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t / THE AMERICAN UWON. WEST BGWERSVILLE, GA., January 3, 1885. W. F. BOWERS. EDITOR FOURTH OF JULY, 1776. V Over one hundred years ago, this country belonged to England and was governed by a King, but the people did not like his laws, his troops or his government, they wan¬ ted to be free and they thought they were old enough and wise enough to govern themselves, and to have a government of their own. They had been ground down and tramp led on until they seemed to have no wills of their own, but they had, and they soon showed they would sub mit no" longer. From Virginia, freedom may be said to have started, for the Legisla ture recommended Congress to de clare the colonies no longer obliged to be subjects of George III, on the English throne. On the 7th of Juue. 1776; Richard Henry Lee said - that the United Colonies ought to ne Free and independent states. Jefferson, Franklin and Livingston were appointed a committee to draft a Declaration of Independence. History tells us that Jefferson—who was afterward our second Vice Pres ident and our third President—was chairman, aud prepared that impor taut document; and if you have ever read it or heard it read—as every American boy and girl should—you know how well he did his work. And we are told that ‘-it was report ed to Congress, and after beeng dis cussed seven days and slightly amen ded, was adopted at two o’clock on the YOUTH OF JULY, 1776, There, that is what I call the gen ui ne^origipfrl. Simon Pure Fou rth of July. Novi’ let me tell.ycHrhow the news was received and how it was celebrated. People flocked to Phila dolphia aud a great deal of anxiety was felt among the citizens, and ex. citemeut was at fever heat. This was before the glad tidings reached them, and before they knew whether King Georye would continue to rule them or they were to strive to be free and independent. It would all depend upon the decision of Con gress. This decision—if^favorable— was to be announced bjp the ringing of the bell up in the old belfry; and tor that purpose, the bell ringer, an old man took his post in the steeple a: a very early hour so as to peel forth the first jubilant tones of Free dom; his boy be had stationed to him the notice of the event he felt so sure would happen. The old man must have grown impatient at the long delay, and he may have thought his boy had grown tired and gone away. But no, the old man kept his post, and the boy did not desert his. At last, came the clear notes from the boy—as clear as they could throdfBdii*- excitement: ringI’ris'gI And. the old man did ring as he nev er did before. Oh, how cheering did those tones sonned to the ears of the citizens. It is said that many of the nu>8t steady and sober citizens hug ged and kissed each other, and wept tears of joy. It was as if morning hadj come after a long dark night, and why not; were not the thirteen c)onie8 to be henceforth known as, the thirteen UNITED STATES OF AMERICA? We have added quite a number to the original thirteen, haven't we? I wonder how many of Uncle Peter's « nmerous nephews and nieces can tell which the original thirteen where, and how many States we have now, and their names? HOW THE FIRST FOURTH WAS CELEBRATED. Of course, the news carried joy almost everywhere, to the ones who were bound to be free and equal, but not to tl\e “Tories” as the adherents of thqjKjng were called. Washing¬ ton—who was then Head of the Army received a copy of the document and caused the troops to be paraded and the Declaration to be read to each brigade, who received the news with deafening cheers. In New York there were a statue of George III, made of lead, and thi 8 figure was pulled down from its pe¬ destal and I will tell you what after wrads became of it. It was after¬ wards moulded into Republican bullets.] In Philadelphia there were illumi nations and bonfires and music and cheering, and I don’t know what else, and the people tore down the King’s arms from the Court House, as the New Yofkers had his statue and burned them in the streets,. How much they must have loved Liberty, and now they must have HATED KING GEORGE. In Boston the excitement was as great as iu other places I have named, for there “the Declaration was publicly read in Faneuil Hall, amid the acclamations of assembled housands,” and a "very appropriate place for it to be read, for you may be well aware that that Hall has qeen well styled the “Cradle of Lib¬ erty,” where the infant Freedom was rocked: but principally James Otis, given called that namebecauBe the ‘Apostle of Freedom,’ delivered a speech there in March 1763, at its dedication. A greater number of you cau re member the Centennial of 1876, and what celebrations there were in hon or of the one hnndreth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Few there were liv ing then who participated and when in the or iginal Fourth, the second centennial celebration takes place in 1976, it is tot lines, likely many of you, who read these will be able to participate in that, as it will be nearly one hundred years from now, and you would be quite old men and ladies by that time. But enjoy all the Fourths you can and as many as you can. It is a great you4ead Natioad History holiday, and aw?, $?he inci the more dents 'connected with that day, the more you will appreciate its worth. If you ever go State to Philadelphia House you will see the old where the boy of ‘76 shouted Ring Ring!’ and where the old man pealed forth the notes of ‘Freedom from Oppress ion. jf mm •’ /At' Intelligence And : ; Virtue Our Republic, While the discovery of the Western World (as it is sometimes termed] dates back some four hundred years; yet the first effectual effort to colonize that part of the Western Hemisphere included in the limit of the United States has not quite been three hundred years it being in the commence, ment of the sevenenenthh century. In the year 1607 a small colony was Sited out by authority of the English government for the purpose of exploring and locating interest in tftat section, now included in the Uni¬ ted States. In the state of Virginia this colony was located. They found a position some fifty miles from the sea coast on wbat they called James River, in honor of their king' They also called the town first built by them by the same name, that is, James town. From that time (May, 1007) the original adventurers to this country, had a very serious time for many long year* * After the Jamestown settlement, other localities were occupied by emigrants from over the sea. New Fork and the New Englad states’ also the Carolines & Q1 gia. Some unfortunate steps were take! the colonies enlarged, and the inhabit! increased. We ar* informed that the! sent over some 100 or more convict 3 orn nals, who were employed as labore® certain citizens who were engaging in 1 culture of the Tobacco plant, particulJ in the state of Virginia. Also about i time 20 Africans were purchased by Th! ^ people as slaves from a Dutch vessel. were the first ever introduced among English settlements. History tells us that colony after coloffl was established until thirteen colouies butlt up, known as the thiiteen staflj originally. The tiials and struggles these colonies for a long series ofyears ti® der the oppression of their mother count^| finally gave rise to the effectual inve® tigalion of the subject of human LihenH and Unman rights. The result ot this ligation was tuat our lathers were ena^H to have higher conceptions and a^H extended knowledge of human l.ib.fl human government and human rgiit.®®® perhaps ouy people upon earth, who h \.fj§§ investigated and reached decisions mind on these lofty thems. After they h.H become established in their minds on the® grand questions, then the great inquiry w.-H what will be the most avalable policy ol our part to put us as a people [politically] i® such position as will be most congenial un® compatible with our highest and grand*® interest, both religiously aud politically® After they had employed every means, an® exhausted their efforts in seeking redreHl for multiplied rungs endured, they wer® theu driven to the last resort, which wn9j| declaration of their Independence as a pet® pie. Then followed, what has since bee® called, the Rkvolctiosaiiy Wak. After seven years of bloody strife, ti^B people of these Un ted Colonies snccee'ile^ in the grand achievement of their declared i Independence. Then the great question wa3 what course will we take in order no } i to abuse the Independenc] and liberty weii have gained. They no doubt realised the® responsibility that was upon them. They® felt that the destiny of the nation in its® progress and iti its results was then resting® on tneir shoulders. And not only the des-® tiny of their own country, but that of thel other nations of Earth was to bo effected bij the course pursued by the people ofJ® United States. jf" Then year after year bl® peop'e earnestly seeking Jr® ject of the basis of the Unix® succeeded in framing a .V]H tion, the same being submitted al jfied by the people, became the compact® the nation, and the organic law by wbicl® the people of^thc United States were to b® governed. This law in the verry nature o® things, requires the allegiance of the peoplfl dne first, to the general government, as i® was by virtue of the power growing out o'■ the Uuiou ot the States, that the great ene'fl my of our country was conquered, and the® blessings of Liberty and good governments were vouchsaled to every citizen ot our Ke- s public. ,1 But while the Consti'ution of the U. S. jl is supreme, and rightfully claims our first® allegiance to the general government, yet® there is no provision or requisition in the® organic law of the nation which is ineom-l patible with any interest whatever ot the® states of the Union, or the eitiz, ns of®| states. We see in the history h|® o^yjfl ted States, there have ever :o overcome from the time o:H tlement of the Little colony H .,j river at Jamestown in itlij? ® J cation of the Con.-titmion 3 States, several years alter I Great Britton. When these colonies were® sometimes did seem to pros™ then seemingly they would a away. Oft times troubled by] often by disease, and sometfmj among themselves. The rol them and their mother couutr volved the greatast dificulty ol connected with their existenct® od; and to add to the seril dificulty there was dissension!® selves. Notwithstanding all ® they fiually reeolved to to cifl England and risk the constqtao comes the gteatest dificulty | they had ever met. > A seven! and that which added no little? terror was unprincipled men anJ among themselves. But notwitb these dificulties the people persevered emigrating and replenishing the countv till the original thirteeo'states were popv luted sufieiently to look after and take ctH of tbeir interest as colonies, After t VI people bad passed through this stage of tfc! existence, new dificulties and obsticles 1- I before them. Their agricultural inter® ( were to look^after; their edncatonal; ibeil