Today we celebrate 250 years since the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence; America’s Semiquincentinnial anniversary.  Richard Henry Lee formally proposed independence in front of the Continental Congress on June 7th, 1776, stating “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.”  The “Committee of Five” (John Adams, Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson) was appointed to draft a statement presenting to the world the colonies’ case for independence.  The Declaration of Independence was then drafted over a three-week period in June of 1776 by Thomas Jefferson with edits by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin.  It was officially adopted and printed late in the morning of July 4th, 1776.  Although it was not formally signed until August 2nd, this document is the foremost symbol of the founding of the United States of America.

The timeline of the American Revolution and the creation of the Declaration of Independence are amazing subjects to look back upon as we celebrate the first 250 years of our country.  Possibly it is a symptom of getting older, but in the past 5 years I have become fascinated by early American history; particularly the Revolutionary War through the Civil War.  While there are hundreds of books on this subject matter, one of my favorites is American Creation by Joseph J. Ellis.  It is an excellent summary of the Revolution that is an engaging and approachable read or listen that can be accomplished over a long weekend.  In the course of human history, America is still very young and has had its fair share of triumphs and mistakes so take this long weekend to not only celebrate our country, but to study our complicated history.  We have a lot to be proud of and if we all work together and learn from our past, we can make the next 250 years even better.  Happy Birthday America!