History Articles
Declaration of Independence. Image: Harvard
HISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE DAY
Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial
[In my previous article, I wrote about Thomas Jefferson, a man of paradox: liberty-loving slaveholder, Indian-loving relocationist, publicly frugal and privately bankrupt, a constitutional conservative who bought the Louisiana Territory in 1803.]
Independence Day, also known as the Fourth of July, celebrates the adoption by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, of the Declaration of Independence, which proclaimed the severance of the American colonies’ allegiance to Great Britain. It is the most significant secular holiday in the United States, observed in all the states, territories, and dependencies.
Was it really signed on July 4, 1776? Who created it, and how was it approved and celebrated? What is the enduring significance of the Declaration of Independence?
Presidential portrait of Thomas Jefferson, by Rembrandt Peale, 1800. Image: Wikipedia
HISTORY OF THE 4th OF JULY: THOMAS JEFFERSON
Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial
[In my previous article, I wrote about John Adams, the first Vice President of the United States under George Washington, the second President of the United States, the first resident of the White House, and the writer of the Massachusetts State Constitution; he was also one of the creators of the Declaration of Independence during the Revolutionary War.]
Perhaps no one person is more associated with the 4th of July in American history than Thomas Jefferson, probably because it was his hand that penned the immortal Declaration of Independence.
As my friend Clay Jenkinson, who has been portraying Jefferson for over 40 years, says in his book Thomas Jefferson: The Man of Light:
“The Third President is the Muse of American life, the chief articulator of our national value system and our national self-identity. Jefferson was a man of almost unbelievable achievement: statesman, man of letters, architect, scientist, book collector, political strategist, and utopian visionary. But he is also a man of paradox: liberty-loving slaveholder, Indian-loving relocationist, publicly frugal and privately bankrupt, a constitutional conservative who bought the Louisiana Territory in 1803.”
HISTORY OF THE 4TH OF JULY: JOHN ADAMS
Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial
[In my previous article, I discussed Ben Franklin, the most multidimensional Founding Father, a self-made gentleman-scientist who was the most famous American in Europe]
Before John Adams became the first Vice President of the United States under George Washington, the second President of the United States, the first resident of the White House, and the writer of the Massachusetts State Constitution, he was one of the creators of the Declaration of Independence during the Revolutionary War.
What was he like? How did he and Thomas Jefferson get along? What were his views on government and religion?
John Adams and the Committee of Five
He was a member of the Committee of Five and was seven years senior to the 33-year-old Thomas Jefferson; though younger, Jefferson was recognized by Adams as the more eloquent writer.
HISTORY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
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Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial
[In my previous article, I discussed Alexander Hamilton, who founded America’s first political party, the Federalist Party.]
We know this polymath as a writer, publisher, printer, merchant, scientist, moral philosopher, international diplomat, and inventor.
He invented the glass harmonica in music, but he also invented the Franklin stove and started the first lending library and fire brigade in Philadelphia.
He did experiments with electricity and developed the lightning rod. He was considered:
America’s best scientist, inventor, diplomat, writer, and business strategist, and he was also one of its most practical, though not most profound, political thinkers. – Walter Isaacson. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
What is he remembered for, what were his roles as a Founding Father, what did he do in France, and what were his thoughts on religion?
Alexander Hamilton. Posthumous portrait by John Trumbull, 1806, from a life bust by Giuseppe Ceracchi, 1794. Image: Wikipedia
HISTORY OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON: FIRST SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial
[In my previous article, I discussed the life and career of General George Washington. Today’s Founding Father served as his aide-de-camp during the Revolutionary War and was a close friend of the future president.]
Alexander Hamilton has gained popularity in recent years, mainly due to the 2015 Broadway musical “Hamilton” by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
What is the real story behind this remarkable revolutionary? What kind of leader was he? How was his background similar to and different from that of the other Founding Fathers?
George Washington by Gilbert Stuart, 1796. (Clark Art Institute/Wikimedia)
HISTORY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON: FATHER OF THE NATION
Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial
[In my previous article, I discussed how the Founding Father John Witherspoon, immersed in both the Enlightenment and Presbyterian Christianity, was a professor and college president. Today’s Founding Father never went to college, but had a different kind of education.]
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia, into a moderately prosperous planter family.
Washington’s Birthday is an official federal holiday, though it is “observed” on Presidents Day, along with Abraham Lincoln’s, and other presidents’, as I’ve written about here.
Washington’s birthday has been celebrated since he was encamped with our first army at Valley Forge in 1778. It first became an official state holiday in Massachusetts in 1856 and a federal holiday in 1879. Since the 1968 passage of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which subordinated historical accuracy to federal workers’ preference for three-day weekends, Washington’s birthday has been celebrated on the third Monday of February, which never falls on his actual birthday, February 22.
What was the background of this planter class Founding Father, what was his training, how did he develop his leadership skills, what was unique about his presidency, and what was his legacy?
John Witherspoon, by Charles Wilson Peale, c 1790. Image: Wikimedia
HISTORY OF JOHN WITHERSPOON: THE ORDAINED FOUNDING FATHER
Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial
[In my previous article, I discussed how the American Revolution against England was driven by the Enlightenment, the Age of Reason… and Religion, the predominantly Protestant Christian faith energized by the revival of the Great Awakening.]
John Witherspoon, born on February 4, 1723, was an 18th-century Scottish preacher who emigrated to America in 1768. He was the sole clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence.
As president of Princeton College, he significantly influenced several Founding Fathers, including framers of the Declaration and Constitution who studied under him, most notably James Madison, known as the “Father of the Constitution.”
Witherspoon is regarded as a Founding Father of the United States and as the most influential professor in American history, particularly during the late Colonial and early National periods. He was renowned for his teaching of Enlightenment principles and for his preaching of Christianity, finding no conflict between the two.
What do we know about this Scottish-American clergyman, educator, farmer, and religious and political leader?
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American Revolution – Reason and Religion
Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial
[In my previous article, I discussed how America’s experiment in self-government has been unique across 250 years.]
Two waves propelled the 13 colonies into the prospect of independence from England and a call to write a Declaration of Independence: the Enlightenment, the Age of Reason… and Religion, the predominantly Protestant Christian faith driven by the revival of the Great Awakening.
Each was a major force in 18th-century America and greatly influenced the worldview of the Founding Fathers.
USA vs. England. Image: a parody based on the design of the USA World Cup team jersey by U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team players and Nike™. Modified with Claude AI.
HISTORY OF AMERICA: 250 YEARS
Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial
The United States of America celebrates its 250th birthday this year… or at least the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
It should be noted that the Declaration was essentially a “bill of divorcement” from Great Britain, not a document explaining how “these United States of America” should be governed. However, the form of government that these United States would take was discussed immediately thereafter in July of 1776.
Reading Time: < 1 minute
Midsummer-St John the Baptist Day
INTERVIEW ON THAT SHAKESPEARE LIFE: MIDSUMMER AND ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST DAY
Cassidy Cash interviewed me for her popular podcast, That Shakespeare Life, to discuss the history and traditions of Midsummer and St. John the Baptist Day, and what it would have been like to celebrate these two simultaneous holidays in Elizabethan England.
We covered the following topics:
- The timing of Midsummer in Shakespeare’s lifetime, its connection to the Summer Solstice, and how it aligns with St. John the Baptist’s Day on June 24.
- Traditional Midsummer celebrations, including food, drink, bonfires, decorations (flowers, greenery, lamps), and welcoming neighbors and strangers into festivities.
- The festive and chaotic nature of the holiday, with dancing, role-playing (Robin Hood figures), games, cross-dressing, and a general loosening of social norms.
- The association of Midsummer with magic, dreams, fairies, and supernatural beliefs, reflected in both cultural traditions and Shakespeare’s plays.
- The blending of pagan solstice traditions with the Christian celebration of St. John the Baptist’s birth, and how these traditions coexist.
- How Midsummer was celebrated in both cities and the countryside, along with its reflection in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, including romance, confusion, and magical elements drawn from real customs.
Reading Time: 6 minutes
John the Baptist, at left, by Leonardo da Vinci, Louvre Museum, Paris
HISTORY OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST DAY
The Feast of St. John the Baptist, or the Nativity of St John the Forerunner, sometimes called St. John the Baptist Day, is celebrated on June 24 in many places worldwide, though not much in the United States, as we’ll see below.
The celebration of the Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist goes back at least a millennium and a half. The Council of Agde mentions the feast in its 506 AD list of festivals. Most saints’ festivals are tied to their death, but John’s is an exception, being connected to his birth.
This famous painting of John the Baptist, at left, by Leonardo da Vinci, believed to be the artist’s last painting, hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris.
Reading Time: 3 minutes
SCIENCE OF THE SUMMER SOLSTICE
Solstice comes from the Latin word solstitium, meaning “Sun, standing still.” The Summer Solstice occurs on June 20 at 10:22 PM EDT.
But for our European friends and those farther east, it’s on June 21 at 08:25 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time, or Zulu Time, roughly Greenwich Mean Time). Greenwich, England, is the prime meridian — the zero point for longitude lines.
Why is UTC the abbreviation for Coordinated Universal Time?
The acronym came about as a compromise between English and French speakers: Coordinated Universal Time would normally be abbreviated as CUT, and the French name Temps Universel Coordonné would be TUC.