Dakota Beacon

“…at twilight’s last gleaming…” July 4, 2025, we celebrated the 249th anniversary of the United States. Colonists had rejected British rule declaring themselves independent of England.

On the eve of the American Revolution, one third of Americans wanted to separate from England, one-third wanted to remain united, and one-third could care less. Colonists wanting separation prevailed and the rest, as they say, is history.

On June 28, 1776, delegates laid before the Continental Congress the Declaration of Independence. By July 1 holdouts still included delegates from New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and South Carolina. On July 2, all delegates to the constitutional convention except those from New York supported the motion to “absolve” the colonies from all allegiance to the British Crown. Thus, independence was declared on July 2. After further debate and a few corrections, the document was accepted and signed by the President of Congress, John Hancock. A complete copy of the Declaration of Independence was presented to Congress and received the signatures of delegates from all colonies.

“When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume...the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God entitles them...they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.” – American Declaration of Independence.

Signers of the Declaration were anything but hell-raising riffraff. Twenty-four signers were lawyers and jurists, eleven were merchants, and nine were farmers and plantation owners. All were men of means and education.

At great risk the colonial British subjects took up arms declaring their independence. Nothing shallow here. No rebellion within the British Empire had ever succeeded. Why should these American belligerents with no organized military force, no visible means of material support, and no experienced military leadership believe they could prevail against the greatest colonial power in the world? No wonder many of the signers were visibly shaken as they penned their names declaring the American colonies free and independent. If caught, every signatory could be hanged!

As it turned out, although victorious in the end, most of the signers suffered immensely. Five signers were captured by the British and tortured to death. Twelve had their homes occupied, ransacked, and burned. Nine of the fifty-six signatories died from wounds suffered during the Revolution. Two lost sons serving in the Revolutionary Army.

Signers who lived anywhere near a British stronghold were targeted. It is difficult to entertain fuzzy feelings of patriotism when your wife is brutally abused on a British prison ship as was the case of New York Delegate Francis Lewis. Or your children are taken never to be seen again as was the case of New Jersey Delegate John Hart. Or your merchant fleet is destroyed as was the case of Pennsylvania Delegate Robert Morris. Or your home and crops are burned as was the case of Rhode Island Delegate William Ellery. Many more continued to suffer for their defiance. The long struggle would continue until the surrender of General Charles Cornwallis on October 19, 1781.

“History” does not occur in a vacuum. Ideas have consequences and we cannot separate the ideas of the Founding Fathers from the thinking of Reformation Europe. Our Founders understood two kinds of government. External government pertained to civil government (civil control). Throughout history external governments such as monarchies, tyrannies, and dictatorships imposed the will of the few on the many. Rights were granted by government alone.

Internal government pertained to self-government (self-control). It flowed from within each person outward to the family and finally into the community. The idea of internal self-government stressed individual responsibility and self-discipline. Our Founders’ idea of limited civil government rested solidly on the assumption of internal self-government. So, rights were imbued by the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God – not by civil authority.

As an aside, the distinction between freedom and liberty lies in the granting authority also. Again, the colonists were the product of European Reformation thinking and their worldview was critically shaped by that Christian movement. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson described liberty second only to life as granted by the Creator. Liberty equals an inalienable, unchallengeable, and immutable right granted by God. No one, especially the government, can legitimately take it away.

Freedom, on the other hand, is granted by civil authority. As such, a government granting freedom can just as easily limit it – or even deny it entirely. Beneath a mask of freedom, the government can – and has -- easily made up or subtracted rights.

Nor did the Founders aspire to democracy. They pursued a constitutional republic. In a pure democracy, 51% of the voters decide how the other 49% must live. The majority can vote to negate the rights of others. As Benjamin Franklin put it, “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.” Fortunately, we don’t live in a pure democracy. We live under liberty within a constitutional republic subject to the rule of law.

Reflect on this and cherish hard-earned liberty in the afterglow of Independence Day 2025!

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).