america

The Day We Almost Chose:  A Reflection on July 4th, History, and the Hope for Unity

/ Matthew Hamilton / Leave a comment

This year, I’ll be spending the Fourth of July with my wife and our best friends. There may be fireworks. There will be laughter. And there will be a quiet moment—maybe just for me—when I pause and think about what this day really means.

I’ve always loved history. I’m not a teacher yet, but I hope to be. I want to help students see that history isn’t just about dates and battles—it’s about the choices that shape our past. And one of the most important choices in American history happened not on July 4, but on July 2.

That was the day, in 1776, when the Continental Congress voted for independence. John Adams believed July 2 would be remembered as the great American holiday. He imagined future generations celebrating with “pomp and parade… bonfires and illuminations.” He was only off by two days. On July 4, Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence, and that date became etched into our national memory.

But I keep coming back to July 2. The vote. The decision. The moment we said yes to something bold and unfinished.

The Declaration of Independence is a beautiful document. It speaks of unalienable rights—life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. It claims that all men are created equal. But from the beginning, those words were more aspiration than reality. Enslaved people remained in chains. Women were excluded. Indigenous nations were erased from the vision of the republic.

One of the most powerful reflections came from Frederick Douglass, who delivered a speech on July 5, 1852, in Rochester, New York, titled “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” Speaking to a crowd gathered by the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society, Douglass honored the courage of the Founders—but then turned to the painful contradiction at the heart of the celebration:

“This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.”

His words weren’t meant to divide—they were meant to awaken. To remind the nation that liberty, if it is to mean anything, must be for everyone.

This year, I feel this tension more than ever. Because of my past cancer, I can’t enjoy the grilled foods I used to love. My body reminds me every day that freedom—true freedom—is fragile. Yet, I still believe in the promise of this country. I still believe in the power of memory, of reflection, and of choosing hope.

I’m also deeply grateful for those who’ve defended that promise—our veterans, our active-duty service members, and those who serve even when the cost is high. This year, my thoughts are especially with the soldiers who are being asked to leave the military, some unwillingly, not because of their performance or dedication, but because of who they are. Many of them have served with honor, deployed overseas, and led with courage. Their sacrifice, like that of all who wear the uniform, deserves to be remembered.

I know we’re a divided nation. We’ve been divided before. It’s often said—perhaps more myth than math—that only a third of colonists supported independence in 1776. Whether or not that’s accurate, it reminds us that America has always been a nation of debate, disagreement, and difficult choices. The Civil War, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement—each was a reckoning. Each forced us to ask: Who are we? And who do we want to be?

Unity, when it has come, has often been forged in crisis. But what if we didn’t wait for crisis? What if we chose unity—not uniformity, but shared purpose—on ordinary days, too?

What if we remembered July 2 as the day we chose independence, and July 4 as the day we committed to its ideals?

What if we saw this holiday not just as a celebration, but as a challenge?

“We hold these truths to be self-evident…”

Are they? For everyone?

I write this not to lecture, but to wonder. To hope. To remember that democracy isn’t a finished product. It’s a draft. A living document. A promise we keep revising.

This July 4, I’ll be celebrating. I’ll be surrounded by people I love. I’ll be thinking about the stories we tell—and the ones we’re still writing.

Because I love this country enough to ask more of it. And I believe the story of America isn’t over yet.

Did You Know? – The Continental Congress voted for independence on July 2, 1776. – The engrossed copy of the Declaration—the one now in the National Archives—was mainly signed on August 2, 1776. – Three U.S. presidents and Founding Fathers—John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe—died on July 4. – Calvin Coolidge is the only U.S. president born on the Fourth of July.

Your Turn: What does independence mean to you this year? What truths do you still hope we’ll hold as self-evident? I’d love to hear your reflections, feel free to share in the comments or reach out directly.

Sources:

John Trumbull’s 1819 painting, Declaration of Independence, depicts the five-man drafting committee of the Declaration of Independence presenting their work to the Second Continental Congress.