Happy 250th Birthday America!

Patriots all! (click to enlarge)Two hundred and fifty years ago today, a group of men gathered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and committed the ultimate act of treason against their Mother country– England. They signed a document, called the “Declaration of Independence,” effectively telling King George III and the British government that the “Colonies” were now independent and a new sovereign nation. Enough! Hands off! This was a huge gamble as only a minority of the population, about 40-45%, supported succession and wanted to be free of what they felt was tyrannical rule. About 15-20% remained loyalists to the Crown. The rest, 35-45% or so, tried to stay out of the fray. If this effort failed, they all would be executed for treason. If successful, a new nation is born “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal,” as was stated by President Abraham Lincoln in November of 1863 in Gettysburg, again, in Pennsylvania.What is often forgotten is…