Independence Day 2016

This coming Monday is the Fourth of July, also known as Independence Day. It has been 240 years since the Continental Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence, declaring that the thirteen colonies were no longer part of Great Britain but were independent sovereign states that were part of a new nation.

Below are some patriotic quotes about liberty and freedom and America.

“Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith.” — French historian Alexis de Toqueville, Democracy in America.

“Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity.” –Herbert Hoover

Resthaven Memory Gardens, Auglaize County, Ohio. (2014 by Karen)

Resthaven Memory Gardens, Auglaize County, Ohio. (2014 by Karen)

“I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.” –Psalm 119:45 (NIV)

“Where liberty dwells, there is my country.” –Benjamin Franklin

“In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and he answered by setting me free.” –Psalm 118:5 (NIV)

“I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers – and it was not there . . . in her fertile fields and boundless forests and it was not there . . . in her rich mines and her vast world commerce – and it was not there . . . in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution – and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.”  –French historian Alexis de Toqueville, Democracy in America.

“But what do we mean by the American Revolution? Do we mean the American war? The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments, of their duties and obligations … This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution.” –John Adams

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“We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.” –William Faulkner

“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” –1st Peter 2:16

“Those who won our independence believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty.” –Louis D. Brandeis

“And I’m proud to an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.” –Lee Greenwood

The American’s Creed was the winning submission in a 1917 national writing contest for a creed of the United States. William Tyler Page used phrases from the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address in his entry. The American’s Creed was adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives in 1918. We recite it at our DAR meetings:

The American’s Creed
I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.

I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support it Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies. —William Tyler Page

Finally, for a different and healthy dinner on the Fourth, try salmon and peas. Salmon and peas has been a New England Fourth of July tradition for hundreds of years because fresh garden peas were ready at the same time the salmon run. Sounds delicious to me!

Have a happy and safe Fourth of July!

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