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

Happy July 2-- Part 6: But What Does This Mean to the Slave?

Continued from today's posts on my Running the Blockade:  Civil War Navy blog.

After the War of 1812, this ushered in a new era for the Declaration of Independence as anti-slavery activists began using the rhetoric of the second sentence, "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Right" to advocate that there should be true equality and no slavery.

In a July 5, 1852, address commemorating the 76th anniversary of the declaration's public release, Frederick Douglas reflected on the July 2 resolution,  "Citizens, your fathers made good that resolution.  They succeeded; and today you reap the fruits of their success."  he asked,  "What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July?  I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all the other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim."

--Old Secesh

Happy July 2-- Part 2: Why the 4th and Not the 2nd?

John Adams correctly predicted a lot about how our nation's birthday would be celebrated, all these 243 years later.  But he was incorrect as to the day, which he figured would be July 2, the day the Congress voted on a resolution to form a new country out of British control.

"The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epocha, in the history of America, Adams wrote.  "I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival."

So, our day of celebrations, not the six days before or two days after July 4, should actually have been celebrated this past Tuesday, not today on Thursday.  How did this come to be?  Why for two centuries has our country's birthday been celebrated on the 4th instead  of the 2nd?

Go to My Running the Blockade: Civil War Navy to Find Out Why on Part 3.  Also there you will find parts 4 and 5.  --Old Secesh

Happy July 2nd-- Part 1: John Adams Sees Into the Future.

This was the day that John Adams predicted that Independence Day would be celebrated.  But, he was wrong.

From the July 4, 2019, Chicago Tribune  "John Adams predicted an Independence Day on July 2 but fate interceded" by Bianca Sanchez.

"On July 3, 1776, the day after the Second Continental Congress voted on a resolution to declare independence from the British, John Adams sent a letter to his wife, Abigail, back home in Massachusetts.  In the letter, the Founding Father prophesied a grand celebration  of America's independence.

" 'It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shews, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of the continent to the other from this time forward forever more,' he wrote expectantly."

Well, this is what has been happening since last Saturday.  Only, he was thinking all this would occur on July 2, not July 4 as it turned out to be.

--Old Rebel (Because That's What They Were.  Rebels.  Someone Else Was Called Rebels during the Civil War.)

Put My 34-Star Civil War Flag Out for 4th of July

Earlier today, I put out my U.S. flags and patriotic items.

One of the flags I put up was a 34-Star Round flag that was used in the United States between 1861 and 1863.  There is a big star in the center of the Union and stars arranged in two circles going out from it.  In each corner there was also a star.

When Fort Sumter was fired upon, the flag had 33 stars.  But Kansas became a state and it went to 34 stars.

There were several variations of the 34-star flag.  One had four rows of 7 stars and a middle row of 6.  Another was the 34-star Great Flower Design and yet another was the 34-star cluster.  Go to Historical Flags Of Our Ancestors Flags of the American Civil War.

Happy Birthday U.S.A..  --Old Secesh, But Not So Much Today

Would the Confederacy Have Celebrated the Fourth of July?

From the July 3, 2014, Atlantic.

Back in 1861, a reporter for the New York Times, on the first July 4th since the beginning of the war, described it thus:  "It is like the anniversary of a divorced couple's wedding."  I can definitely agree with that.

In a 2009 paper in the Journal of Southern History, historian Paul Quigley wrote that while some Southerners were conflicted with celebrating the holiday, the acknowledgement of the significance of the day continued.

In Charleston, S.C., in 1861, a committee of five decided the "public procession, solemn oration, and political language ought to be omitted on the present occasion," but offices would be closed.

Even before the war, the meaning of the Fourth of July was changing.  In the North, the abolitionists used the declaration's language of freedom to call for an end to slavery.  In the South, secessionists used the language of willful rebellion to call for a new country, insisting that the North had not lived up to the Declaration of Independence's promise.

I'll Shoot Off the Fireworks Anyway.  Maybe Just Aim Them Northward.  --Old Secesh

July 4, 1863, A Particularly Bad Day for the Confederacy

From History In An Hour.

Two separate events took place on July 4, 1863 which definitely led to the end of the war.

The Battle of Gettysburg marked the second time Confederate General Robert E, Lee had invaded the North, and it was the second time he was defeated.  Sometimes called the High Tide of the Confederacy, it was all downhill after this.

The battle itself took place July 1-3.  But the Confederates did not retreat from the field until July 4th.

The second event took place out west, along the Mississippi River where the Confederate garrison at Vicksburg surrendered July 4th.  The Union now had control of the length of the Mississippi River, dividing the Confederacy in half.

And, a new hero came to the forefront for the Union and he was U.S. Grant, the man who knew how to beat Lee.

It Was a Particularly Bad Day for the Confederacy To Say The Least.  --Old Secesh

July 4, 1864: Reconstruction Controversy-- Lincoln and Congress

"From The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac, 1861-1865" by E.B. Long.

July 4, 1864, Monday

The first session of the 38th Congress of the United States adjourned amid new tensions over what would be the policy of reconstruction of the seceded states and who would control it--  Congress or the President.  Lincoln signed many bills, including one setting up the Office of Commissioner of Immigration and one repealing certain  exemption clauses of the Enrollment Act.

He did not sign the controversial Wade-Davis reconstruction bill, enraging radical members of Congress (Republicans).  Big pressure was applied, but the President pocket-vetoed the bill backed by Sen. Benjamin Wade of Ohio and Representative Henry Davis of Maryland.

The bill called for the recognition of the seceded state only after a majority of its enrolled white male citizens (key word here, white) had taken an oath of allegiance and adopted a constitution acceptable to Congress and the President.  No one who had held any Confederate state or national office or who had voluntarily borne arms for the South would be able to vote on or serve as a delegate to the convention whether he took the oath or not.

More to Come Tomorrow.  --Old Secesh

Doing My Own Little Civil War Thing-- Part 2: Faraway Battle

Along with those neat "1862" tags, Saturday and last night, I sat out on the front porch and deck and listened to lots and lots of fireworks, sounding a whole lot like a battle being fought at a distance.

Must have something to do with this 4th of July thing on about now.

Wonder how the holiday was celebrated back during the Civil War days?

Old Secesh

Celebrating the 4th of July, 1861-Style

From the July 4th Long Recall Blog.

These are articles from era newspapers.

From the July 4th Philadelphia Inquirer.

July 4, 1861, the 85th anniversary of the United States "will be celebrated to-day in a manner worthy of the occasion." However, the City Council will not be giving money to help defray costs as it has in the past.

A Military Display by the Home Guard and Reserve Brigade was to take place in the morning and there was to be a parade by the Ellsworth Cadets (probably named for the slain hero Col. Elmer Ellsworth).

At Camden, the military fired salutes at daybreak and would have a parade.

There was no mention of fire works.


FIREWORKS

However, perhaps in New York City, I couldn't be sure, there was to be a "Grand Union Fireworks Display" at the corner of Arch and 21st streets on the night of the 4th.

Accommodations for 20,000 to view it were available and Beck's Band was to be on hand.

Tickets were either 5 cents or 25 cents (I couldn't make out the newsprint).

In addition, there was to be "Thirteen Tableaux of FIRE, Including Yankee Doodle Routing the Rebels and P_no Temple, in which the figure of Washington ____ ____ of the Army, amid showers of solver." Blanks where I couldn't make out the word.

So, even with war at hand, people in the North were still going to observe the celebration.

I wonder if they also had celebrations in the South.

By the Rockets Red Glare and All. --Old B-R'er

NOT a Good Day for Us Confeds

Fourth of July and we had our parades, festivals, parties, and fireworks.

Happy 233rd birthday to the US.

However, July 4th was not a good day for us Confeds as you could say it was definitely the beginning of the end. Between Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia beginning its retreat from Gettysburg and the surrender of Vicksburg, this double blow was something nthe new nation could not overcome.

The Good and the Not So Good. --B-Runner