Every time I see a news article about celebrating our nation’s 250th birthday on July 4, 2026, I wonder what it was like in 1776. I was never a great student of history. So… I decided to do a little research.
On May 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress met with representatives from 12 of 13 colonies. In response to the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, they created a new federation named the United Colonies of North America. By the end of 1775, they had established a Continental Army, a small Continental Navy to intercept British supplies and 2 battalions of Marines to serve as landing forces for the Navy.
On January 2, George Washington hoisted the Grand Union flag at Prospect Hill, Charleston. It had the thirteen red and white stripes we are familiar with, but in the upper left corner there was the Union Jack, not the stars that we see today. On January 18, Henry Knox arrived at Cambridge, Massachusetts, with British artillery that had been abandoned at Fort Ticonderoga, New York. The drum beats of war were beginning to be heard.
On January 10, a pamphlet called Common Sense was published. It was written by an immigrant named Thomas Paine. Paine wrote “A government of our own is our natural right.” He criticized the idea that the colonists should be ruled by a few men because of hereditary rights. Paine criticized that a small island could control a continent that was far away from the island. He went on to show the economic and military benefits of being independent from Britain.
Paine wrote the 47-page pamphlet to persuade the colonists to fight for independence. He had to appeal to a wide variety of settlers. English settlers dominated the New England area and Virginia. Dutch, Swedish, Irish and Germans settled the Mid-Atlantic colonies. Could all the settlers come together to successfully fight for the birth of a new nation? Would neighbor battle neighbor?
We know the answers to those questions now. But as we get ready to celebrate our nation’s birthday, we seem so divided. Can we preserve the freedoms that our founding fathers fought so hard and passionately for? Can we pass on to our descendants the rights we were given by our ancestors?
