4th of July...USA Birthday?

Officially yes, it has been declared a holiday and our nation's birthday. Unofficially it took several more months to get the names of the needed representatives of the various colonies signed in ink on the document. They were not all in one place, Independence Hall, Philadelphia when Thomas Jefferson walked in with document in hand and signed it. In fact when the document began to circulate among the colonies for signature no one for certain was sure that nine of the colonies would in fact sign it...that is the number that was needed to make it a legal document under the Articles of Confederation. (I believe...if my memory serves me well) In the end it eventually was ratified and became an official document of the United States of America. There was a great deal of debate on the colony level whether it should be signed or not but it eventually was against all odds that were given at the time...some believed that it was signed because a higher Divine Power (God?) had changed the hearts of the men who dissented. So when you view the parades and fireworks today remember that it took a lot of time, hard work, thought, debate and according to some an act of God to make that Declaration of Independence official. Think about it today while you are having a good time.