July 2, 1776 is the day that the Continental Congress actually voted for American independence, adopting the resolution “...that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States... and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”
As our nation celebrates its independence from Great Britain it is important to remember that although that inspired declaration proclaimed “all men are created equal” we still struggle today to ensure that the vision of the Founding Fathers applies equally to all people. A poignant reminder of that fact appears next to the first public announcement of the Declaration of Independence in the evening edition of a Philadelphia newspaper on July 2, 1776. News from the Continental Congress appeared on page 4, directly opposite an advertisement offering a “Three Dollars Reward” to whoever secures the capture of a runaway slave named ISHMAEL, “so as his master may have him again”. We have made much progress, but still have a long way to go.
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Michael WoodHistorical milestones in our fight for liberty 1765-1783 Archives
February 2022
CategoriesCover image courtesy of
Jnn13 [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)] |