A reading of the Declaration of Independence July 4 in Maxwell Library Park

Hear ye! Hear ye! A declaration from the Second Continental Congress! Thus will begin, on July 4 at 11:00 a.m., the reading of the Declaration of Independence from the stage in Maxwell Library Park, 1708 Third ST, adjacent to the Main Tillamook County Library.

A group of 20 women and men will take turns reading the document that set the colonies on the road to freedom – a document that was approved unanimously on July 4, 1776, by the 56 men who made up the Second Continental Congress, signed by John Hancock, president of the Congress, and certified by the congressional secretary. These men represented the thirteen colonies under British rule. By the time the Declaration of Independence was ratified, the colonies had been in armed rebellion against the British Crown for over a year. The Declaration decisively broke the bond between the colonies and the British Empire. The war would last another seven years.

The Declaration of Independence laid the foundation for the Constitution that began its governing life in 1789. Abraham Lincoln named the Declaration “an immortal emblem of humanity.” The Declaration asserts that “all men are created equal,” and that they have the right to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It lays out the grievances of the colonists, some of which may be recognized in the Bill of Rights. It emphasizes the tolerance the colonists showed as they sought redress for their grievances. It points out that their petitions have not been addressed, and that the king, “whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be ruler of a free people.” Then, 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 …”

The Declaration of Independence has been an inspiration over the past 248 years to well over 100 nations as they fought for their freedom from colonial governments. It is the document at the heart of American Independence Day celebrations.

This reading is sponsored by the Tillamook Association for the Performing Arts (TAPA) and the Tillamook County Library. It is free and the public is encouraged to attend.