displays, Independence Day declined in importance as a venue for politics. It remains a potent symbol of national power and of specifically American qualities—even the freedom to come to the Lodge and enjoy some fellowship and good eats at our annual barbecue.
Submitted by Larry Smith - Editor
P.S.
As you shoot off your fireworks this season, keep in mind that you are helping to support the local economy - if you are living in China. We import over $200 million worth of fireworks from them each year. This is only fitting since the Chinese invented fireworks when a chemist accidentally mixed salt peter (potassium nitrate) with sulfur and charcoal over a thousand years ago. It didn’t take them long to create the fire cracker to make a loud sound to ward off evil spirits. They learned to add various chemicals to create different colors when shooting sky rockets.
Also, as you wave your flags this year, keep in mind that the vast majority of those come from—you guessed it—China.
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Tuesday, December 13, 2011
from Moose International