Hi, this is Jim Denison from Denison Forum, and this is the Daily

Article from Monday, July 2, 2018.

John Adams attended the Second Continental Congress, which began meeting in Philadelphia on July 1, 1776.

The next day, the delegates voted in favor of America's independence.

On July 3rd, Adams wrote to his beloved wife Abigail,

The second day of July 1776 will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America.

He added, I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the

greatest anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the

day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized

with pomp and parade with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations

from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore.

He was off by two days.

John Adams was a Harvard-educated lawyer who led our nation's negotiations for peace with Great

Britain.

From 1785 to 1788, he was ministered to the Court of St. James in London.

He returned to become our nation's first vice president,

and later was elected our second president. He was one of the most brilliant and accomplished

men in American history. How could he have gotten the birthday of our nation so wrong?

On July 4th, the delegates in Philadelphia adopted Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence.

History would celebrate their decision as the birthday of the new nation, even though they

only formalized what they actually decided two days earlier.

By the way, the delegates did not actually sign the declaration for another month, but that's

...