4th of July - Independence Day, 19th of June - Independence Day, Why?

                                 July 4, 1776 and June 19, 1865

The United States of America celebrates their independence on the fourth of July each year to commemorate its separation from England.

Most people know that, but why we celebrate the Declaration of Independence and why its so important they may not know. Here is a closer look at why we celebrate the Declaration of Independence.

Imagine if you will, for a moment what it might be like to always have someone else telling you what to do, where and how to live, and especially what to wear? How would that make you feel? Somewhat childish and a bit rebellious I presume. You may even find yourself doing absurd things to make your point well known that you were not going to be ruled by someone else; after all, it is a free country.

Well, before the Declaration of Independence it wasn’t a free country, and colonists felt angry toward Great Britain for always imposing taxes on them and basically telling them how they should live. They no longer wanted to be under British rule and so began starting to make their own government and rules.

The Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and appointed a committee of five men to work on a draft of the declaration.

The committee is known today as The Committee Of Five. The committee consisted of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston.

Thomas Jefferson was delegated by the committee to singly write the Declaration although Adams and Benjamin Franklin made many revisions before it was finally submitted to Congress on June 28, 1776.

The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776 and signed by the President of the Continental Congress, John Hancock.

So the main reason why we celebrate the Declaration of Independence on the fourth of July is because that was the day it was adopted by the colonies and essentially the day that the United States of America was born.

That was the day in history that the United States became a free and independent state from England.

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                January 1, 1863 AND June 19, 1865

Now, imagine if you will, how African Americans must have felt being SLAVES - being told what, when, where and how much from July 4, 1776 - June 19, 1865.  Being treated as less than Caucasian.

Being enslaved for 87 years after the Declaration of Independence (1776 - 1863).

Being enslaved for an additional 2 1/2 years(1865) until Texas was notified that the war had ended.

For African Americans, Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. 

 

Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19^th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free.

Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863.

The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order.

However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.

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If Americans became FREE on July 4, 1776.
Then, why on  June 19, 1865, Juneteenth Day, were African American said to be FREE?

Why on July 4, 2012, African American are yet seeking to be FREE?

Think about it - really think about it.