Mayo Alive July
2000
Independence
Day
Since July is the month in which
Americans remember their ancestors' fight for independance
from British rule, and as many of the vixitors to this site
are from"The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave," I
thought this might be an appropriate article at this
time.
Ed's father hailed from Bunahowen, near Belmullet and his
mother came from near Clonbur in neighbouring
Galway.
H A P P Y I N D E P E N D E N C E D A Y !!!
The anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of
Independence on July 4, 1776, is celebrated as our nation's
birthday. 224 years and still growing and learning (I
hope).
At any rate, it's a big holiday in America. We're
having a neighborhood picnic late in the afternoon.
Afterwards people will go to the firework display.
In New York there having Operation Sail with all the tall
ships from the world attending. Too bad the Jeanie
Johnston isn't able to make it from Ireland.
Indeed July 4, 1776 was an landmark our Nation's
history. I suppose it's as good an event as any to
select for the nation's birthday. Certainly no lives
were lost that day --- at least among the signers in
Philadelphia. But other milestones are also wort
mentioning for the early years of the nation's history:
19 April 1775 --- The first armed conflict of the
Revolutionary War. At Concord and Lexington Mass. ---
just outside Boston.
4 July 1776 --- The Revolution was underway of about
15 months when the Declaration of Independence was
signed.
19 October 1781 --- General Cornwallis surrenders to
the American forces commanded by General George
Washington. The armed conflict lasted five years and
six months --- a rather lengthy conflict; and in the minds
of many historians the first American Civil War.
Why? About a third of the American colonists were
rebels, another third were Loyalists, and another third
indifferent.
1783 --- The Treaty of Paris formally ends the
conflict and establishes American's Independence.
1789 --- The adoption of the Constitution --- perhaps
the true American birthday --- establishing the Republic
under which we operate today.
FYI -- A little more in short about the
Declaration of Independence, the signers, and the American
Revolutionary War, etc. I reproduced below two items
from this morning's Washington Post (july 4th.). Hope
they give you a little more understanding. If they
don't --- Oh well. At any rate have a good day.
Ed Murphy
#1
Washington Post Editorial Page
Tuesday, July 4, 2000; Page A18
IN THE REVOLUTIONARY War epic now on movie screens, "The
Patriot," a sadistic British colonel and his soldiers
provoke the peace-minded Mel Gibson into a bloody bout of
reprisals that are in the end justified, if not by the rules
of war, then by the conventions of Hollywood revenge movies.
The film performs a service by reminding us that this war
was a good deal more sanguinary than most think--per capita,
it took more American lives than any but the Civil War. But
as for the good-vs.-evil thing, the Revolution was a little
more complicated.
About two fifths of the population is thought to have
supported the rebels, while an equal number kept out of the
fight as best they could. The other fifth were loyal to the
crown. The atrocities were on both sides. (From a
Charleston, S.C., newspaper of Dec. 2, 1776: "John Roberts,
a dissenting minister, was seized on suspicion of being an
enemy to the rights of America, when he was tarred and
feathered; after which, the populace, whose fury could not
be appeased, erected a gibbet on which they hanged him . . .
")
Some of the participants in the strife had their own slant
on what sort of freedom was at stake: Men of African descent
fought on both sides, usually for the promise that they
would not be slaves. Religious dissidents, who had found a
haven from European persecutions far worse than anything
George III did, had no quarrel with the British crown.
"Like other civil wars, the American Revolution asked
ordinary people to choose between two extraordinary
positions," writes Karin A. Wulf of American University. ".
. . To support the war was to refute the King, to oppose the
war was to deny one's homeland." People were torn--families
were divided--by questions of the kind that the country has
wrestled with all through its history, up to and including
last week's Supreme Court decisions: What does it take to
justify radical acts of disobedience to government? What are
the rightful boundaries of our personal freedom?
"While some families were torn apart, others found that
their bonds of affection and mutual obligation were severely
tried, but not broken, by conflicting political
convictions," writes Prof. Wulf. ". . . In the realm of
politics and warfare, ardent Loyalists and avid Patriots
traded sharp insults and ultimately mortal blows. In the
realm of the family, such extremity could be tempered by
sympathies engendered by close contact with and knowledge of
'the enemy.' "
America did well to conclude what was, in many ways, a civil
war without one side's condemning the other to wholesale
exile and destruction. Its future relies on a continued
understanding, through the bitterest of national
controversies, that "the enemy," whoever it might be, is
still one of us.
#2
By Ann Landers
(c) 2000, Creators Syndicate Inc.
Tuesday, July 4, 2000; Page C11
Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who
signed the Declaration of Independence?
Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and
tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked
and burned. Two lost their sons who served in the
Revolutionary Army. Another had two sons captured. Nine of
the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the
Revolutionary War. They pledged their lives, their fortunes
and their sacred honor.
What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and
jurists. Eleven were merchants. Nine were farmers and
plantation owners. All were men of means and well-educated,
but they signed the Declaration of Independence, knowing
that the penalty would be death if they were captured.
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader,
saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He
sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in
rags.
Thomas McKean was so hounded by the British that he was
forced to move his family constantly. He served in the
Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His
possessions were taken, and poverty was his reward.
Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Ellery, Hall,
Clymer, Walton, Gwinnet, Heyward, Rutledge and
Middleton.
At the Battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr. noted that the
British Gen. Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for
his headquarters. He quietly urged Gen. Washington to open
fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
The home of Francis Lewis was destroyed. The enemy jailed
his wife, and she died within a few months.
John Hart was driven from the bedside of his dying wife.
Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and
gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year, he lived
in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead
and his children gone. He died shortly thereafter,
heartbroken. Morris and Livingston suffered similar
fates.
Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American
Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing
ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education.
They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing
tall, straight and unwavering, they pledged "for the support
of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection
of the divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other
our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."
They gave us a free and independent America. The history
books never tell us much of what happened in the
Revolutionary War. We were British subjects at that time,
and we fought against our own government. Too often, we now
take these liberties for granted.
So--while you are enjoying the festivities of the July 4th
holiday, take a few minutes and silently thank these
patriots for their heroic contributions. It is not too much
to ask for the price they paid. Freedom is never free.
Towns and villages in County Mayo, Ireland
