Happy 4th of July

In celebration of our country's independence I thought I share some interesting facts with you courtesy of Purple Trail

■The major objection to being ruled by Britain was taxation without representation. The colonists had no say in the decisions of English Parliament.

■Betsy Ross, according to legend, sewed the first American flag in May or June 1776, as commissioned by the Congressional Committee.


■Independence Day was first celebrated in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776.

■The Liberty Bell sounded from the tower of Independence Hall on July 8, 1776, summoning citizens to gather for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence by Colonel John Nixon.

■June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress, looking to promote national pride and unity, adopted the national flag. “Resolved: that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

■Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on Independence Day, July 4, 1826.

■The names of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were withheld from the public for more than six months to protect the signers. If independence had not been achieved, the treasonable act of the signers would have, by law, resulted in their deaths.

I think we as Americans take our freedom for granted.  We should be using this day to not only celebrate the freedom that we have but to really think about the sacrifices of those who came before us to give us those freedoms.  Would we be willing to make the sacrifices our forefathers did?


I'd personally like to thank all the men and women (and their families) who are currently or who have served to continue to make this country great.  
 
Happy 4th of July!