Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1905-07-07
WHERE ARE WE At.
1.-THE Story Of the Declaration of In.
dependence" Says We Ought to |
Halahr,$A ~ I1,lv cneond ,..-t

1.-THE Story OF the Declaration Of In.
dependence" Says We Ought to
Celebrate on July Second.
Fargo Forum: The government has
lust published a book showing that the
Fourth of July ought to come on the
second of the month.
The book Is entitled "The Story of
the Declaration of Independence" and
the author is Col. VIM, H. Michael,
who has charge of that historic docu-
ment and the priceless archives which
go with 1t. e. IA. ..< %..5S> e..
The brief account given in the pre-
face of the adoption of the. Declare,
T ton of Independence shows that con-
gress passed the resolution on July 2.
That is really the date on which a
majority of the peoples representa-.
tives formally and legally expressed
their intent -r
According to the journal of that con.
gress, the original of which is on file,
nothing actually happened on the
Fourth Of July.
On the ninth of July the vote, by
states, was made unanimous by the ad-
1tdition of New York, which had not
before been authorized to take this
course. So this date might be cele-
brated if it were desired to commem-
crate the date of the complete adop-
tion Of the resolution
If it were desired to commemorate
the day when the declaration was
signed, August 2 might be selected, as
on that day the members of congress
began to attach their signatures to
the formally drafted document.
By an error in the journal note
was made on the nineteenth of July to
this effect: Ordered that the declar-
alton (passed on the fourth) be fairly
engrossed on parchment, with the title
and style of The Unanimous Declara-
ton Of the Thirteen United States of
America
| 1t is evident that the journal should
have read passed on the second'' for
that was the day when Richard Henry
Lees resolution commanded a MAORI.
ty of the votes. On that day the reso
luton received the votes of all of New
England, New Jersey, Maryland, vir.
ginia, North Carolina and Georgia.
South Carolina and Pennsylvania
voted against it. The Delaware vote
was evenly divided; the New York
delegates were uninstructed, and re
Trained from voting.
The next day, July 8, Caesar Rodney,
of Delaware, came eighty miles on
horseback, as hard as the beast could
go, to add his vote for independence,
and thus Delaware was swung into
line. 1t was several days later that
Pennsylvania and New York came
wabbling along. >~%
The first celebration of independ.
ence day was at Philadelphia, on July
8, when the sheriff of that city read
copy of the original declaration,
passed on the second. >--
4 The man who drafted the resolution
passed on the second of July, which
consisted of short paragraph sufi.
Gent to voice the sentiment of each
state for or against the proposed war
for independence, was Richard Henry
Lee. l,"s ,,...." r..
The man who supported the resolu.
ton on the floor, and led in the de-
bate which preceded the vote, was
John Adams. ..".
The man who afterward drafted the
formal declaration to the outside
world, embodying the sentiment of the
Lee resolution, was Thos. Jefferson.
/ The man who presided over the con.
Ivention where the resolution was
Iiadopted was John Hancock.