Summary: "The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America " was signed on July 4th, 1776. On July 8th, at noontime, it was proclaimed in the State House Yard in Philadelphia, and on July nineteenth it was proclaimed in Boston from the State House Balcony. John Adams wrote, "I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure it will cost us to maintain this declaration and support and defend these states...I can see that the end is worth all the means...with solemn acts of devotion to God we ought to commemorate it." After a long and bloody battle for independence, our forefathers wrote a constitution to govern their Nation, and aside from the Bible, nothing has so altered the course of human history. But let us not forget that the constitution is no better than the people who are governed by it. Without the support of the people, the Constitution is no better than the paper on which it is written. Laws are written on paper, but unless they become property of the heart there will be no respect for nor obedience to the principles and laws set forth in it. This is what the Psalmist was talking about when he wrote: "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. (Psa. 127:1) It is impossible to reverence the Constitution without reverencing God. And it is impossible for the Constitution to protect us if we evict God from our Government and our lives. Paul Graham
