Summary

Independence Day is a great American holiday, but it fills me with joy and sadness.  I love to commemorate what America was, and the whole idea of what made America different. Once we declared our independence in 1776 the people created a government.  We the people had all the power and we surrendered some of our power to form a limited government.  The government was a creation of the people and they ceded some power to the government. This was unique. As a result of this limited government, this uniquely American way of life, America prospered and created the wealthiest country in the history or the world. So we celebrate the beginning of this experiment in freedom and limited government. Benjamin Franklin famously responded to the question, "What have you given us, Mr. Franklin?": "A republic, if you can keep it." We have become what the founding fathers feared most, a democracy.