The Second Continental Congress adoptedthe final draft of the Declaration of Independence, which had been submitted by committee on June 28, 1776. Its final words came on the heels of now-familiar assertions of the natural rights of man and the duties of both governments and governed and summarized the formal announcement of the thirteen colonies to a watching world: “We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States…and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. 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.”
These words not only set the tone for a new experiment in government but also set an example of dedication that would be echoed in the sacrifice of countless others would give their own lives, fortunes and sacred honor to protect the freedom so dearly bought and painstakingly established. The path of these 250 years of what George Washington defined in his first inaugural address as the “the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people,” is replete with suffering and joy, challenge and victory. The blessings of liberty are made sweeter by the realization that they have been secured and retained by many who have understood and echoed the words of Jesus in John 15: “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
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