By the time you read this we will have celebrated the 4th of July, 2021. This is 245 years of independence to be exact.

As with many U.S. citizens, for a number of years I thought of the 4th as a good three-day weekend with friends, family, BBQ and fireworks. Oh, I did realize what had happened, big picture, regarding the American Revolution: “No taxation without representation!” And, we defeated the British to win our independence. But, if you get the time to do some research on what really happened you realize a number of things, two in particular. First, how difficult the effort was and how close we were to disaster on numerous occasions. The second is how fortunate we are to have had the clear thinking on fundamental freedoms, not only for ourselves, but that are universal.

One way to realize how hard things were is to follow George Washington’s experiences through the revolution. The “army” he took over in July 1775 was a rag tag, dirty, sickly bunch. After success in the Boston area in March 1776 Washington moved to New York where he then confronted huge British land and naval forces.

David McCullough in “1776”: “The British armada that sailed into New York Harbor in early summer 1776, numbered more than 400 ships. It was the largest naval force ever seen in American waters, the largest sent out from the British Isles to defeat a distant foe. With no fighting ships of their own, the Americans faced an almost impossible task of defending against such might.” Essentially, disaster after disaster unfolded until the end of 1776. Inspiring wins at Trenton and Princeton, N.J. prevented complete collapse of the revolution. Washington labored for over seven years, persevered, away from home, and then voluntarily gave up power to go home in December 1783.

In June of 1826, shortly before his death, Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter declining an invitation to attend July 4th ceremonies in Washington (his health prevented his attendance). From the letter: “I should indeed, with peculiar delight, have met and exchanged there congratulations personally with the small band, the remnant of that host of worthies who joined with us on that day, in the bold and doubtful election we were to make for country, between submission or the sword; and to have enjoyed with them the consolatory fact, that our fellow citizens, after half a century of experience and prosperity, continue to approve the choice we made.”

Jefferson went on the say, “The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of God. These are grounds for hope for others. For ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.”

Every American, at some point in their life, should visit Philadelphia. In particular, every American should visit Independence Hall, and reflect on our rights, the difficulties it took to win them, and, as Jefferson says, refresh our undiminished devotion to them. Other must visits while there, in my opinion, are the Museum of the American Revolution, and the National Constitution Center. As far as books, in addition to “1776” by McCullough, another good book is “The British Are Coming, The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777” by Rick Atkinson.

Doug McCormick is retired from the Air Force after spending 21 years as a space operator. He spent 14 years as a defense contractor supporting Air Force Space Command. He is now a tour guide and has started his own business, American History Tours LLC, specializing in taking people to see locations associated with significant American history. His email address is doug@historytoursamerica.com.

Independence Hall is a must-visit when visiting Philadelphia. (Doug

McCormick)

By the time you read this we will have celebrated the 4th of July, 2021. This is 245 years of independence to be exact.

As with many U.S. citizens, for a number of years I thought of the 4th as a good three-day weekend with friends, family, BBQ and fireworks. Oh, I did realize what had happened, big picture, regarding the American Revolution: “No taxation without representation!” And, we defeated the British to win our independence. But, if you get the time to do some research on what really happened you realize a number of things, two in particular. First, how difficult the effort was and how close we were to disaster on numerous occasions. The second is how fortunate we are to have had the clear thinking on fundamental freedoms, not only for ourselves, but that are universal.

One way to realize how hard things were is to follow George Washington’s experiences through the revolution. The “army” he took over in July 1775 was a rag tag, dirty, sickly bunch. After success in the Boston area in March 1776 Washington moved to New York where he then confronted huge British land and naval forces.

David McCullough in “1776”: “The British armada that sailed into New York Harbor in early summer 1776, numbered more than 400 ships. It was the largest naval force ever seen in American waters, the largest sent out from the British Isles to defeat a distant foe. With no fighting ships of their own, the Americans faced an almost impossible task of defending against such might.” Essentially, disaster after disaster unfolded until the end of 1776. Inspiring wins at Trenton and Princeton, N.J. prevented complete collapse of the revolution. Washington labored for over seven years, persevered, away from home, and then voluntarily gave up power to go home in December 1783.

In June of 1826, shortly before his death, Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter declining an invitation to attend July 4th ceremonies in Washington (his health prevented his attendance). From the letter: “I should indeed, with peculiar delight, have met and exchanged there congratulations personally with the small band, the remnant of that host of worthies who joined with us on that day, in the bold and doubtful election we were to make for country, between submission or the sword; and to have enjoyed with them the consolatory fact, that our fellow citizens, after half a century of experience and prosperity, continue to approve the choice we made.”

Jefferson went on the say, “The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of God. These are grounds for hope for others. For ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.”

Every American, at some point in their life, should visit Philadelphia. In particular, every American should visit Independence Hall, and reflect on our rights, the difficulties it took to win them, and, as Jefferson says, refresh our undiminished devotion to them. Other must visits while there, in my opinion, are the Museum of the American Revolution, and the National Constitution Center. As far as books, in addition to “1776” by McCullough, another good book is “The British Are Coming, The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777” by Rick Atkinson.

Doug McCormick is retired from the Air Force after spending 21 years as a space operator. He spent 14 years as a defense contractor supporting Air Force Space Command. He is now a tour guide and has started his own business, American History Tours LLC, specializing in taking people to see locations associated with significant American history. His email address is doug@historytoursamerica.com.

Independence Hall is a must-visit when visiting Philadelphia. (Doug

McCormick)

By the time you read this we will have celebrated the 4th of July, 2021. This is 245 years of independence to be exact.

As with many U.S. citizens, for a number of years I thought of the 4th as a good three-day weekend with friends, family, BBQ and fireworks. Oh, I did realize what had happened, big picture, regarding the American Revolution: “No taxation without representation!” And, we defeated the British to win our independence. But, if you get the time to do some research on what really happened you realize a number of things, two in particular. First, how difficult the effort was and how close we were to disaster on numerous occasions. The second is how fortunate we are to have had the clear thinking on fundamental freedoms, not only for ourselves, but that are universal.

One way to realize how hard things were is to follow George Washington’s experiences through the revolution. The “army” he took over in July 1775 was a rag tag, dirty, sickly bunch. After success in the Boston area in March 1776 Washington moved to New York where he then confronted huge British land and naval forces.

David McCullough in “1776”: “The British armada that sailed into New York Harbor in early summer 1776, numbered more than 400 ships. It was the largest naval force ever seen in American waters, the largest sent out from the British Isles to defeat a distant foe. With no fighting ships of their own, the Americans faced an almost impossible task of defending against such might.” Essentially, disaster after disaster unfolded until the end of 1776. Inspiring wins at Trenton and Princeton, N.J. prevented complete collapse of the revolution. Washington labored for over seven years, persevered, away from home, and then voluntarily gave up power to go home in December 1783.

In June of 1826, shortly before his death, Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter declining an invitation to attend July 4th ceremonies in Washington (his health prevented his attendance). From the letter: “I should indeed, with peculiar delight, have met and exchanged there congratulations personally with the small band, the remnant of that host of worthies who joined with us on that day, in the bold and doubtful election we were to make for country, between submission or the sword; and to have enjoyed with them the consolatory fact, that our fellow citizens, after half a century of experience and prosperity, continue to approve the choice we made.”

Jefferson went on the say, “The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of God. These are grounds for hope for others. For ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.”

Every American, at some point in their life, should visit Philadelphia. In particular, every American should visit Independence Hall, and reflect on our rights, the difficulties it took to win them, and, as Jefferson says, refresh our undiminished devotion to them. Other must visits while there, in my opinion, are the Museum of the American Revolution, and the National Constitution Center. As far as books, in addition to “1776” by McCullough, another good book is “The British Are Coming, The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777” by Rick Atkinson.

Doug McCormick is retired from the Air Force after spending 21 years as a space operator. He spent 14 years as a defense contractor supporting Air Force Space Command. He is now a tour guide and has started his own business, American History Tours LLC, specializing in taking people to see locations associated with significant American history. His email address is doug@historytoursamerica.com.

Independence Hall is a must-visit when visiting Philadelphia. (Doug

McCormick)