American Strength and Resolve | A Celebration of Heroes

Strength, patriotism, and resolve are the foundation that built America. On July 4, we celebrate our forefathers and the sacrifices made for our freedom, civil liberties, and opportunity Americans enjoy today.

American strength and resolve are what made and makes America so great. America founded itself on ideals of freedom of expression, freedom of choice, freedom of speech, and the right to fight for what we believe. The American spirit is when you get knocked down, we get back up, and when something seems impossible, we make it possible. Outnumbered, outgunned, and against all odds, Washington and his army sought victory and obtained it even when the outlook looked grim. It is this foundation that separates America from countries around the world. Here is the story of these heroes who made our country what it currently is.    

On July 4 Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence, according to History.com. Thomas Jefferson wrote the majority of the Declaration of Independence, with the voting taking place on July 2 and enaction on July 4. The legislation gave birth to freedom and Independence for past, current, and future American citizens. If it wasn’t for the efforts, strength, resolve, and force of will to stand up against a monarchy, America would’ve never been the land of the free and the home of the brave.

According to the Library of Congress, America was not always a global power. It started as dissatisfaction with the British government, King George III, and a willingness to change. Our great country was once the underdog. Against all odds, brave soldiers from the colonies rebelled against the British government.

Although until the ending of the Seven Years’ War in 1763, only a few colonists in British North America objected to their place in the British Empire. From 1763-1766 the British Reforms and Colonial Resistance were the starting point and birth of American ideology. After the French and Indian War finally ended in 1763, not a single British loyalist on American or English soil would have predicted what would happen next, the Revolutionary War.

It wasn’t until after the Boston Massacre and most of the Townshend Duties went away that civil unrest began. The crises that arose put an even bigger wedge between Colonists and the British, creating division between both sides. Residents of the colonies had gathered arms, and gunpowder, training to rise and fight the British, and were readying themselves for what was to come.

According to Washington’s aide Alexander Hamilton, the Revolutionary War would require a strong army, taking advantage of opportunities, and lay waste to the enemy by attrition. The Northern Front, which ran from 1775-1777, was an armed conflict with the British, though this would not become the War of Independence until July 4, 1776. George Washington began the creation of his army, which forced the evacuation of the British Army from Boston, Massachusetts. In 1777, the British were still in fighting shape to repel the rebellion. If Britain had not made a wide range of mistakes that Washington and his army had capitalized on, the America we know might not exist today, and we would be under British rule.

The Southern Front, which ran from 1778-1781, involved much hit-and-run warfare and guerilla tactics, starting with the Continental victory at Saratoga in 1777. The Treaty with the French in 1778 was a huge turning point, especially for the British. Then began the infamous Home Front of the Revolutionary War. As the years progressed and America’s strength grew, peace and victory for the original 13 colonies were on track towards peace. It was 1781 when morale began to drop and people started losing faith in America. That was until a victory in Yorktown that year that brought the masses of the colonies together. The American spirit went from a lump of smoldering coal to a blaze, as winning seemed to be assured. Due to the massive victory, they achieved success at Yorktown. The Treaty of Paris of September 3, 1783, signified the end of the revolution and the beginning of the America we know today.    

   

These heroes celebrated by holding festivities, including concerts, bonfires, parades, cannon fire, and muskets, with the first public readings of the Declaration of Independence, since its adoption. Philadelphia held its Independence Day ceremony on July 4, 1777, even though Congress was still warring against the British.