Independence Day

15 months after the War for Independence actually began, the Second Continental Congress declared independence.

Full Transcript:

Scott Rasmussen  0:07  

Good morning, Scott Rasmussen here and welcome to my podcast: Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day. Well, we're heading into the Fourth of July weekend. Normally, it's a time of parades and celebrations and beach and cookouts and fireworks and patriotic songs and all of that. It's going to be a little bit different this year. You know, I still hope everybody can find a way to celebrate and really just enjoy our nation's birthday party. It's something worth celebrating, those founding ideals, the noble ideals of freedom, equality and self-governance are absolutely a part of the American tradition that we need to keep our eye on from time to time. And as we're heading into this weekend, you know, one thing I know from polling every year is that the Fourth of July and Christmas are far and away our nation's two biggest holidays, nothing else comes close. Just about everybody celebrates them in some way. And even if you don't celebrate, you're aware that everybody else is. So, Fourth of July, one of those big days in our nation's history, every year. 

So, I was trying to find the Number of the Day that might help us think about it in a slightly different manner. And that's tough, because, I mean, let's face it when something has become a cliche and a legend, it's hard to get people to look at it a little bit differently. So, what's the number today? It's 15. And it stands for the fact or reflects the fact, that the Second Continental Congress way back in 1776, didn't declare our nation to be a free and independent country until 15 months after the fighting began. It wasn't a case of the Second Continental Congress, you know, declaring independence and issuing this, you know, eloquent document called the Declaration of Independence and then the nation arose to fight. No, the fighting began long before Congress acted. And you know, that's fairly typical in the world we live in today. It was true right at the beginning of our nation. And by the way, I happen to think it's great news that we live in a world where the culture leads and the politicians lag behind. I'm going to talk more about the experience, though, in the B-block in this segment, and while you're waiting for it, please take a moment to share this podcast with your friends and perhaps subscribe to Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day. You can find it wherever you download your favorite podcasts.

Welcome back to Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day. I'm Scott, and today's number is 15. Congress did not declare, the Second Continental Congress, did not declare our nation to be free and independent until 15 months after the fighting began. So, you know, this is-- it's kind of an interesting perspective because so many times, you know, you study history they say this is the moment we declared independence. Actually what Congress did, what the Second Continental Congress did, is confirmed something had already happened. The fighting began on April 19, 1775, with the Shot Heard 'Round the World in the Battle of Lexington and Concord and quite frankly, you know, even that was just the, you know, the final straw that pushed us into an open act of rebellion against the English crown. The colonists in England had been having tension for a decade. You know, we learn all the names of things in school, but we never really pay attention. But there was the Stamp Act and the Intolerable Acts. There was the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. There was Paul Revere's ride. We hear all these legends, all of that took place before the shots were fired at Lexington and Concord. Then, the fighting began on that day, April 19, 1775. And over the next year or so, there was a, you know, a pretty intense war, one of the most gruesome in our nation's history, actually. And by early 1776, just about all the British governors had been forced out of the colonies. It was only then only after the war had been fought for 15 months, only after the British governors had already been chased from American soil, that the Second Continental Congress formally declared our independence. 

Now, why does this matter? Well, it reminds us that we live in a land where the culture leads and politicians lag behind. It's been true from the very beginning. This doesn't mean that the politicians have no role to play. It is vitally important that we can have political leaders confirm, ratifying, give voice to what the American people decided. You know, Thomas Jefferson said he didn't really write the Declaration of Independence. He was just reflecting the views that every individual American felt. The mood of the people. In those words that he wrote took off in ways he couldn't have imagined. You know, as we talked about a lot these days, Thomas Jefferson was a slaveholder. And yet, five years after the Declaration of Independence was written, a state Supreme Court in Massachusetts used his words to abolish slavery in the colony of Massachusetts. So, those words took on a life of their own because they really weren't Jefferson's. They were part of what was still evolving into a more coherent national ideal about freedom, equality and self-governance. So, it's really important to recognize that, you know, it was the action that happened first and Congress, the Second Continental Congress just ratified it. 

And we see that happening a lot throughout our country's history, that things take place out and around the country. Positive change begins far from the halls of political power. And when all is said and done, the politicians, if they do a good job, give voice to that. You know, a lot of people think that Ronald Reagan created the tax revolt of the 1980s. That's not really true. The tax revolt was happening around the country, Ronald Reagan just gave voice to it, and road it all the way to the White House. So, this idea that the role of Congress is not to lead, but to follow, to ratify, to confirm what's already been decided, is really interesting to consider in the era of the pandemic. 

Think about this, you know, what is the role of government in this pandemic? Is it to lead us? Is it to protect us from ourselves? Or is it to let the popular mood find the best way to express itself here? It doesn't make sense for a government to say what we can and cannot do, or does it make more sense for the government to set guidelines and let people make decisions for themselves? Now, there are no easy answers to these questions. And, you know, and I want to be clear. Talking about the pandemic, I don't think the government should do nothing. Health crises have always been, had a place for government action to protect the population at large, but the question is, what kind of role should they play? And we're starting to see, you know, some of this in places like Texas where, you know, the governor wants to reopen and then he has some second thoughts and there's some different questions. And there's an argument about what should the role of government be? The short term answers will not be easy to predict, but looking longer term, you know, the way we protect ourselves going forward as a nation, the way we deal with these longer-term security issues, the way we talk about who can come into our country, and what kind of safety tests, what kind of health tests do they have to pass, those are going to be things determined by the American people. And quite frankly, that's the way it should be because governments derive they're only just authority from the consent of the governed. That's a founding principle in America and it's what sets us apart from so many other nations. 

And so as we celebrate the Fourth of July this weekend, you know, let's not celebrate the fact that the Continental Congress led us into a revolution. No, let's acknowledge the fact that the Second Continental Congress did what it's supposed to do. It let the country decide where it was going and then it ratified it and gave voice to it and gave form to it. And then, about a decade later, it finally gave way to the Constitution of the United States, a plan to try and put those noble founding ideals into practice. In the C-block, I'm going to have one other little bit of historical misunderstanding or a tidbit of information about our Fourth of July that may surprise you. And it's the fact that the Fourth of July wasn't actually the day that our founding fathers declared independence. I'll be right back after this message and hope you'll take a moment to share this podcast with your friends and also look for my polling data at ScottRasmussen.com. 

Welcome back to Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day. I'm Scott and the number today is 15. It was 15 months after the fighting began in the American Revolution before Congress got around to formally declaring our independence. Before Congress acted, we had a situation where the fighting began at Lexington and Concord. Most of the British governors were forced out of the country, out of the colonies and finally, Congress acted. But that's the way it's supposed to be. The other little bit of news about this that a lot of people have probably never heard or don't think about all that much, is that Congress actually acted to declare our independence on July 2, 1776. That's the day that John Adams, who went on to become our second president, he thought that that day would be celebrated as the birthday of America. What happened? Well, Congress actually acted, you know, it's the way committees work. They actually acted to declare independence on July 2, but they didn't approve the formal document, the edited version of the Declaration of Independence, until July 4, 1776. 

So, as you go forward into this holiday weekend, really hope you can find a way to enjoy some fireworks and cookouts and family time. But also hope you take a moment to think about the fact that when America is working at its best. The politicians are not leading. They are following behind where America wants to go. They're lagging behind the culture and giving voice to what the American people have already decided. And if they do that role, if the political leadership does that role well. I'll be back tomorrow morning with another edition of Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day. I hope you'll be with me and I hope that you're preparing for a real fun celebration. This July 4 weekend. Have a great day.