Fourth of July (Independence Day)

My name is Thomas Jefferson, and I want to tell you about a very hot summer that changed the world forever. The year was 1776, and I was in a city called Philadelphia. The air was thick and sticky, and the horse-drawn carriages kicked up dust from the cobblestone streets. I, along with many other men from the thirteen American colonies, was a delegate to the Second Continental Congress. We met inside a big brick building that would later be called Independence Hall. Every day, we would sit in that stuffy room, fanning ourselves with papers, and talk about a very big, and very scary, idea. You see, we felt that the ruler of Great Britain, King George III, was not treating us fairly. He was like a principal who lived all the way across the ocean, making rules for our school without ever asking the students or teachers what they thought. He made us pay taxes on things like tea and paper, but we didn't have anyone to speak for us in his government. We believed this was wrong. We dreamed of a new kind of country, one where the people themselves would be in charge. The feeling in that room was a mix of excitement and nervousness. We knew that standing up to a king was a dangerous thing to do, but the dream of freedom was too powerful to ignore.

Soon, the other delegates gave me a very important job. They asked me to write down all the reasons why we wanted to be a new, independent country. They wanted me to write a declaration. I felt the weight of this task with every step I took back to the rooms I was renting. For many days, I sat at a small wooden desk I had designed myself. Often, I wrote late into the night by the flickering light of a candle. The only sound was the scratching of my quill pen on the parchment paper. I thought very carefully about each word. I wanted the whole world to understand what we were fighting for. I wrote that there are some truths that are obvious to everyone, like the idea that all people are created equal. I wrote that every person has rights that no king or government can take away. The most important of these are the right to 'Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.' This meant people should be able to live safely, be free to make their own choices, and have the chance to build a life that brings them joy. When I finished my first draft, I didn't just show it to the whole Congress right away. I shared it with some of my trusted friends, like the wise old Benjamin Franklin and the passionate John Adams. We would gather and they would read my words. Mr. Franklin, peering over his spectacles, would suggest a different word here or there to make the meaning clearer. Mr. Adams, who had a powerful voice for independence, would argue for a stronger phrase. It was teamwork. We were all shaping this important message together, preparing the words that would announce the birth of a new nation to the world.

Finally, the day came. It was July 4th, 1776. The air in Independence Hall felt even hotter and more tense than usual. We debated and discussed the final words of the document I had written. Then, it was time to vote. One by one, the colonies agreed. The Declaration of Independence was adopted. A wave of relief and incredible joy swept through the room. We had done it. We had declared ourselves a new, free nation. We were no longer colonies, but the United States of America. Soon, the sound of bells began to ring out all over Philadelphia. The great bell in the steeple of our building, which you now know as the Liberty Bell, rang loud and clear. Its sound was a celebration, a birthday announcement for our entire country. Looking back, I see that those words I wrote were more than just an explanation. They were a promise. A promise of freedom and fairness for a new nation. Every year, when you see fireworks light up the night sky on the Fourth of July, you are celebrating that hot summer day and the birth of that promise. You are part of the story, keeping the dream of America alive. My role was to put the feelings of a people into words, and those words helped create a birthday for a country built on the hope of freedom for all.