Mayor's Corner
By: Mayor Will O’Neill
As we celebrate our nation’s independence, we can and should remember four key dates from the epochal year that was 1776.
July 2, 1776. The Continental Congress voted on this date for our nation’s independence. John Adams actually believed that July 2 should be considered our Independence Day, a day that should “be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with show, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to another, from this time forward forevermore.”
Why, then, do we celebrate our independence on July 4?
July 4, 1776. The answer is simple: the written Declaration of Independence is dated July 4. That’s as good a reason as any!
August 2, 1776. Though dated July 4, the Declaration of Independence wasn’t actually signed until August 2. Even then, not all 56 signers actually signed on this date.
December 25, 1776. A prominent historian has argued that no single day in history was more decisive for the creation of the United States than Christmas 1776, when 2,500 men of the Continental Army commanded by George Washington surprised British forces after crossing a storm-churned and partially-frozen Delaware River. The night before this daring mission, General Washington wrote a note. It said simply: Victory or Death. For some men fighting for Washington, they experienced both.
These dates and the actions before and after them all, remind us all that ours is a nation forged in revolution, whose freedom was won with the bravery and blood of patriots. Please celebrate our nation’s independence by flying our star-spangled banner and remember that you do so in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Mayor Will O’Neill is serving his second term as Mayor of Newport Beach, having previously served in 2020.
Follow on IG @realwilloneill
