⚽ All the latest news and reaction from the World Cup⚽ Player guide | Bracketology | Knockout draw | Mail usAustralia lost to Egypt on penalties in one of the more disastrous shootout cock ups. Changing goalkeepers is a bold move, especially when Mat Ryan made a right Shilton of himself.Jonathan Wilson was there. Continue reading...
We should heed Alexis de Tocqueville's warning: "A man's admiration for absolute government is proportionate to the contempt he feels for those around him."
The Fourth of July holds a special place in every American’s heart. In fact, as every patriot knows, the day has come to represent liberty and American greatness ever since the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Since then, the day has seen a series of significant events, a number of notable births and deaths, and a couple of coincidences so perfect they almost don’t seem real over the course of the building of the greatest nation on earth.'I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.'Here are some snapshots of historical milestones on Independence Day that have led to the country we know and love today.RELATED: 'One nation under God': Christians to march through DC as part of 2,000-mile Eucharistic procession Official facsimile of the Declaration of Independence. Boston, Massachusetts. C. 1903/Library of Congress1776 – The United States Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress. John Adams, in a July 3 letter to his wife, Abigail, wrote that July 2 (the day Congress voted to approve the Lee Resolution) would be a day of celebration for Americans. Our celebrations today, though marking the official public announcement two days later, closely resemble his words:The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by Solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be Solemnized with Pomp and Parade with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires, and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. 1802 – The United States Military Academy at West Point officially opens.1803 – The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people.John Adams II, son of President John Quincy Adams and the grandson of President John Adams, is born.1804 – Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of "The Scarlet Letter" (1850) and "The House of the Seven Gables" (1851), is born.1817 – Construction of the Erie Canal begins in Rome, New York.1826 – Former Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both die on the same day — the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It's enough to send a shiver down any patriot's spine! Thomas Jefferson, a philosopher, a patriot, and a friend. Michał Sokolnicki, 1760-1816, etcher/Tadeusz Kościuszko, 1746-1817, artist/Library of Congress1826 – Prolific American composer Stephen Foster is born. Foster is known for songs like "Oh! Susanna" and "Camptown Races."1827 – Slavery is abolished in New York state.1831 – James Monroe, the fifth U.S. president, dies in New York City. Monroe famously coined his eponymous doctrine warning European nations not to meddle in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere. Monroe’s presidency (1817-1825) has been called the “Era of Good Feelings.”1838 – The Iowa Territory, which was first part of the Louisiana Purchase, is officially recognized. President Martin Van Buren appoints Ohio’s Robert Lucas as Iowa’s first territorial governor. 1847 – James Anthony Bailey is born in Detroit, Michigan. Bailey is best known for running the successful Barnum & Bailey Circus.1855 – Walt Whitman’s "Leaves of Grass" is self-published in Brooklyn, New York. Whitman spent the next decades of his life editing and adding to this collection, resulting in several editions in circulation during his lifetime. These later editions, for example, "absorbed" an elegy he wrote for the assassinated Abraham Lincoln, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd." Walt Whitman, half-length portrait, seated, facing left, wearing hat and sweater, holding butterfly. Phillips & Taylor, photographer/Library of Congress1863 – The Siege of Vicksburg, which began on May 18, ends. The Battle of Gettysburg ended just the day prior, lasting from July 1 to 3. 1872 – Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States, is born. Coolidge’s 1923 State of the Union address was the first presidential speech to be broadcast live on radio. 1876 – Centennial year since the founding of the United States. Celebrations centered on the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The flag that has waved 100 years. A scene on the morning of the Fourth of July 1876. Print shows African American man and others looking up as they raise the American flag with the U.S. Capitol in the background.. Dominique C. Fabronius; E.P. & L. Restein's oilchromo, Phila.; National Chromo Co. pub., Phila./Library of Congress1881 – Ulysses S. Grant III, grandson of general of the armies and U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, is born. Grant III had a distinguished career in the United States Army, rising to the rank of major general.
