From an essay by John W. Whitehead of The Rutherford Institute. The article can be found here.
We see the romanticized portraits of those who signed the Declaration of Independence and really don’t consider what they risked to bring us the liberties that we enjoy. They might well shudder with rage to see how easily we consider giving up those rights when it seems expedient to us.
Take a look at the excerpt (upper right) which lists some of the lessor known patriots who were signatory to the Declaration of Independence and the not so pleasant fates they met after signing the document that marked the birth of our nation. Some lost their lives, some lost the lives of their families and some lost fortunes, all of which they pledged to the cause of Independence.
As July 4th rolls around on the calendar, all Americans should be cognizant of the sacrifices of the past as well as the sacrifices of those currently serving in our military to protect the rights and liberties we enjoy. It did not end with declaring independence. No, our independence had to be forcibly taken and now, just as they did then, we need to cherish it and fight to maintain it.
The except in the captioned box is taken from an essay on the signers of the Declaration of Independence by Rush H. Limbaugh Jr., distributed by the Federalist Magazine.
—ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu
Memorial Day was originally know as Decoration Day. May was chosen for this observance as May is the month where the greatest number of flowers are in bloom across the nation. While various cities and towns argue about who originated Decoration Day, it is generally accepted that it was begun by southern women decorating the graves of fallen confederate soldiers and that it began before the Civil War ended. Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.
