Independence Day and the Unalienable Right to Life

On July 4th, 1776, our Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence! Thomas Jefferson penned the first draft and then a committee made up of Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston made revisions. The subsequent draft was edited by the whole Congress and afterward signed by 56 of its members. For his contributions, Jefferson credited Locke, Montesquieu, the Scottish Enlightenment and English efforts for civil liberties. We would be wise to harken back to those days to rediscover our roots. Our Founders rightfully declared this land to be a sovereign nation, independent from England. The first

Independence Day? Firework Laws Limit Liberty in Some States

Today, Americans across the nation will continue a tradition that was first sparked in 1777: lighting fireworks. In the earliest days of aerial explosions memorializing our nation’s birth, firework explosions were short, and lacked the variety of colors found at modern day shows. As European courts competed with each other for the best pyrotechnic displays, fireworks made their way to the thirteen colonies, and by 1776, some founding fathers considered them a necessary element of celebratory fanfare for America’s birthday. “I am apt to believe that [Independence Day] will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival,” John