Happy July 2-- Part 7: The Opportunity to Grow Thanks to the July 2 Resolution

Gradually, the newer reading of the declaration as a document for equality "became the primary meaning that we remember today."

The virtue of the declaration, the debated definitions and practices of freedom, prosperity and fair government, shared internationally on July 4th, have taken on new life thanks to the independence declared on July 2.

David Hargrove, of Summerville, South Carolina, was visiting Chicago with his family.  On Wednesday, he was going to head back home, just in time for the Fourth.  And while he considers himself a bit of a fun-fact "buff," he had not heard of America's July 2 resolution.

He still plans to celebrate Independence Day the way he always does, on July 4 with a cookout and card games.  "Being an American, I still strive for those goals of protecting my family, prospering, being happy and having the opportunity to grow," he said.  "That's what I look at the American dream as and the Fourth of July as, celebrating that opportunity to grow."

Just An American.  --Old Yankee Doodle Dandy