I am a big fan of American History, and history in general.
“COOL FACTS”
for the Fourth of July…
* On June 24, 1826, Thomas Jefferson sent a letter to Roger C. Weightman, declining an invitation to come to Washington, D.C., to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It was the last letter that Jefferson, who was gravely ill, ever wrote.
* Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on Independence Day, July 4, 1826.
* The 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence did not sign at the same time, nor did they sign on July 4, 1776. The official event occurred on August 2, 1776, when 50 men signed it. (Getting that many signers to show up all at once was probably a big thing back then if you know what I mean.)
* The names of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were withheld from the public for more than six months to protect the signers. If independence had not been achieved, the treasonable act of the signers would have, by law, resulted in their deaths. (Things were a lot different back then. They took a big chance signing that document.)
* Thomas McKean was the last to sign in January, 1777. (They didn’t have the internet, or they could have signed that way for sure.)
* The origin of Uncle Sam probably began in 1812, when Samuel Wilson was a meat packer who provided meat to the US Army. The meat shipments were stamped with the initials, U.S. Someone joked that the initials stood for “Uncle Sam”. This joke eventually led to the idea of Uncle Sam symbolizing the United States government. (Believe it or not Uncle Sam is seen in a good way a lot of times, and a bad way some of the time.)
>>>JOKE of the MONTH<<<
O |
nce, in the 1800’s, there was a little boy playing around his house. He was twirling around, and suddenly, he knocked over the outhouse. Frightened that he would be caught, he ran into the woods and didn’t come out until
it got dark. When he arrived back home, his father was waiting for him. He asked suspiciously,”Son, did you knock over the outhouse?”
“No, father,” the son lied. “Well, let me tell you a story,” said the father. “Once, not that long ago, Abraham Lincoln received a shiny new axe from his father. Excited, he tried it out on a tree, swiftly cutting it down. But as he looked at the tree, with dismay he realized it was his mother’s favorite cherry tree,” his father paused.” just like you, he ran into the woods.
When he returned, his father asked, ‘Did you cut down the cherry tree?’ Abraham answered with,’Father, I cannot tell a lie. I did indeed chop down the tree.’
Then the father said, ‘Well, since you were honest with me, you are spared from punishment. I hope you have learned your lesson, though.’ So,” the little boy’s father asked again,” did you knock down the outhouse?””Father, I cannot tell a lie.” said the little boy. “I did indeed knock down the outhouse.” Then the father spanked the little boy red, white, and blue. The boy whimpered,”Father, I told you the truth! Why did you spank me?”
The father answered, “That’s because Abraham Lincoln’s father wasn’t in the tree when he chopped it down!”