One quibble with the nation's 250th birthday, it's not July 4th 2026

[Uncle Joe]

July 4th 1776 was just the divorce date of thirteen individual colonies from an abusive spouse, or when they moved out of the house from abusive parents.

The Articles of Confederation came next on March 1st 1781 and that didn't work out, it was just the individual colonies shacking up together with no real commitment.

If you go by when the United States was actually born, that would be June 21st 1788 with official ratification of the U.S. Constitution. So June 21st 2038 would be our real 250th birthday. It could've went any direction before then.

If you want be more strict by the date that would be when the last original colony ratified the U.S. Constitution and became a state of the United States on May 29th 1790, making May 29th 2040 as our 250th birthdate.

I'm thinking things might improve if we quit putting so much emphasis on the date of our divorce or moving out of the house, and focus more on when we actually got married.

We might gain more long term focus instead of just living for the day, or next quarterly report as a nation?

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Plus, the last signature on The Declaration of

Independence was inscribed on July 3rd, not the 4th.

[ITAL]

10. Likely nobody signed on the 3rd or the 4th

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signing_of_the_United_States_Declaration_of_Independence

The 2nd was the date the delegates voted for independence, but the 4th was the date the voted on the document. Either counts as a valid birthday (as my Mom says, until it's in writing, it isn't official).

[Fiendish Thingy]

2. Well, July 4 isn't just a divorce date...

It’s also a conception date, and the timeline you describe is more an extended infancy.

Washington served as first president of the United States from 1789, so the nation must have existed by then.

It’s all angels-dancing-on-the-head-of-a-pin stuff IMO.

[Uncle Joe]

4. Except the United States wasn't conceived or married until after the Articles of Confederation failed,

and the U.S. constitution was ratified.

I can go with 1789 easy enough as the date, people in Rhode Island might view their ratification of the contract just as critically important.

As for angels dancing on the head of a pin, I wonder how many butterflies can dance on the head of a pin?

An assassination sparked World War I, World I contributed to World War II, World War II set the stage for The Cold War, The Cold War set the stage for the exponential growth of the Military Industrial Complex. The exponential growth of the Military Industrial Complex smoothed the way for forever wars and a growing police state.

[thesquanderer]

17. The Constitution became effective in 1789, so yes, that's the real beginning of the country as we know it.

But the name of the July holiday is "Independence Day." We had declared independence from Britain on that day 250 years ago. We hadn't yet become a country yet. At best, to paraphrase Trump, we had a concept of a country.

[pat_k]

3. I look forward to the REAL 250th 12 (or 14) years hence.

And if the coming decade goes as I like to imagine it will (and will work my head off to make so) we'll REALLY have something to celebrate.


Imagine If This Moment Was Not About The Ascent of Authoritarians, But About A New Birth Of Global Freedom...
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100221186840

[Xavier Breath]

5. Reminds me of the date of the new millennium's start.

Yes, it was in fact 2001, as Arthur C. Clarke had pointed out, and as was known by those who could in fact math, but most didn't care.

Still, a conversation worth having.

[orthoclad]

6. Paper constitution is fer p*ssies, when did the shootin' start?

The Yeehaw States of America

[paleotn]

9. April 19, 1775

A day long running battle in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, better known as Lexington and Concord. We missed the 250th.

[gordianot]

7. Too bad about 250 years.

If we make to 300 years that would be fantastic. I have my doubts surviving Trump.

[BigmanPigman]

8. I've been re-watching Ken Burns:The American Revolution

He was speaking with Nicolle Wallace recently and he said that his series is experiencing a resurgence of viewers. That makes me glad!

I had a class in college "The American Revolution" and I was attending Phila College of Art at the time. Living in Philadelphia, where history is literally on every block in Center City, was wonderful. A friend from The Academy of Fine Arts knew the history of the city so well that just walking down the street with him was like taking a tour with a historian. My home was built in 1886 so it was somewhat "new" compared to other homes.

[peppertree]

11. And, of course, there's the August 2nd (1776) date

When most signatories (including John Hancock) actually signed Jefferson's masterpiece.

Hancock recounted signing the Declaration at "around 2 p.m."

This discrepancy has vexed astrologers as well as historians - though the 7/4/1776 chart, with its powerful North Node (destiny)/Midheaven (standing in the world) conjunction and its Venus/Jupiter/Sun stellium (promoting both wealth and beauty), fits the American experience very nicely.

That said stellium is squared (90° angle) by punitive Saturn, also tells of our longstanding issues with excessive conservatism and acting against our own best interests.

Jupiter, the Sun and Mercury in the 9th House (religion, higher education and foreign cultures) tells of our rich (and lucrative) history in those areas.

A well-aspected Moon in the 4th House (inner life, family and the home) gave us as a nation a keen interest in those areas - becoming the first country in modern times to make mortgages widely available, for example.

Mars square Neptune warns us to avoid being lured into wars by deceitful interests (something Bibi could attest to).

Saturn in the 12th House reminds us that secrets are often kept secret in bad faith - and more often than not, we're our own worst enemies.

And Uranus (which always comes up when anyone mentions astrology)?

The planet of all things novel and quirky is strong in inquisitive Gemini - all the more so in the 8th House of sex, death and 'other people's money'.

We've always been fascinated with those areas - and they've always been a source of both wonder and problems. A favorable trine (120° angle) with disciplined Saturn has allowed us to eventually enact reforms in those areas - but only after terrible crises (AIDS, gun violence, financial crashes, etc.).

[paleotn]

12. A divorce that may never have happened.

Had cooler heads prevailed. If the Whigs happened to still be in power through the 1770's. Had Lord North not had his head in his rear. The taxes imposed on American colonists were much lower than on their peers in the mother country. Our ancestors just didn't have a say in the matter. That was the real rub.

And then there was the colonial merchants and monied interests stirring up trouble. A problem even then. But still, it was a hugely expensive matter bringing the French to heel in the Seven Years War and protecting the American colonies from French and allied incursions. It was only fair that we chipped in. And less so than our counterparts in London. Looking at it from this angle, our reasons for divorce were initially pretty weak soup. Slowness of communication and hard headedness on both sides cause it to spiral out of control.

The spark was pig headedness and miscommunication. Not quite the noble beginning we're sometimes led to believe.

[Uncle Joe]

13. The Whig Oligarchy combined with an unstable King George III

It's too bad we didn't learn from that historical precedent.

[Jacson6]

14. July 4th, 1776 was the beginning of the end for the British Empire ruling the colonies.

[oldsoldierfadingfast]

15. 17 Sep. 1787 ...

After the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia; a reporter, Elizabeth Willing Powell asked Benjamin Franklin , "Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy? "A republic, if you can keep it." was his answer.
On 17 Sep. 1788, the republic was one year old. Add 250 years and the year would be 2038.
And on another note: The weather is usually more suitable for large celebrations than is July.

[SusieCreamcheese]

16. I quibble too

The Declaration of Independence, signed in 1776, kicked off the American Revolution which lasted for 7 years. The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783 ended the Revolution and afforded formal British recognition of the United States as an independent and sovereign nation. If we are really celebrating our "250th birthday" it should be observed on September 3, 2032.

[madamesilverspurs]

18. At this point

we can celebrate that we're still here in spite of the vulgar joke presently residing in what's left of the White House.


.