{"id":2188,"date":"2026-06-30T08:38:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T08:38:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=2188"},"modified":"2026-06-30T08:38:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T08:38:47","slug":"land-of-the-free-because-of-the-brave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=2188","title":{"rendered":"Land of the Free Because of the Brave"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

When we read history books, the outcome of an event is obvious because it has already happened. That leads to thoughts such as, \u201cOf course the British were going to defeat the Germans and win the\u00a0Battle of Britain\u201d (which took place in the summer of 1940 in the months immediately after Dunkirk); everyone knew that the Union army would decisively defeat Gen. Lee\u2019s Army of Northern Virginia at the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863).\u00a0However, while the event\/battle\/war is unfolding and is being contested, the outcome is far from certain.<\/p>

Read more Venezuela quake rescue: Maduro needs a bunkmate<\/a><\/p>\n

It makes me wonder what the oddsmaker would have given to anyone crazy enough to bet, back in 1775, that the Colonial Army would defeat the Brits. The odds certainly weren\u2019t very good. When one considers the huge challenges facing the United Colonies in 1775 and 1776, Divine Providence is the only answer that explains how, in 2026, we are celebrating America-250. (The opening of the Declaration of Independence calls the country \u201cthe thirteen united States of America,\u201d\u00a0lower case \u201cu,\u201d first time that name was used.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

The impulse to declare independence didn\u2019t suddenly appear in 1776. The King and Parliament had imposed ever harsher tyranny on the Colonies by maintaining a large standing army, quartering troops in people\u2019s homes, and creating taxes designed, not only to raise revenue, but to punish the people. The Declaration spelled out the \u201clong train of abuses and usurpations\u201d that began as far back as 1764 and continued through the convening of the\u00a0Second Continental Congress\u00a0(CC) that first met in 1775, and convened again in 1776. (The First CC met in 1774 and passed the Articles of Association, which became effective Dec 1, 1774.)<\/p>\n

In 1775, delegates to\u00a0the Second CC met\u00a0shortly after the battles of Concord and Lexington. That CC began to function as a\u00a0de facto<\/em>\u00a0national government by creating an army (June 14, 1775), designated a national flag (June 14), appointed George Washington to command the Army (June 15); and established a Navy (Oct. 13) and Marines (Nov. 10). Also, they raised revenues, appointed diplomats, equipped the military (somewhat), and took on the duties and responsibilities of a legislative body. Still, when the CC delegates dispersed in late 1775, agreeing to reconvene in 1776, many wanted to reconcile with Great Britain instead of declaring independence.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/figure>\nHowever,\u00a0Common Sense<\/em>\u00a0by Thomas Paine, one of the most influential publications in U.S. history, was published in January 1776, just months prior to the Second CC convening. Paine used \u201ccommon sense\u201d and persuasive language to argue for independence. He used Enlightenment theories on the \u201cstate of nature\u201d to establish a foundation for republican government, calling government a \u201cnecessary evil.\u201d Historian Gordon Wood called\u00a0Common Sense<\/em>\u00a0\u201cthe most incendiary and popular pamphlet of the entire revolutionary era.\u201d It was read throughout the Colonies and by all the delegates.<\/p>

Read more Europe\u2019s Boiling Frogs<\/a><\/p>\n

June 1776, when the CC delegates discussed independence, they knew it was an act of rebellion. Signing the Declaration was declaring their opposition to the Crown, which placed them in jeopardy should the rebellion fail, likely leading to their death or a long prison sentence. The delegates were a mixed lot — from different colonies and different backgrounds. Some were wealthy merchants, others were lawyers, some were farmers, others owned plantations; some would become well-known, most would not. They disagreed on many issues, but on the matter of Independence, they stood together. The last line of the Declaration is one of the most inspiring quotes in American history. \u201cWe mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.\u201d All 56 present at that Continental Congress signed their names and put their lives, and the welfare of their families, on the line. In the vernacular of Texas Hold \u2018em, they went \u201cAll In,\u201d gambling everything up to and including their lives. The stakes could not have been higher.<\/p>\n

To say that the journey from July 4, 1776 to the signing of the Treaty of Paris, Sept 3, 1783, was long and difficult is an extreme understatement. Having spent years in the infantry myself, and knowing the quality of our fighting soldiers, what those early Americans accomplished still leaves me utterly speechless. Enduring harsh conditions at Valley Forge, crossing the frozen Delaware River on Christmas Day, marching (oftentimes) barefoot on forced marches to engage a superior force — I have no idea how they pushed on, stayed motivated, and accomplished what they did. However, knowing the obstacles those brave men overcame and that they won a war against such tremendous odds continues to inspire soldiers up through today. The Continental soldiers set an example for the ages.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Returning to the\u00a0signers of the Declaration, many of them paid dearly for opposing the King. Nine of them fought in the Revolutionary War and died from their wounds or from the hardships of battle. Twelve had their homes ransacked, burned, and destroyed. Five were captured and held prisoner. Two had sons killed in the war, another had two sons captured. Others, such as Carter Braxton, had their businesses and properties destroyed. Button Gwinnett, from Georgia, was killed the next year in a duel.<\/p>\n

Today, we know the outcome of the Revolutionary War. In 1776, none of the delegates knew if the United States would prevail or how the story would end. However, they knew that freedom is worth fighting for, and, if required, worth dying for because the opposite is tyranny, which they were experiencing. The tremendous bravery shown by fifty-six ordinary men to sign their names, and to accept the risks of doing so, is one of the greatest collective acts of courage in American history. The Founding Fathers, and all those who supported independence, left a legacy for posterity. It is up to us, all future generations, to preserve the freedoms we inherited.\u00a0<\/p>

Read more LGBTQ \u2018pride\u2019 destroys another family<\/a><\/p>\n

Image: Archibald Willard<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When we read history books, the outcome of an event is obvious because it has already happened. That leads to thoughts such as, \u201cOf course the British were going to defeat the Germans and win the\u00a0Battle of Britain\u201d (which took place in the summer of 1940 in the months immediately after Dunkirk); everyone knew that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2186,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[744,2],"tags":[903],"class_list":["post-2188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-revolution","category-politics","tag-related-topics-american-revolution-declaration-of-independence"],"yoast_head":"\nLand of the Free Because of the Brave - Interstate Logistics Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=2188\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Land of the Free Because of the Brave - Interstate Logistics Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When we read history books, the outcome of an event is obvious because it has already happened. That leads to thoughts such as, \u201cOf course the British were going to defeat the Germans and win the\u00a0Battle of Britain\u201d (which took place in the summer of 1940 in the months immediately after Dunkirk); everyone knew that […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=2188\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Interstate Logistics Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-30T08:38:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f750dbd85496c24a4dfdcf2ef8f315ff.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"860\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=2188#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=2188\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/93038961905b9b4e826fad647449a9a4\"},\"headline\":\"Land of the Free Because of the Brave\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-30T08:38:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=2188\"},\"wordCount\":981,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=2188#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/6b34dc052404bcbdf6896c96d5681f81.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Related Topics: American Revolution, Declaration Of Independence\"],\"articleSection\":[\"American Revolution\",\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=2188#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=2188\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=2188\",\"name\":\"Land of the Free Because of the Brave - Interstate Logistics Hub\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=2188#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=2188#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/6b34dc052404bcbdf6896c96d5681f81.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-30T08:38:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/93038961905b9b4e826fad647449a9a4\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=2188#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=2188\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=2188#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/6b34dc052404bcbdf6896c96d5681f81.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/6b34dc052404bcbdf6896c96d5681f81.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":1613},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=2188#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Land of the Free Because of the Brave\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Interstate Logistics Hub\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/93038961905b9b4e826fad647449a9a4\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Land of the Free Because of the Brave - Interstate Logistics Hub","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=2188","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Land of the Free Because of the Brave - Interstate Logistics Hub","og_description":"When we read history books, the outcome of an event is obvious because it has already happened. That leads to thoughts such as, \u201cOf course the British were going to defeat the Germans and win the\u00a0Battle of Britain\u201d (which took place in the summer of 1940 in the months immediately after Dunkirk); everyone knew that […]","og_url":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=2188","og_site_name":"Interstate Logistics Hub","article_published_time":"2026-06-30T08:38:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":860,"url":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f750dbd85496c24a4dfdcf2ef8f315ff.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=2188#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=2188"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/#\/schema\/person\/93038961905b9b4e826fad647449a9a4"},"headline":"Land of the Free Because of the Brave","datePublished":"2026-06-30T08:38:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=2188"},"wordCount":981,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=2188#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6b34dc052404bcbdf6896c96d5681f81.jpg","keywords":["Related Topics: American Revolution, Declaration Of Independence"],"articleSection":["American Revolution","Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=2188#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=2188","url":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=2188","name":"Land of the Free Because of the Brave - Interstate Logistics Hub","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=2188#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=2188#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6b34dc052404bcbdf6896c96d5681f81.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-30T08:38:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/#\/schema\/person\/93038961905b9b4e826fad647449a9a4"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=2188#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=2188"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=2188#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6b34dc052404bcbdf6896c96d5681f81.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6b34dc052404bcbdf6896c96d5681f81.jpg","width":1200,"height":1613},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=2188#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Land of the Free Because of the Brave"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/","name":"Interstate Logistics Hub","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/#\/schema\/person\/93038961905b9b4e826fad647449a9a4","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com"],"url":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}