Independence began with discovery of New World

If you could go back to any point in time, albeit a required moment of patriotism, might it not be July 4, 1776, when American Colony patriots were rewarded for their determination to break away from the tyranny of King George III and the British Empire?

The journey to this day of independence began nearly three centuries earlier with the discovery of the New World. As settlers sailed upon the open waters on what must have seemed an endless sea, thousands of lives were lost long before they reached the Promised Land.

These peoples from diverse and distant foreign lands endured years of hardships and sacrifices beyond our imaginations. Decades would pass before the 13 colonies became "one nation under God" as our Founding Fathers forged ahead to secure the freedoms of all individuals. On this day, we give them homage.

In response to The Intolerable Acts enacted by the British Parliament as punishment to the colonies for the Boston Tea Party, the First Continental Congress was proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1774. Instead of advocating independence, it sought to address trading issues between the colonies and Great Britain in hopes that a unified voice would give them council in London. The appeals were never addressed. The American Revolution forged on.

The Second Continental Congress convened on May 10, 1775, and appointed "The Committee of Five" - Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston, and Robert Sherman. Jefferson was chosen to write a "resolution of independence." On June 28, The Congress was presented the document titled, "A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress Assembled."

The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 2, 1776, presented to the colonies and sent for printing on the Fourth of July. The first public reading of the document was held on the front lawn of Independence Hall on July 8 at noon, as well as in Trenton, New Jersey and Easton, Pennsylvania.

The original text assailed King George III for waging "cruel War against human Nature itself, violating its most sacred Rights of Life and Liberty of a distant People who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into Slavery in another Hemisphere ..." and "... for Suppressing every legislative Attempt to prohibit or to restrain an execrable Commerce, determined to keep open a Market where Men should be bought and sold ..."

Many of the Founding Fathers were left indigent as their homes and properties were ransacked and burned. Some were tortured and killed as they were captured by British soldiers. And yet, they stood by the closing words of their Declaration: "And for the support of this declaration, with the firm reliance on the protection of the Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

There you have it, the first legislative compromise in the history of the United States - a nonpartisan Declaration of Independence by 56 congressmen. The Revolutionary War ended on September 2, 1783, when the United States and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Paris.

But 168 words were deleted from the original text; otherwise southern plantation owners would have joined the Loyalists and effectively doomed the hopes of the Patriots. Freedom and equality of all men had yet to be guaranteed.

The Constitution of the United States was subsequently ratified on Sept. 17, 1787, and the Bill of Rights in 1791. As important as the word "freedom" means to every true - blooded American, in neither The Declaration of Independence nor The Constitution of the United States does the word appear in print.

The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights includes "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." The Bill of Rights was proposed on Sept. 25, 1789, and went into effect on Dec. 15, 1791, when ratified by three - fourths of the 13 states.

While the Emancipation Proclamation declared by President Abraham Lincoln on Jan. 1, 1863, freed many slaves in the 10 Confederate States that were still in rebellion, it did not make slavery illegal.

It wasn't until 89 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence that all men were declared equal. The 13th Amendment was ratified by three - quarters (27) of the 36 states on Dec. 6, 1865. On Dec. 18, Secretary of State William Seward issued a statement verifying the ratification, thereby abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude. (On March 16, 1995, Mississippi became the last of the states to ratify the Amendment.)

Too, neither the Declaration of Independence nor the Constitution addresses the issue of immigration. As pointed out at www.usconstitution.net, an amendment to the Constitution is intended "to overrule a Supreme Court decision, to force a societal change, or to revise the details of the Constitution."

As our sovereign independence of foreign influences is in jeopardy, we must demand an amendment to the Constitution that righteously addresses the issue of immigration. Otherwise, immigration "reform" will be a convoluted compromise between Congress and its constituent lobbyists.

Ron Rae, a regular columnist for Hernando Today, lives in Spring Hill. He can be contacted at theronraeway@yahoo.com.