By Nalini Joseph

This Fourth of July marks another anniversary of the widely accepted date to commemorate our nation’s Independence Day. Fireworks, barbecues and reenactments of battles have all become a part of our celebrations. 

Many of us have forgotten that the actual decision to declare independence of the 13 colonies from British rule was made on July 2, 1776. 

July 4, 1776, was the date that the final wording was approved and was the date that was written on the actual document that was subsequently signed by representatives of all 13 colonies on August 2, 1776.

From the little I know about early “independent” America, I cannot help but marvel at the sheer courage of the Americans of that era and the genius of our founding fathers.  Of course, it is quite popular to think that those patriots “fighting for their homes” were lions who defeated the British.  Having been born and raised in India, a country that was under the British boot up until 1947, I have a slightly different perspective. If it only took the individual patriot soldier’s courage and sacrifice to free a nation from the ruthless British, then it is quite possible the tiny island nation would never have occupied most of North America, the Caribbean islands, large portions of Africa, all of India (the jewel in the British crown), Burma, parts of China, Australia and more — simultaneously. The British were highly organized militarily and financially strong; they were great administrators, masterful politicians, technologically superior and expert negotiators. Above all, they were ruthless enforcers. You simply couldn’t drive them out of a country using military tactics and force alone. This is how they stayed in power for as long as they did. 

Ousting imperial Britain required a group of people who were better than the British at their own game, both mentally and militarily. Backed by patriots, this group of men possessed perseverance and luck and won their freedom from Imperial Britain. Without the superior mental acumen of our founding fathers, agrarian America of the 18th century stood practically no chance against mighty Britain. Luckily for America, these founding fathers, who were of the caliber that was required to defeat Britain, came together in the latter half of the 18th century.

Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and the other founding fathers were not exactly oblivious to what they were up against. They were aware of all the possible repercussions when they prepared, signed and boldly presented the declaration of Independence to King George. They realized they had a virtually non-existent trained military, next to no financial support to wage war as compared to the crown, and no existing treaties with powerful allies. 

They were also quite aware that at least half of the American population would not actively support their efforts. I wonder why, when King George began to levy heavy taxes on Americans, these men of wealth and education didn’t just sell their lands (after all, their properties belonged to their families for no more than 150 years) take their wealth, move to Britain or France and buy themselves a “lordship” or other title?  These were highly intelligent men; they could have negotiated with King George and formed a parallel feudal system in America like the British established in India with the “zamindaari” landlord system.  Some may argue that this didn’t happen because they had free slave labor. Keep in mind that the British ran sugar plantations all through the Caribbean islands that were farmed by slaves and 10 times the size of the ones in America.  I doubt the British would have been averse to making deals with the founding fathers who were wealthy slave owners, moving African Americans to the nearby Caribbean islands. 

The only conclusion that I can draw is that our founding fathers truly meant every word on the Declaration of Independence. Their love for this land and their grand vision for the people of this nation and for the generations to come is what I commemorate on this Fourth of July.

Nalini Joseph lives in Salisbury. Email her at nalinijones1@hotmail.com.