Friday, June 10, 2005

Another “On this day…”

(This is a Patriot’s Journey post. Others joining in are Alex, Scott, JimK, and Moorewatch. If you wish to join in, feel free.)

On June 10, 1776, 229 years ago, the presiding officer of the Continental Congress, a merchant by the name of John Hancock, directed Thomas Jefferson to sit down and write a letter. That directive was the seminal moment of our nation, and everything that we have done as a nation since that time all trace back to that one day.

The addressee of that letter? King George III of England.

The more common title of that letter? The Declaration of Independence.

That rolling and lyrical prose ("When in the Course of human events...") still gets me right here every time I read it.