On the 4th of July 1776 delegates from the 13 British Colonies gathered to adopt the Declaration of Independence. Thanks to British hostility and the spread of revolutionary sentiment by figures such as Thomas Paine, public opinion had shifted in favor of independence.

The men who signed the Declaration had no guarantee of safety, they had no where to go if the revolution failed, yet they signed anyways. Hope for the future outweighed the potential repercussions from failure.

July 4th marks the birth of a great nation, but also the birth of revolutionary ideas surrounding government and we, the people. Ideas which endure as a beacon of hope for all of mankind.