On so many logical and logistical levels, America is a country that never should have been.
All the obvious odds were stacked against the Second Continental Congress’ 56 delegates when they declared independence from Great Britian 250 years ago. Really, their situation was all but unwinnable.
It wasn’t just that the British Army was one of the world’s largest, most highly trained, and effective military forces of that day… whereas the U.S. had ragtag groups of men they called soldiers.
There was that problem, yes – one big enough that it should have ended the United States’ story before it ever began. But there were so many other insurmountable issues as well.
For one thing, the American populace wasn’t even close to being unified in the drive for independence. Many historians believe that no more than a third actively supported the revolution, with scores backing the British and others simply waiting to see who would win.
Our economy was in shambles as well. Congress was basically printing stacks of worthless IOUs to fund the war efforts – all while it had to keep fleeing from city to city whenever the British advanced.
And the situation only got worse after the Declaration of Independence was announced, with defeat after miserable defeat throughout the rest of the year. The crown succeeded in pushing General George Washington’s “army” out of New York City in August and out of the state entirely a few months later.
It was so bad that our first president-to-be even wrote one brother on September 30:
Such is my situation that if I were to wish the bitterest curse to an enemy on this side of the grave, I should put him in my stead with my feelings.
By November 16, he told another brother that he was “wearied almost to death” after watching Fort Washington fall to the enemy. And by December, his family correspondences read like this: “I think the game is pretty near up.”
Yet it wasn’t.
It wasn’t even after the destructive winter of 1777-1778 that saw up to 2,000 soldiers die from dysentery, influenza, typhoid, lack of supplies, malnutrition, and the elements…
Or the winter of 1779-1780 in Morristown, New Jersey, where the army nearly starved to death…
Or the fall of Charlestown, South Carolina, months later that decimated American forces in the larger region…
Or after the heroic Benedict Arnold turned traitor and helped burn down swaths of Virginia in 1781.
In the end, the United States of America had to be recognized for the feisty nation it was. And it went on to re-establish those credentials decade after decade, slowly but surely building up into the world power it is today.
That’s why, despite the frustrations, the concerns, and the naysaying, we can still feel confident as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence. What our ancestors accomplished was both awe-inspiring and deeply encouraging.
We have the multitude of personal and professional opportunities – the freedoms, the economic openings, the stock market gains – we have today because of what they did two and a half centuries ago.
So, yes, let’s celebrate America’s 250th anniversary this weekend. And in further honor of everything our forefathers accomplished, here’s to 250 more!
If they could do it in the face of such odds, we have no excuse.
Happy SWAN investing,
Brad Thomas
Editor, Wide Moat Daily
