Happy Birthday, America!

Actually, Independence was voted for on July 2. And the Declaration was signed in August. Some mysteries to ponder... If they signed it in August, why is the date on the Declaration July 4? Why do Americans use "Fourth of July" as the holiday name? Fourth of July is the British style for date, July 4th is the American style. Anyway, have a great BBQ party!

It's true that the original version of the Declaration of Independence was approved on July 2, 1776. However, changes were debated and made to the language of the document over July 3rd and 4th. The final version of the document was approved on July 4th, 1776, thus we celebrate on that day.

As for our writing of the date the British style, that makes since we were British. I'd be interested in how and when the writing of the date changed for us (Americans).

from all non American associates:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA

Well, you could say that our new nation was formed as an "experiment" in Social Engineering.

There are other links between the Declaration and Engineering. The writer was Thomas Jefferson, who besides being a lawyer, legislator, violin player, farmer, etc. was also something of an Architect, Inventor, and Engineer. He designed and supervised the construction of his home, Monticello, which is prominently featured on the back of the US five-cent piece (nickel). He also designed the Virginia State Capitol building and The Rotunda at the University of Virginia.

As an inventor, and engineer, he designed many useful and labor-saving devices, including a macaroni making machine, a wine-cellar dumbwaiter, a revolving and adjustable bookstand, a collapsible library stepladder, a plow designed specifically for hill-side plowing as it turned the furrow down-hill, a Wheel Cipher coding/decoding machine for sending coded messages, and improvements on an early copying press using ink on copper plates to produce multiple copies. While sometimes thought of as his own invention, Jefferson's "polygraph", not the "lie-detector" of today, but a state-of-the art copying machine using a pantograph for making exact or near-exact duplicates of original handwritten documents, was used extensively in his writing by Jefferson, who made several improvements on its orginal design, which were then incorporated by the manufacturer. As Secretary of State, Jefferson was in charge of the Patent Office, with the aim not only of protecting inventor's rights, but also of promoting and widely disseminating technology to the betterment of our country and the world. His own plow design was never patented, but was given away freely to the people of America and Europe, revolutionizing farming techniques for a while before the iron plow was invented.

Besides Jefferson, the committee which oversaw his work on the Declaration included John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, a well-renowned printer, philosopher, scientist, and inventor in his own right. The Franklin Stove, bi-focal reading glasses, and other inventions are attributed to Mr. Franklin. Franklin probably deserves his own write-up in CR4's Great Engineers and Scientist series, so I shall refrain from reciting all his accomplishments here!

I am not sure what John Adams invented, other than the word "inalienable"! (Jefferson wanted to use "unalienable", but there was some debate about it and Adams prevailed) See the film "1776" for a rather hilarious and possibly accurate, musical treatment of the characters involved (including Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin) and events leading up to the vote to approve the Declaration of Independence on July 4th.

Oops! Let me correct myself (before someone else does!)

The wording is of course "unalienable", as advocated by John Adams, not the original "inalienable" as conceived by Jefferson. Although The Free Dictionary by Farlex (www.thefreedictionary.com) uses the words interchangably, using one as part of the definition for the other, Googling one "versus" the other gives another perspective.

It seems that "Unalienable" refers to rights or other ideas, possessions, etc. that are naturally occurring and can never be separated from an individual possessing them. "Inalienable" refers to things that are granted to or purchased by indviduals and normally are not, but might be, separable from them, especially by governments. Hence the importance of the "unalienable rights"... "endowed by their Creator". Amazing what difference can be made by one simple vowel!