Independence Day - July 4th

Thanks to all who have fought to keep our country free. Men and women of every race, color, and creed have taken up arms to defend our freedoms. Are we perfect? Of course not. Have we ever been or will we ever be? Of course not. Thanks also to those who have kept the home fires burning. I’ve been there and it is a difficult job.

One of the great things about America is you’re free to leave at any time and seek the kind of country you think you want. As for me, and I think most Americans, we’ll stay and build on the foundation of freedom we have. And to those trying to tear us down from within, yeah, good luck with that.

GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
 

Thanks to all who have fought to keep our country free. Men and women of every race, color, and creed have taken up arms to defend our freedoms. Are we perfect? Of course not. Have we ever been or will we ever be? Of course not. Thanks also to those who have kept the home fires burning. I’ve been there and it is a difficult job.

One of the great things about America is you’re free to leave at any time and seek the kind of country you think you want. As for me, and I think most Americans, we’ll stay and build on the foundation of freedom we have. And to those trying to tear us down from within, yeah, good luck with that.

GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
From 1607 when English settlers founded Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in North America, to 1776, for most of the time that the thirteen colonies were under British rule, but were allowed a great deal of freedom. Most of the colonies had set up forms of self-government. The colonists also developed their own society and economy.

Relations between Britain and the American colonies deteriorated after the French and Indian War (1754–63). The British wanted the colonists to pay taxes to help pay for the war, but the colonists refused unless represented in the British Parliament. These disagreements led to the American Revolution.

The newly formed United States of America had managed to get along with the British for almost a hundred and seventy years. It took only half that time before they were at each other's throats when thirteen of the Southern States formed the Confederacy.

During the Civil War, several British armaments companies and financial firms secretly conducted business with Confederate agents in Europe, supplying the Confederacy with badly needed arms and military wares throughout the conflict, in exchange for Southern cotton.

How did the Confederacy fight on so long and bitterly? The output of British factories, mills, shipyards, and arsenals flooded through the Union blockade of Southern ports to provide the bulk of Confederate needs. Without that massive support, the Confederacy would surely have collapsed within 12 to 18 months. Given that the bloodiest years of the war were 1863-1865, it was British material support that allowed the vast majority of the blood-letting to occur.

British material support for the Confederacy was not lost on the Union and engendered deep animosity which lasted for much of the rest of the century. Fortunately, farsighted men such as Theodore Roosevelt and the Prince of Wales sparked the great partnership that would be the bulwark of freedom in the 20th century. They made a reality of Bismarck’s observation that the greatest strategic fact of that century would be that the Americans spoke English.
 
From 1607 when English settlers founded Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in North America, to 1776, for most of the time that the thirteen colonies were under British rule, but were allowed a great deal of freedom. Most of the colonies had set up forms of self-government. The colonists also developed their own society and economy.

Relations between Britain and the American colonies deteriorated after the French and Indian War (1754–63). The British wanted the colonists to pay taxes to help pay for the war, but the colonists refused unless represented in the British Parliament. These disagreements led to the American Revolution.

The newly formed United States of America had managed to get along with the British for almost a hundred and seventy years. It took only half that time before they were at each other's throats when thirteen of the Southern States formed the Confederacy.

During the Civil War, several British armaments companies and financial firms secretly conducted business with Confederate agents in Europe, supplying the Confederacy with badly needed arms and military wares throughout the conflict, in exchange for Southern cotton.

How did the Confederacy fight on so long and bitterly? The output of British factories, mills, shipyards, and arsenals flooded through the Union blockade of Southern ports to provide the bulk of Confederate needs. Without that massive support, the Confederacy would surely have collapsed within 12 to 18 months. Given that the bloodiest years of the war were 1863-1865, it was British material support that allowed the vast majority of the blood-letting to occur.

British material support for the Confederacy was not lost on the Union and engendered deep animosity which lasted for much of the rest of the century. Fortunately, farsighted men such as Theodore Roosevelt and the Prince of Wales sparked the great partnership that would be the bulwark of freedom in the 20th century. They made a reality of Bismarck’s observation that the greatest strategic fact of that century would be that the Americans spoke English.
And? A separate post would have been more appropriate.
 


Ironically, this dude is "probably" the most patriotic person on this forum. To know and be concerned about your country’s flaws and fixing them is more patriotic than anything. That starts with actually acknowledging them like he does.
 
I remember flying into Detroit from London Heathrow over 20 years ago to see my American GF during the Independence Day celebrations. Off I then went to Grosse Pointe where she had a house. I flew into Detroit whilst stealthily wearing my British Union Flag underwear in defiance, much to the amusement of my GF, but that’s another story.

Later in the year, we went to a Red Wings hockey game. There I was standing up before the game and singing along with everyone else. We were all singing about my ancestors firing rockets and a banner waving in defiance. At that moment I thought, If only my parents and own ancestors could see me now.

Wishing everyone a joyful Independence Day!
 

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