On The Fourth of July Thank The Founding Fathers - AND THANK THE FRENCH!

Many think of the United States as being the product, the “child” of Great Britain, after all, the American people literally went to war with the Empire twice, the first time to get their freedom, and the second time to keep it. Two hundred years later, the two countries officially still speak the same language, English - although an Alabama drawl is a far cry from Scottish. It is a metaphor often used; that of a new nation, the child, by 1776, having grown into “adulthood,” was ready for independence, however the parent, not willing to grant that independence instead places more punishing restrictions on the child, resulting in further rebellion rather than submission and compliance.

In keeping with the motif of the United States taking on the role of child, and Great Britain playing the parent, restrictions imposed on the “British Subjects” that England gave "birth" to, were done so without the natural benefits and privileges normally associated with being "family." The Colonies weren't family, but quasi-citizens of the United Kingdom, forced to obey rules without due representation, or perhaps more accurately, assignations defined as unbearable and burdensome measures, that specially targeted the Colonies, designed to constrain their freedom through oppression and taxation. Those that failed to obey the King’s rule were severely dealt with, charged with treason, their property confiscated, punished by imprisonment, slavery, and possibly, even consigned to death by hanging. What child wouldn’t want to flee such despotic ruthlessness, to break away, secure liberty? And if the above metaphor is in fact appropriate, perhaps more accurately the United States was the “abused stepchild” of Great Britain and King George, he the evil “stepfather,” guilty of "child abuse." If that’s the correct picture painted, then "who" is America’s mother, that other primary parent, the one that provides comfort, protection, and sanctuary in order to facilitate escape? The answer is obvious, and I need only look to my own mother for a reminder – France (this is not a metaphor for my personal relationship with my father, who would have been right there with the patriots of 1776, and happily obliged my efforts for independence).

Three hundred years ago France and Great Britain were at peace in Europe, in North America, and around the world, their “marriage” conciliatory, and their young child, “America,” growing, learning, and gaining independent thoughts. Essentially, there were two major colonies on the continent of North America, one French and one English, coexisting in relative harmony, but only so long as their parents remained at peace. The people of France however, nearly at the end of their rope, were exhausted by centuries of oppressive monarchies inside their own borders. When hostilities between the two empires ignited again in the mid eighteenth century (there has been a long, painful history of disagreements between the two), the fighting spilled over onto the new continent, a land that both countries sought for an apparent never-ending abundance of resources - and that was before the discoveries a century later for the industrial uses of coal, oil, and natural gas, let alone the intellectual resources that freedom of thought fostered within American shores.

The British Isles having limited natural resources, North America’s wealth and prosperity were essential for the expansion and colonization goals of the 18th century British Empire, and the Colonies provided a continuous source of funds for the conflicts King George III was provoking around the world as a result. The crown's cruelly aggressive, bulldozer approach to governance gave assurance that the shakedown would continue. The “New World” was a sweeping, seemingly ever changing and unending beautiful terrain, with vast millions and millions of acres of forests full of billions of trees; trees useful for building forts, fleets of war ships (Man o’ War), muskets and pistols, as well as precious metals and ore for the barrels of those weapons, and cannons, cannon balls, and lead for the muskets, and all kinds of other weapons. The newly discovered territory, sparsely inhabited by indigenous, mostly nomadic unrelated tribal "Indians," was equally bountiful, and fertile for crops, the newly discovered tobacco, the “amber waves of grain,” the cotton picked by slave labor and indentured servitude, that could be exported at great profit. And of course, the original Colonies were the purveyors of newly discovered deposits of other precious metals, such as silver and gold, to pay for George III’s wide autocratic rule, and more importantly for that despot, the colonies were an important source of revenue from harsh taxation, "taxation without representation." And the population of the Colonies was growing exponentially.

King George III in happier days.

Of course King George III would be reticent to give up such a source of never-ending funding, which is exactly what tyrants and their bloated, corrupt administrators that know no boundaries for greed, avarice, power, and spending do with selfish aplomb. Not surprisingly the narcissistic King George III’s imperial reign of the late 18th century is not unlike the repressive nature of corrupt forces that have followed, and that are at work two and a half centuries later. Of course that was before America’s independence had been won by a poorly armed militia and small army against the most powerful army in the world, and almost 30 years before the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, when the young United States bought the land west of the Mississippi from France for $15 million in cash and debt cancellation. The transaction turned out to be one of the great business deals ever negotiated, let alone by the federal government, the reality of the purchase being a ridiculously asymmetric acquisition, shrewdly negotiated by Thomas Jefferson, considered the most brilliant president to ever reside in the White House, agreed to by an increasingly desperate, and cash-strapped Napoleon Bonaparte, who had a slave revolt in Haiti and an impending war with England to deal with.

Called unconstitutional by Jefferson’s political opponents, which surprisingly Jefferson actually admitted, the Louisiana Purchase soon proved to be a triumph for the president far exceeding his, or anyone’s wildest expectations. Upon the completion of the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1806 it was confirmed that Jefferson had made the deal of the millennium, the land west of the Mississippi teaming with unimagined mountains, rich valleys and waterways, and never before seen wonders that stretched the imagination. America’s connection with France had continued following the priceless aid the French had provided the Continental Army in Washington’s victory over the British a quarter century before, when French cargo ships provided valuable supplies, and a young Lafayette provided valuable advice and generous checkbook. We can thank the French for our independence. We can thank the French for our increasing success. Of course the British took note of that new wealth, and again waged war against the United States in 1812 in attempt to take that wealth and our freedom away, an error that only emboldened our resolve, further sealed our independence, and gave us a national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner.

Every year on the Fourth of July, many, but far from a majority, of liberty-loving Americans understand that the nation’s most important holiday isn’t just about fireworks and a possible three-day weekend, but a celebration of our nation’s “Declaration of Independence,” the statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The Declaration of Independence is the founding document of American history, and has been included among one of the most important documents ever to be written, not just in the history of the United States of America, but history everywhere.

Never actually using those familiar words “Declaration of Independence” as a phrase anywhere in the document itself, the carefully drafted one page pronouncement of 1338 words, and signed by 56 representatives of the newly independent sovereign states, declared that those states were no longer a part of the British Empire, but instead they were a new nation – the Unites States of America. An indictment as well as a declaration, the Colonies had finally had enough of the tyranny of Great Britain as an empire and of King George III personally, in a vitriolic sort of way, citing the monarch for numerous and repeated injuries which he had personally placed upon the Colonies by imperial decree.

The Founding Fathers. George III called them "rebels."

Although the majority of the colonists were clearly disgusted with the dreadful repression of George III, many were not; nearly half, the start perhaps of the first great social and political divide that exists even today. The “loyalists,” often the recipients of spoils taken from the majority by George III, blindly pledged their loyalty to the crown, considered the “rebels,” the “tea partiers,“ as disloyal and treasonous. The loyalists might very well have won out had the French not intervened with money, munitions, soldiers, and naval forces fighting alongside Americans in their brave struggle for “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” These were historical favors that would never be forgotten by a very grateful band of “Founding Fathers,” Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, Monroe, Franklin, and Jay, as well as their “children,” citizens of a new great nation, and that would forever cement France and the United States as allies, and why we would immediately, and naturally come to their aid twice in the 20th century, most notably liberating France from Nazi plunder and occupation in World War II.

Marquis de La Fayette

It should also not be lost to history the significance of Thomas Jefferson’s years spent in France following the American Revolution, our nation’s third president replacing Benjamin Franklin as the Minister to France, spending four and a half years there from 1785 to 1789. Not without coincidence it was in the year that Jefferson left Paris that the French people began their own ten-year, bloody revolution against the autocratic rule of another king, Louis XVI. 

Therefore, on the Fourth of July, while Americans should celebrate our independence from Great Britain, we should also celebrate our deep relationship, and enduring friendship with France and her people. Washington D.C.’s Smithsonian museums are modeled after those in Paris. France modeled her struggle for independence after our own; Jefferson’s work a blueprint. Finally, France gave us our colors, she gave us our Statue of Liberty, and she also gave us our “toast” and our “fries.” Vive la France and long live the United States of America – Happy Fourth of July!

Paris is perhaps my favorite city anywhere, certainly in my opinion, the most beautiful. Paris is the definition of chic. It is the epicenter for fashion, for bohemian artists, writers, dancers, musicians, photographers, and film directors. The French Riviera is my favorite coast. My favorite wine is from Bordeaux. And the best kiss is of course a French kiss. I have been to France many times in my life. The French people, as Americans, are proud, and rightfully so. Many non-French say they have an unmistakable swagger, an "exceptionalism," even arrogance. They say the same about Americans as well. Oui, it is true. And we Americans are the children of France.  

The Declaration of Independence, broken down into five distinct, but unofficial parts; the Introduction; the Preamble; the Indictment of King George III; the Denunciation the British people; and finally, the Conclusion, is as follows:      

In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America,When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness of his invasions on the rights of the people.He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.  He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury: For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighboring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these statesFor taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends. We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

             New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

             Massachusetts: Samuel Adams, John Adams, John Hancock, Robert Treat Paine,                  Elbridge Gerry

             Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

             Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware: George Read, Caesar Rodney, Thomas McKean

Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton