Happy July 2nd!

The flags are flying, the grills are out and the fireworks sparkle overhead. July 2nd is Independence Day for the United States of America.

It is. Isn't it?

Well... it could have been.

In 1776, around 50 delegates from the Thirteen Colonies had gathered together to hold the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The question that weighed heaviest on these delegates was how much further were they going to go with this little war. For over a year, colonial troops had fought against the famed British redcoats in an attempt to get King George III and Parliament to acknowlege the fact that the British government had mistreated its American colonies. Colonists considered themselves loyal citizens of the British crown. They honored the king, they paid taxes but all of the colonial complaints were ignored and even worse, the colonies were not allowed to send delegates to sit in Parliament in London.

What the Second Continental Congress absolutely had to decide in Philadelphia was if representation was even achievable and if not, where did the colonies go from there? It took several votes throughout the spring and early summer of 1776 but ultimately the delegates that the war must continue but for independence rather than representation.

This was a time of formality. If the Thirteen Colonies were going to pursue independence, a formal declaration of intent must be sent to King George. The Committee of Five- Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston- were charged with drafting this declaration. It took them a couple of weeks and several revisions but a final draft of the declaration was handed over to the Continental Congress on June 28, 1776.

Being a group of politicians, the Continental Congress had to nitpick the declaration. Finally on July 2, they all agreed that independence was the correct path and the declaration was written exactly the way they wanted it. John Adams wrote a letter to his wife saying that once this revolution was over and the colonies had achieved independence, July 2nd would be celebrated by all in the Americas. He was off on his dates a little but it really wasn't his fault.

John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress, walked to the desk, took up the feathered quill and signed his name with a flourish. Then he turned around with an even bigger flourish, expecting the rest of the delegates to be lined up behind him to sign. They weren't.

What they were actually doing had suddenly weighed on all these guys. This was TREASON! If they lost the revolution, all of them would be executed. Maybe they needed to debate about this a little more. You know John Hancock's knees were shaking because if the redcoats burst through the door right at that point, he would most likely be the scapegoat because his was the only signature on the traitorous declaration.

For the next 2 days, the delegates griped and bickered. Knowing that they all would ultimately end up signing, Benjamin Franklin quipped, "We must all hang together or we will surely hang separately." Gotta love that gallows humor!

It worked because by the 4th, delegates started signing again. You know John Hancock was breathing a sigh of relief then. It actually took several more weeks before all of the delegates signed (some were out sick, some had to send to their respective state governments for permission, some just dragged their heels) but in the end, John Adams was wrong.

July 4, 1776, becomes the official day that the Second Continental Congress declared the Thirteen Colonies' independence from Great Britain.