Happy Birthday America!

In June of 1776 a committee of five politicians; John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston and Roger Sherman, were tasked with drafting a declaration of independence from the English. The War for Independence had been raging for over a year and the politicians felt it was time to officially separate from the Crown.

It took roughly 3 weeks to put together the document, which went through re-writes and revisions and on July 1^st it was time for Congress to put the final draft on the table and get to voting. After a day of votes, arguments and speeches the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 2, 1776 with twelve “Yea” votes and one abstention vote.  

Over the next five months a total of 56 delegates signed the document with John Hancock signing first on July 4, 1776 when the final document was approved for printing. The final signature was Matthew Thornton on November 4, 1776. Additionally it is believed that the document that was signed and is currently on display in the National Archives is not the original document nor the only one to remain. The original document that was submitted to Congress in June 1776 was destroyed while it was being re-written and edited, it is also believed that there were up to 200 Declarations printed up and sent to politicians around the country with 26 copies still known to survive.

There have been a couple of Declaration of Independence depictions on cardboard over the years, most recently by Topps and Upper Deck. One of my favorite depictions comes from the 1930 R129 American History release. The cards were issued in strips so it is common to see the cards cut off-center or even ripped where they were separated. They were your typical 1920-1930s color illustrations that actually looked like water color paintings. Beautiful and educational.

 

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe day celebrating our nation’s independence.

Happy 4th Of july!

 

 

Happy Independence Day!

I hope you all have a happy and safe 4^th of July

Independance Day

Each year on July 4th American’s celebrate the country’s independence from Great Britain and the tyranny of King George III. Fireworks and barbeques litter the landscape as people scream and shout in honor of our forefathers who were willing to stand up for what they felt was right. What a majority of these revelers do not realize is that July 4, 1776 is not actually completely accurate. The truth is that the call for independence began in June of 1776 and the architects of the Declaration of Independence (John Adams and Thomas Jefferson) felt that the true day to celebrate was July 2^nd.

On June 7, 1776 Richard Henry Lee of Virginia stood before the other delegates of the Continental Congress and stated “That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved."

On July 1, 1776 Lee’s resolution was adopted and on July 2^nd five men began the frame work for the declaration with Thomas Jefferson writing it and John Adams and Benjamin Franklin working with him to decide the revisions. The Declaration of Independence was completed on July 4^th , the document required all 13 Colonies to approve it before it could be issued and only 12 Colonies approved it that day. New York did not officially approve the declaration until July 9^th. The July 4^th Declaration of Independence was only signed by 2 men, John Hancock, Congress President, and Charles Thomson, Congress Secretary.

The Declaration of Independence was not signed by the 56 delegates until August 2, 1776 with a few politicians actually refusing to sign in hopes of reconciling with Great Britain. It was Philadelphia that held a commemoration ceremony on July 4, 1777 that started this as the date of independence but as you can see there are a number of dates that can be accepted, June 7^th for Lee’s resolution, July 1^st for the day the resolution was approved, July 2^nd for the day that the Declaration of Independence was begun, July 4^th for the day that it was submitted to Congress and signed by Hancock and Thomson, July 9^th for the day that all 13 Colonies approved the document or even August 2^nd for the day that the final delegates signed thus making it official.

No matter how you look at it, were it not for the unity of 13 colonies standing up for their right to refuse taxation without representation we would not be able to celebrate their sacrifices 236 years later and for that we should thank them.

Independance Day

Happy Independence Day to everyone

I was reading about a survey that was done last month and sadly people seem to be losing their history or to be more exact not learning their history. In this survey only 58% of all Americans are aware that our country declared independence in 1776. Even worse, for those under the age of 30 only 31% knew of our independence in 1776 and only 25% of Americans know that we declared our independence from Great Britain. I blame politicians for this debacle, let the teachers teach kids and not worry about state standardized testing to dictate how kids are taught.

 On a lighter note, Joey Chestnut continued his dominance at the annual Fourth of July Nathan's Famous Hot Dog eating contest at Coney Island. In typical form Chestnut downed 62 hot dogs in 10 minutes to win his 5^th consecutive mustard yellow belt. Takeru Kobayashi (2001-2007 Champion) stayed away from the contest after last year’s outbreak when he actually charged the stage and was arrested. This year Kobayashi held his own contest in downtown New York where he ate 69 hot dogs showing he still has dominance in the sport of competitive eating.

Say It Isn't So Kobayashi

Independence Day is a big day for Americans, but July 4th is also an important day for the IFOCE, the International Federation of Competitive Eating. Today Nathan’s Famous held their 94th Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest. A contest that draws international news and media outlets, all watching to see who can down the most dogs in a 12-minute contest.

The biggest news of the day does not center on Joey Chestnut, the winner of the last 4 Mustard Yellow Belts, but instead on 6-time Champion Takero Kobayashi who refused to sign an IFOCE contract and therefore was barred from competing in the contest this year. After the contest ended Kobayashi jumped a barrier and tried to get on to the stage but was subsequently detained and arrested. He is being charged with resisting arrest, trespassing and obstructing governmental administration.

This is truly a sad day for the IFOCE when one of the biggest competitive eating “stars” attempts to make a demonstration at one of the biggest competitive eating contests in the world. Kobayashi’s name is known worldwide and even has shown up in the 2006 Allen & Ginters set. His 2006 A&G card #312 autograph sells for well over $100 when it can be found.

If you are interested in Joey Chestnut cards, his card #109 appears in the 2008 A&G set. He also has relics and I believe an autograph in the 2008 A&G set as well.

Independance Day

Sunday we celebrate Independance Day, the 4th of July, a day when we stood together as a group, as one nation and declared our independance. While this is not a day dedicated to our armed forces, we need to thank those who have defended this nation for the last 234 years and allowed us to continue the traditions that we all have come to love... fireworks, BBQs, neighborhood parties oh, and of course did I mention ... fireworks.

Light some sparklers, grill some burgers and stay safe. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend with your families and friends.