A Special July 4th

On this 249^th anniversary of our nation’s birth, many people I know do not feel like celebrating. Concerns over the erosion of democracy at the hands of the current administration leave many Americans lamenting our future. While I share their concerns, my knowledge of our country’s history affords me room for hope.

One hundred and sixty-two years ago, the United States faced its greatest threat ever. Armed rebels, incensed over President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, had left the Union, taking most southern states with them. More than two years of civil war had yielded shocking Confederate victories. Would the Union survive?

But on July 4^th, 1863, Confederate forces surrendered the key Mississippi River stronghold of Vicksburg, giving the Union full control of the mighty river. After months of siege by Ulysses S. Grant, the vital “nail that holds the South’s two halves together” came undone. The Union navy would now split the South in two.

Back east in Pennsylvania, the dust began settling on the greatest battle ever fought in North America. After three days of Confederate attacks, Gettysburg remained in Union hands. Robert E. Lee’s second and final invasion of the North ended in a crushing defeat, capped by the brave but doomed assault known as Pickett’s Charge. On the two previous days, Union defenders had valiantly repelled attack after attack, at great cost. But they held the high ground, forcing Lee to “go big or go home.” Lee rolled the dice—and lost. The Confederacy would fight on nearly two more years, but the double defeats of Gettysburg and Vicksburg ended the the best hope of a Southern victory.

The twin victories we celebrated on that 4th of July 1863 remind us that even in our darkest hour, hope remains. On this year’s commemoration of our nation’s birth, let us look beyond “the difficulties of today and tomorrow” to the dream America has always held: of liberty and justice for all. We have never lived up to that dream perfectly—perhaps we never will. But our dream has inspired every generation of patriots, from those who first won our freedom to the many since who devoted themselves to defending and expanding it, sometimes at the cost of their lives. 

So long as that dream lives on, embattled though it often is, the light Lady Liberty holds aloft in our harbor still shines.

Photo credit: Angerer/Vanity Fair