Declaration of Independence

Pearl Harbor plus 75 Years

Anita Christy Gila Watch ,

On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, an attack planned by Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese Marshal Admiral and commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II, was carried out to demobilize the US Navy.  See Pearl Harbor plus 75 Years.

You probably have family members in their 80s and older who remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they got the news:  "We’ve just been attacked!"  Some memories fade quickly.  But not this one.  

My mother remembers.   She and my father had been married for less than a year.  He was a sergeant in the Army Air Corp stationed at Chanute Field in Rantoul, Illinois.  "It was a Sunday," she told me. They were visiting his parents on their farm in down state Illinois that day.   My father and grand-father were driving around the countryside looking at the land, which is what farmers often did and probably still do, after church on a Sunday.  They heard the news on the car radio.  "It was a ’40 Ford," Mom said.  They returned immediately to tell my mother and grand-mother.  "It was a total shock," remembers my mother.  "It was scary."  She and my dad returned quickly to their home.  "From that moment on, he had to be in uniform until the end of the war."  

The next spring, he shipped out to Seymour Johnson Air Field in North Carolina. Mom remembers that the base had been quickly constructed, using trees from the forest where the base was located. It was still being constructed when they arrived.  She recalls that it was a training base for mechanics and pilots.  My mother remembers that, throughout the war, she rarely saw pictures or got much word of what was happening.  "We didn’t have television."  Mostly, she saw newsreels in the local theater.  My father was eventually sent to India.  "It took thirty days for him to get there.  The ship had to zigzag across the ocean, to stay clear of submarines.  He didn’t know where he was going until he got there."    

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese killed 2402 Americans, destroyed 188 planes and damaged 159.  They sunk 4 battleships and damaged another 4.  "The Pearl Harbor attack spurred America into World War II, leading ultimately to Allied victory over the Japanese in the East and Nazis and other Axis powers in the West.  And the country promised never to forget this day of infamy."  See Unforgettable photos from the Pearl Harbor Attack, 72 years ago today. 

One of the battleships that was sunk was the USS Arizona.  See photos below.

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BREXIT: Independence Day, Bill Whittle

Anita Christy Gila Watch , ,

"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 among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation….And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." The 56 Representatives of the United States of America who signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 

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Religious Convictions of America’s Founders: Thomas Lynch, Jr.

Anita Christy Gila Watch , ,

Three months older than co-signer Edward Rutledge, Thomas Lynch, Jr., at age 26 was the second youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence.  However, when Thomas Lynch, Jr.’s life tragically ended at age 30, he was the youngest of the signers at their deaths.

The story of Thomas Lynch, Jr., an Episcopalian, is really the story of father and son, for it was Thomas Lynch, Sr. who, had he not suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in early 1776, from which he never sufficiently recovered, would have signed the Declaration of Independence, along with his son.  He is the only Founding father whose son was elected to replace his father.  Lynch, Sr. was a prominent politician who played a pivotal role in events leading up to the American Revolution. 

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Religious Convictions of America’s Founders: Thomas Heyward, Jr.

Anita Christy Gila Watch , ,

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."  Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 

Thomas Heyward, Jr.:  South Carolina

An Episcopalian, The eldest son of a wealthy planter, Thomas Heyward, Jr., was born in Old House, in St. Luke’s Parish (now Jasper County) in the Province of South Carolina, about 25 miles north of Savannah, Georgia, on July 28, 1746. His father was Colonel Daniel Heyward, his mother, Mary Butler Heyward.  They were among those to grow rice, the “golden seed from Madagascar” which became the big money crop of “low country” South Carolina. Thomas used the “junior” suffix to differ him from his father’s younger brother of that name.

Education 

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Religious Convictions of America’s Founders: Edward Rutledge

Anita Christy Gila Watch , ,

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."  Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 

Edward Rutledge: South Carolina

An Episcopalian, Edward Rutledge was born in Charleston, South Carolina on November 23, 1749.  He was the youngest son of Dr. John Rutledge, who emigrated from Ireland to South Carolina about the year 1735.  Edward’s mother was Sarah Hert, a “lady of respectable family, and large fortune.”

At age 26, he was the youngest delegate to sign the Declaration of Independence.  (The accomplishments of Edward’s older brother, John Rutledge, rivaled those of Edward’s. John was an early delegate to the Continental Congress, President of South Carolina from 1776 to 1778, Governor of South Carolina in 1779, a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, a signer of the U.S. Constitution, a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1789 to 1791 and was appointed Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by President George Washington in 1795.)

Education and Law Practice
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Religious Convictions of America’s Founders: John Penn

Anita Christy Gila Watch , ,

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."  Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 

John Penn: North Carolina. 

An Episcopalian, John Penn was born on May 17, 1741, at Port Royal, Caroline County, Virginia.  John was the only child of a farmer, Moses Penn, and Catherine Taylor Penn.  On his mother’s side, two descendants of his great-grandfather James Taylor became presidents of the United States—James Madison and Zachary Taylor. 

John’s father died suddenly when John was 18 years old.  Even though John was left with a modest fortune, his parents didn’t believe in the value of an education.  John had spent only two-three years at a country common school.    

John could have led an unprincipled life of foolishness and dissipation, but instead he took advantage of the tutelage and vast library of his cousin, Edmund Pendleton.   Pendleton was well known as one of the most accomplished statesmen of Virginia.  His library was described by both Jefferson and Adams as having no equal in the colonies.

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