Copy of the Declaration of Independence.

Following is the text of the Declaration of Independence in celebration of Independence Day, July 4th, 2015:

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:

Column 1
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton

Column 2
North Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton

Column 3
Massachusetts:
John Hancock
Maryland:
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton

Column 4
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean

Column 5
New York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark

Column 6
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts:
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton

From the website: www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html

Happy Independence Day from the Antioch Herald!

Los Medanos College will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War on Thursday, April 30 at 7:30 p.m. The event will honor the war’s lost and forgotten heroes with a candlelight vigil including a POW/MIA Empty Chair Ceremony. The LMC Veterans Club is hosting the vigil that will take place on the college’s Student Services outdoor patio. Refreshments will be served following the vigil. The public is encouraged to attend.

Los Medanos College is located at 2700 East Leland Road, Pittsburg, CA 94565. Guests are invited to park in the college’s Parking Lot B and parking permits will not be required for this event.

For more information about this event, contact Diane Ferguson at dferguson@losmedanos.edu, 925-473-7496. For questions about the LMC Veterans Club, contact Reginald Turner at rturner@losmedanos.edu, 925-473-7515.

Los Medanos College (LMC) is one of three colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District. LMC prepares students to excel and succeed economically, socially and intellectually in an innovative, engaging and supportive learning environment. It provides quality programs and state-of-the-art facilities to serve the needs of a rapidly growing and changing East County while enhancing the quality of life of the diverse communities it serves. LMC is located on 120 acres between Pittsburg and Antioch, with an additional education center in Brentwood.

Janet Sams explains the display to her friend’s daughter, Elise Sanders, at the Black History Month Exhibit in Antioch on Wednesday afternoon, February 11, 2015.

The Black History Month Exhibit at the Nick Rodriguez Community Center will feature a time line of historical events featuring traditional art, artifacts, literature, and creative arts that reflect the African American experience in America. The exhibit also features a time line of African American history from Africa to the present and provides an opportunity to taste traditional beverages and desserts. The goals are to promote dignity and pride in the African American community and provide cross cultural education for the larger community.

Janet Thompson and Beverly Bruce of Ruah Community Outreach, Inc. with one of the displays

It provides a great educational experience for families and elementary and high school student groups.

The exhibit continues, today (Monday, February 16) and Saturday, February 21st from 10 AM to 4 PM. It is sponsored by a collaboration of community partners:  Ruah Community Outreach, Inc., Parent Partners Providing for the Education of Young Children, the JTS Art Gallery, the City of Antioch, and the Arts & Cultural Foundation of Antioch.  The Nick Rodriguez Community Center is located at 213 F Street in Antioch.

For more information visit the exhibit website, http://art4antioch.org/Black-History-Exhibit.asp, or email Diane@Art4Antioch.org or call Diane Gibson-Gray at (925) 325-9897 or Carrie Frazier (925) 787-4827.

By Allen Payton

I just learned, today, that November is Native American Heritage Month.

So, while it still is November, please read the information on the following website about the heritage of those whose ancestors were here long before the European explorers and settlers, including the Pilgrims – who celebrated their first thanksgiving 392 years ago this fall – arrived.

http://nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov/about/

By Eleanor O’Donnell

The Antioch Historical Society will host their final Summer Open Evening at the museum on Wednesday, August 21, 2013. We will feature a Vintage Car Show and an old fashioned Ice Cream Social, demonstrations of making ice cream in old fashion crank type ice cream maker.

The museum will be open from 1:00 – 4:00 pm and 6:00 – 9:00 pm. Admission is free.

We have had a nice turn out for the open house and have entertained many children with contests and snacks.  Our goal has been to acquaint people with the museum and the history of the area.  We have more people living in Antioch and area now than ever before.  The museum welcomes everyone and hopes to show the history of Antioch and people who were here before us.

The museum has been adding some improvements, a new wrought iron fence at the front of the drive-way, new lighting in front of the building and new carpet in the hallway and Riverview Room.  All provided by generous donations to the museum and fund raising efforts.

The museum is located at the corner of 1500 West 4^th Street at the curve from Auto Center Drive.

For more information please visit www.art4antioch.org/ahs.asp.

Black History Month Special

By Jeff Belle

Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, better known as Frederick Douglas, was born in slavery. The exact year of his birth was not known. However, in 1841, he changed his name to Frederick Douglas. He was such an impressive orator that many people doubted that he had ever been a slave.

On the other side of the Atlantic, some 100 years before Frederick Douglas, the transatlantic slave trade was well in place. In fact, transatlantic slave trade vessels had carried over 12 million enslaved Africans from their motherland to various regions of the world. The nine routes that were commonly used by these voyages were challenging and under extremely harsh conditions. The rough seas, tight quarters, and long journeys (55 to 114 days) made experienced crew members uncomfortable and afraid.

Many of the enslaved Africans arrived to Western Europe, United States, and the West Indies alive, but in poor physical and mental health. You see, on a typical voyage there were 300-3,000 enslaved African men, women and children all crowded in hot and humid in despicable filth. For example, males were put in six feet long by 14 inches spaces. Each was chained from ankle to wrist and given a bucket for excrements. These horrible sanitary conditions and torture lead many to attempt throwing themselves overboard. On many accounts, suicide occurred almost daily.

There are many causes of mortality with the transatlantic slave trade. From a public health perspective, environmental, political, and social injustice were the culprits. Nonetheless, insect-borne fever (typhus, malaria, diarrhea) were more prevalent among enslaved Africans during the middle passage of the journey. Small pox, measles, scurvy, yaws, and African Sleeping sickness were responsible for nearly 51.9% of deaths during this period of the journey. Also, violence, food and water shortages, and suicide contributed (34.8%) to their horrific deaths, especially during the pre-boarding phase and the post-arrival phase.

It wasn’t until 1781 when the British parliament enacted legislation requiring all British slave ships to carry an experienced surgeon. As a matter of fact, there were incentives for surgeons and ship captains that arrived in America with low (2%-5%) mortality rates. Cash incentives were given to captains and surgeons with ships which had a mortality rate below 2%. This legislation ultimately led to a reduction in the number of enslaved Africans carried on slave vessels.

In 1819 (about the estimated year of Mr. Douglas’s birth), the U.S.A. and Britain pass legislation and regulations requiring medical care on all slave ships; surgeons to keep and attest to accuracy of records; food and provisions for all enslaved Africans; and limiting the caring capacity of all slave ships.

William Wilberforce, a member of British parliament led the fight against slave trade and ultimately won its abolition in Britain in 1836. Ironically, Frederick Douglas had just begun the fight to end slavery in the United States. It would take a civil war, a courageous president, and another 30 years of social injustice and over 100,000 deaths to calm the troubled seas of the transatlantic slave trade.

References:

Haines, R. McDonald, J. & Sholowitz, R. (2001). Mortality and Voyage length in the Middle Passage Revisited Exploration in Economic History, vol 37(4), p. 503-533.

Klien, H. S. & Engerman, S.L. (1997), Long-Term Trends in African Mortality during the Transatlantic Slave Trade, p.36-48.

William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd series, Vol I. VIII, No. 1, January 2001, pg. 93-118.

Jeff Belle is a graduate student and does extensive research and lectures in public policy and health care issues. He lives in Antioch.

Happy Thanksgiving, AntiochHerald.com readers!

Here’s an article posted, last year about this important, national holiday.

http://antiochherald.com/2011/11/where-did-thanksgiving-come-from-and-why-do-we-celebrate-it/

Enjoy!

Allen Payton, Publisher