Happy 4th of July 2024, America

0:07 Welcome to the Theory to Action podcast, where we examine the timeless treasures of wisdom from the great books in less time, to help you take action immediately and ultimately to create and lead a flourishing life Now. Here's your host, David Kaiser flourishing life Now here's your host, david Kaiser. Hello, I am David and welcome back to another Mojo Minute. And happy Fourth of July everyone Now. On July 4, 1776, our founding fathers gathered in Philadelphia to sign the Declaration of Independence. This was a bold move. It wasn't just about listing grievances or protests.

0:48 They had done all that before. What made this document truly remarkable was its decisiveness to take action on getting independence for these free states these 13 free states and replacing colonial rule. They committed fully to this vision, even pledging their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. Now fast forward some 248 years and our great democratic experiment in republican government is in crisis right now, but I'm confident we will see it through.

1:29 Now let us recall our past 4th of July episodes. Three years ago, in our inaugural podcast For the fourth, we covered President John F Kennedy's stirring words at Independence Hall in Philadelphia in 1962. We follow that up with William F Buckley's riveting address in 1979 regarding our nation's founding. Plus, we offer that beautiful rendition by Ray Charles singing America, the Beautiful Ray Charles singing America, the Beautiful, fantastic rendition One of my favorites. Two years ago we covered President Abraham Lincoln's metaphor that the declaration was the apple of gold framed with the picture of silver, which was the Constitution it's a wonderful metaphor by our great 16th president.

2:24 Last year we covered the monumental battles of Gettysburg, which happened over the 4th of July holiday in 1863. And then we also covered Vicksburg, which occurred over the months leading up to the final victory in Vicksburg, on that same day, july 4th 1863. In Vicksburg, on that same day, july 4th 1863. So today let's get the meaning and the root of why we are celebrating our national birthday today the founding of this great country. Now, obviously, the 4th of July, also known as Independence Day, is the date which commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th 1776.

3:10 It's a historic document. Was ratified by the Second Continental Congress. It declared the 13 American colonies free and independent from British rule, marking the birth of the United States of America. But let's stop there, because that paragraph will just roll off the tongue of most Americans, because we've all gotten it from our civic and government classes in high school. Now we're finding out that some schools now are no longer even teaching these facts, that some schools now are no longer even teaching these facts. And what did our 40th president of the United States tell us about this?

3:50 What did he remind us about this freedom. That would be Ronald Reagan's famous quote about freedom, which says freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on to them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States when men were free, what it was once like in the United States when men were free. So let us ensure today that we understand our history and that we can pass it along.

4:31 One of the best ways to do that is by reading the good and great history books. Now we recommend it's our most recommended history book to understand the United States and that United States story fairly and fully. Not the rubbish that some of the kids are reading today in the form of Howard Zinn, but our book that we recommend most heartily is Wilford MacLeay's Land of Hope, very easy to get on Amazon. Well, let's turn to that book to understand what was happening at the time of the birth of our country. Go on to the book.

5:15 Declaring independence was the easy part. It was not hard to produce a convincing manifesto and advance the glorious cause and elegant and ringing words. It was not hard to manage a few small and scattered military triumphs, even if they depended on the element of surprise and were more than little pinpricks that served to annoy the British and frustrate their intentions. But soon the immensity of the task ahead became clear. In warnings and admonitions of men like John Dickinson. A patriot who had nevertheless opposed the Declaration, deriding it as a skiff made of paper, began to seem prophetic.

6:00 How on earth did the American revolutionary leaders imagine that they could prevail against the greatest military power in the most powerful empire in the world? They went into the struggle with huge disadvantages. To begin with, the country, which was hardly even a country yet, was not fully united in embracing the revolutionary cause. We often assume that everyone in the colonies was solidly on board for independence, but that was far from the case. It's hard to know for sure, but perhaps as many as one-third of the Americans remained loyal to the crown and opposed the revolution. Another third seemed to be indifferent to the outcome and the remaining third who supported independence had divergent motives for doing so.

6:48 And the emerging country did not have yet a coherent or effective national political organization. So, as we've already seen, the declaration itself was carefully ambitious, ambiguous as to exactly what kind of national union these quote free and independent states were going to form eventually. So there was no unity in the colonies at our founding, just like we have read there. No unity in the colonies that are founding, just like we have read there.

7:30 You have to remember that the revolutionary war kicks off one year earlier, in April 1775. So many people think the writing of the declaration happens and then we go to war from there. No, no, no. We were fighting for almost a year and three months before we write, before the declaration is penned. So it isn't until 1776, one year and some two and a half months later, that we actually have the declaration adopted on July 4th, actually have the declaration adopted on July 4th. But, just like the land of hope reminds us, it wasn't like we adopted the declaration and everything was a bed of roses.

8:13 We were in the middle of a war, a war with the most powerful country in the world. That war would last essentially another seven to eight years, until 1783, with a formal surrender at the Treaty of Paris which recognized the independence of the United States. Now one could say that Cornwallis surrendering at Yorktown in October of 1781, effectively ended the major fighting, and you would be right. But again, there were still two more years of sporadic fighting all over the colonies until the official surrender in 1783, in September.

8:58 So again, it's important to remember that the first two years, starting in 1775 and even a little bit longer, of our country, it was not certain. The outcome of the war, in fact for the whole war itself it was not certain. But especially those first two years, 1775, all the way to the end of 1777. Let's go through the battles and the losses, because most folks think we start a war and we win all the battles. It's not the way war works. So Lexington and Concord kicks off.

9:41 Yes, minor skirmish probably caught the Redcoats, the British, off kilter, didn't know what was happening. So that was a minor skirmish, could you say. It's a victory. Sure, but then we have the Battle of Bunker Hill and although we demonstrated strong resistance, the British ultimately, or we ultimately, lost the battle due to running out of ammunition, of all things. Now, the British had suffered major casualties as well and they managed to take the Charlestown Peninsula.

10:22 But then we move on to the end of 1775, december 31st, battle of Quebec, major defeat for the Americans. We attempted to capture Quebec and got throttled. British and French Canadian forces successfully repelled our attack, resulting in significant American casualties and the death of General Richard Montgomery. Then we move to the hot summer of 1776. Now this is the Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, first major battle after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. British forces, led by General William Howe, outflanked and defeated the American troops, forced General George Washington to retreat to Manhattan.

11:11 Once he gets to Manhattan, a month later, battle of Kipps Bay, the British land on Manhattan and our defenses quickly collapse, leading to another significant loss and another retreat by Washington. This is where he escapes across the river in the fog, providential fog as it was. Then we have the Battle of White Plains, one month later, in 1776. British continue to pursue us in New York, 1776. British continue to pursue us in New York.

11:52 They defeat us at White Plains, forced Washington to withdraw further north. Then we have the Battle of Fort Washington, november 16th, 1776. This is where the British capture the fort on Manhattan Island and they take nearly 3,000 American prisoners. This is a severe, severe blow to the Continental Army morale and much of our resources. So again, it isn't until the day after Christmas, 1776, at the Battle of Trenton, that we essentially get our first major victory.

12:33 Now I will remind you that we've covered this with the christmas miracle of 1776. It's mojo, minute 76. We will put it in the? Uh, we'll put it in the the notes. But that battle, just to sum up, the battle of Trenton, december 26th 1776, it was a pivotal battle. Uh, general George Washington crosses the Delaware at night in a driving snowstorm, achieves a surprise victory over Hessian forces stationed in Trenton, new Jersey. This victory was crucial, crucial in restoring American morale after a whole string and series of defeats.

13:16 But then you fast forward and you get to the end of the war. And after we win the war, 1781, surrender at Yorktown. Or 1783, official Treaty of Paris. Was it easy sailing then, heavens, no. Then we had to create a constitution. Then we actually had to govern. Then we actually had to govern. And remember, at the time we were working under the Articles of Confederation since roughly November of 1776, but those articles were just far too weak. We could not do anything. Let's go back to our book for one more fantastic quote.

14:04 But the immediate task at hand was how to devise institutions that could fulfill the republican aspirations that had inspired the revolutionary effort in the first place, while providing the unity needed to carry out the functions of a national government. The newly independent americans were determined to get along without a monarch and to vindicate the possibility of republican self-rule. But how to do it? Those among the founding generation were conversant in the history of previous republics, especially those in classical antiquity, knew that the single most common characteristic of a republic was its fragility.

14:45 Everything depended upon the virtuous character of a citizenry, on their willingness to live as George Washington had done and placed the public's well-being over and above their own personal interest. Such civic virtue was exceedingly rare and hard to sustain in a whole society. The size and scale of a republic also mattered. Philosophers such as Aristotle and Montesquieu had argued that a republic had to be relatively small if it were to maintain itself as a republic, large nations tended to either fall apart into discord or to be transformed into empires under monarchical rule.

15:30 The historical example of Rome haunted the early Americans for that very reason. The Roman Republic had become strong through marital and civic virtues of its hardy citizenry. The Roman Empire had fallen into dissolution from the decadence and corruption of its spoiled and self-interest inhabitants. Many Americans feared the Great Britain in the age of George III was following the same downward path and they wanted above all else to spare themselves that fate. It's interesting to note that the British government of the late 1700s was still on the rise at the time.

16:12 They would end up fighting a Napoleon at Trafalgar in 1805 and Waterloo in 1815. They would come back to the American continent in the War of 1812 to 1815. They would burn our executive mansion, thus giving it the name the White House after it was repainted. And then the British government would go on to India and Russia and South Africa and would fight also in the First World War. It would not peter out until 1945, at the end of World War II, when the American Republic took over as the one of two superpowers in the world.

16:55 So those that thought at the end of the 1700s that the British were on their last leg would have been surprised, because they lasted a long, long time. But in today's 4th of July celebration, we're always we always here at the Mojo Academy recommend the reading of the Declaration of Independence. It takes roughly about five minutes. It would be a fitting gift to give to our country to understand it a little bit better, especially as we are in these days of crisis. So today I want to wish you a very happy Fourth of July, america, and may God continue to shed his grace on thee.

17:41 Thank you.

18:39 Thank you for joining us. We hope you enjoyed this Theory to Action podcast. Be sure to check out our show page at teammojoacademycom, where we have everything we discussed in this podcast, as well as other great resources. Until next time, keep getting your mojo on.