17 Days that Changed the World

“The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America… it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival…”

John Adams wrote that letter to his wife Abigail.

He envisioned “pomp and parade.” A day full of games and sport, bonfires, the ringing of bells and fireworks that would stretch from one end of the continent to the other, “from this time forward forever more.”

Of course, Adams was off by two days.

On July 2, 1776, our Founding Fathers of the Second Continental Congress voted to approve the Articles of Independence… to declare our freedom from the rule of King George III.

But even then, the wheels of Congress turned slowly, though sometimes deliberate.

It took two days for the members to formally ratify the Declaration of Independence. A document Thomas Jefferson lovingly wrote in isolation over the course of 17 days.

The ink he put to parchment from that second floor he rented at 700 Market Street would change the course of history. Not only for the newly born United States of America, but the world.

Adams may have been off by two days. His excitement blinded him to the dull machinations of democracy. But the vision he saw – the celebrations, the parades, the fireworks, and joy from countless generations he would never meet – rang true.

There are times when the universe makes it clear some things aren’t random.

And it has done so throughout the history of our country.

Adams and Jefferson… two friends, two fathers of our country, two presidents, passed on the same day… July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration’s signing.

Five years later, James Monroe – the last of the Founding Father Presidents – left this world on July 4, 1831.

Freedom.

There are few more important words in any language.

All of us strive for freedom… for independence… for a chance to pursue happiness.

That is a gift we can never take for granted in this country. It is at the core of what makes us Americans. It is at the heart of what makes us humans.

Already two cheeseburgers deep,

Matthew