July 4, 1776

Posted on July 4, 2019 by Joel Byers

On July 4, 1776, the amended Declaration of Independence, prepared by Thomas Jefferson, was approved and signed by John Hancock, the President of the Continental Congress of America. Why was Thomas Jefferson drafted to write the Declaration of Independence instead of the more qualified and better writer Benjamin Franklin? It was because Franklin was well known for putting subtle jokes into many of his other papers that only the well-read and intelligent would find, sometimes years later. He was so infamous for his humor, that Jefferson was chosen because the other Founding Fathers were afraid that if Franklin wrote it, he wouldn’t be able to resist adding some subtle humor or satire in it and it wouldn’t be recognized until after the papers were copied, signed and sent across the fledgling nation. To avoid this scenario, they had Jefferson write it with Franklin and three others reviewing it, just to make sure Franklin didn’t add anything. Sounds like Franklin is my spirit totem.

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About Joel Byers

Born in North Georgia and educated at some very fine public institutions. Real education started after graduating from college and then getting married and raising two boys. Has the ability to see the funny and absurd in most things and will always remark on it, even if it means getting the stink-eye from his victims.
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