Article originally appeared on thefederalist.com.
Too many Americans underappreciate the meaning of holidays such as July Fourth, also known as Independence Day. While some connect fireworks with the firing of cannons in the Revolutionary War, most forget that when the 56 members of the Continental Congress agreed to put pen to parchment and affirm the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, all knew that being a signatory put a death threat on their heads as traitors to Britain.
The War of Independence was in its second year by July 1776, and George Washington’s rag-tag colonial army was about half the size of the highly trained professional British army and the German mercenary troops fighting for the English. Additionally, Washington’s army was undertrained, underequipped, and underfunded.
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