The smoke from the fireworks has cleared. The memories of parades and picnics have faded.
The 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence has come and gone. So, is our celebration complete?
No.
The Declaration wasn’t an agreement. It was a list of grievances against King George III and the British Parliament that served as an official notice that the American colonists no longer considered themselves under British authority.
If the Americans had not won the Revolutionary War, which continued for more than five years afterwards, the Declaration probably would have been just a blip on the screen of history.
The world would have continued to have absolute monarchs. The concept that “all men are created equal” would have been just a dream.
If they’d lost the American Revolution, the chief agitators for freedom would more likely than not have been punished for their acts of treason. Some probably would have been hung or endured some torturous punishment. All of their families would have suffered loss of economic fortune and public stature.
The Declaration of Independence did not instantly create America as we know it today. After splitting from their mother country, the colonies had to create a system of government by which to live.
The 13 colonies all had different governing styles and cultural orientations and were not used to working together except in their common goal of gaining freedom from Britain. After North Carolina’s representatives had signed the Declaration, they needed to meet and figure out the next step.
As we move through the rest of 2026, we will continue to look at some of the leaders of North Carolina’s Revolutionary War effort, and we will discuss the creation and adoption of the new state’s first constitution on Dec. 18, 1776.
The Declaration may have birthed a new nation, but the Revolution was just getting started. The events that ensued from July 1776 into the early 1780s when the victory was won are worth continuing to remember and celebrate.
