WITH THE EDITOR
THERE is no holiday which appeals so directly to the boy as does the Fourth of July. Easter with its spirit of hopefulness, Thanksgiving with its bounty of turkey, or even Christmas with all its cheer and good will, does not, for some reason, reach the same depths of the boy nature as does the boom and sizz of fire crackers. There is something of the savage in him which delights in this almost barbaric method of commemorating the courage of his forefathers; for the Fourth of July is pre-eminently a day of courage.
Without doubt we all admire bravery, but, while we are honoring those who so willingly exposed themselves to the bullet and bayonet, let us not lose sight of that courage which, though silent, was in reality the strength of the American Revolution—the courage born of conviction. It was this spirit which spoke through Richard Henry Lee when he proposed that the United Colonies, with a few poorly-armed troops, should renounce their allegiance to the most powerful nation in the world. It was this which prompted John Adams to second the movement in Congress, and there, by his eloquence, to uphold it day after day in the face of an opposition so strong that Jefferson compared it with the ceaseless action of gravity.
The desire for independence was not bred of impulse. No one foresaw the danger of thus defying England more clearly than those who cried out for the separation. They knew that it would expose them, individually and collectively, to all the penalties of treason. But they had become convinced that it was right, and, to them, that fact was sufficient.
Seemingly there is something of elasticity in this moral courage which leaps over obstacles before which mere physical courage would halt. Under the warmth of this spirit, with the strength of Patrick Henry, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson behind it, the opposition slowly melted away, until, on July 4, 1776, the entire body declared for the Declaration.
The representatives of the thirteen colonies had assembled in the old State House at Philadelphia. An anxious throng, from far and near, had gathered about the rough brick walls, for within was being discussed the momentous question of their liberties. Of a sudden, the ponderous bell overhead awoke and sent its pealing echoes from river to river, and at the same instant, as from one voice, a wild, excited cheer burst forth from the crowd below, to be taken up in every city in the land. Thus, in one of the darkest hours of their history, the colonies had declared themselves independent of a nation which had considered them all but conquered.
Now, when we celebrate the one-hundred-and-twenty-sixth anniversary of our country’s birth, let us remember and honor those who made it possible. There is still, and will ever be, a call for the same moral courage which, in the face of such overpowering obstacles, built our nation. Not only on the Fourth of July, but during every day of the year, let us keep their example before us.