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Home Page > Blogs > News blogs > Periscope > July 4th the Declaration of Independence and the revolution that began all revolutions

Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

July 4th the Declaration of Independence and the revolution that began all revolutions

Posted on Monday, July 04, 2011 at 12:02 AM

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tullyallen | Jul 13, 2011, 03:52 AM EDT

bunch of WASPS fighting over taxes

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rpmschevy | Jul 07, 2011, 01:27 PM EDT

Bunker I am a little older so some history lessons are lost so I cannot remember if I read about Timothy Murphy, although I am sure I did. However, you mention David McCullough and I have read some of his work, including the part of John Adams, a brilliant thinker, and of course Ken Follett. He writes period pieces that really put you in time. That is what my professors, not liberals, not conservatives, not progressives, but thinkers they were. They told us to study, and most importantly if you are to Judge the people of the time, you have place yourself in that time. Then you can judge fairly. Unfortunately for me my family did not keep a history so it is great when I read about others. Your family are Patriots. We need more.

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bunkerhill | Jul 07, 2011, 06:56 AM EDT

Thanks rpmschevy. We are fortunate that several members of our family kept records, we have an unusual last name, and the New England Geneology Society also kept great records. Believe it or not we were back at war in 1812 when the royalty of England decided to take over again. To the north of us, prior to the Revolutionary war, Canadians received an edict from King George that he had confiscated all their land and given it to his cousin Ruppert. The royal never left his palace to confiscate a huge part of the new continent. Also the Americans have a long memory of how the British army took their crops and cut down their trees for ballast. They were being treated the same way as they were in old blighty. I hope you know about Timothy Murphy. He was a young freedom fighter whose aim was so accurate he was chosen to pick off the British general, and he succeeded. Also I am sure you know that David McCullough in his book about President John Adams writes that the concept that all men are created equal originated in Ireland. I can also tell you that anyone from England, Scotland or Wales who thinks they were treated any better than the Irish by the royals will get a rude awakening if they read. Ken Follett, a historical novelist, tells what life was like from the eleventh century on under the crazed royals. A new book by an American, Debra Swiss, called "The Tin Ticket" tells the true story of life in Britannia. Also do you know how the terms "WASPS" originated in the US. At the start of WWI, the people in power realized that the largest population in the country was German as it has been from the beginning. Some smart fellow came up with the term "White Anglo-Saxon Protestant" to tamp down the animosity directed towards the Germans and to make the early population believe they had common roots. We need more History students like yourself. God bless the USA and The Republic of Ireland. My wife is Irish-American.

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maloney | Jul 05, 2011, 10:15 PM EDT

Freedom has never been free. America is full of slugs.

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rpmschevy | Jul 05, 2011, 10:03 PM EDT

jm you better get your facts straight dear one. Did you not read Bunkers little piece and the revisionist history taught, not by a Tea Party member, but I am sure a card carrying member of the political left. The Declaration is about Freedom. Obama and the "progressives" are not about Freedom, they are about taking my hard earned dollars and giving it to someone else. About teaching that America, and the Declaration and our Constitution are not he greatest nation on earth. That our Founding Fathers were not dynamic political thinkers to be studied and appreciated but hated. So get your facts straight. It is the Republicans and Democrats who listen to lobbyists and not the voters. It is both who want to take our Freedoms away.

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rpmschevy | Jul 05, 2011, 09:59 PM EDT

First bunker, that is very cool about your family history and having someone who helped in the process of creating this great country. Very cool indeed from an American History college graduate. I have been to Bunker Hill and some of the historical places, although briefly, in Boston and in Ct.

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jmchrystal | Jul 05, 2011, 07:05 PM EDT

And now, the radical right wants to destroy this "beautiful thing"!

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eiriamach | Jul 05, 2011, 05:48 PM EDT

Several years ago, students at a large California university conducted a survey with the Declaration of Independence. They went door-to-door, read a few sentences from the Declaration to the people who answered the doors, and asked each person whether he or she would sign this "petition." An overwhelming number of people refused to sign. They said that the document sounded "far too radical"! Some said it sounded "communist." The government exists to serve the people, not vice versa-- radical? The people have the right and duty to change the laws of the government, even to overthrow the government entirely and start fresh with a new form of government, when the government officials fail to defend their inalienable rights or when the government deprives them of their inalienable rights-- radical? Yes, it certainly was radical, and apparently it still is. How many of us would sign the Declaration of Independence today if we had the opportunity? As Jefferson recognized, political freedom is not a way of life for slouchers or for people who need authority figures to make decisions for them.

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peterson | Jul 05, 2011, 01:59 PM EDT

Why couldn't Ireland celebrate their own Independence Day ?

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bunkerhill | Jul 05, 2011, 10:26 AM EDT

God Bless the USA. My family came here in 1719 and I have an ancestor commemorated on Bunker Hill. The outnumbered young Americans were able to pick off the British because they were brought up shooting small game for food and were excellent marksmen. They didn't miss. Most famous among the Americans was a young man named Timothy Murphy. There was a documentary on PBS naming him in the top three men who brought the USA about because he shot a vital English General which brought about an unfortunate chain of events for the British. In a recent local senior history class however, the teacher left Murphy out of the story. When questioned he backed down but refused to give Murphy the full credit saying he wasn't sure. The teacher also went on about how proud he was of his "English" roots. It was a subtle but vital and deliberate distortion of history and that is why we need an anti-defamation league. The fireworks were beautiful, especially Boston's with the Boston pops. Erica Hill on her CBS morning show opened with five minutes of gushing on Wills and Kate. We thought that was a travesty on our Independence day,and felt so sorry for all the American military families. Erica in the past, also spent an enormous amount of air time gushing about the royal wedding and everything British. We wish Erica would go to England and put her tax money where her mouth is. Great piece Niall.

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maloney | Jul 04, 2011, 06:42 PM EDT

Good piece Niall, the lads in Cairo won't be getting the same though.

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carrickcourt | Jul 04, 2011, 03:46 PM EDT

Always like to take time on Independence Day (4th of July)to read the Declaration of Independence. Of course the signers of the Declaration of Independence included Irish men and persons of Irish descent.

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