NATIONAL PARK SERVICE THAT THE PAST SHALL LIVE... the history program of the National Park Service

THE military phases of the struggle for American independence will remain forever a source of thrilling inspiration to all Americans. The heroic readiness of a small and undeveloped country of less than 3,000,000 people to engage in warfare with the great and powerful forces of the British will always stir the deepest patriotic pride. From the initial engagements at Lexington and Concord through victory and defeat at Bunker Hill, Long Island, Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, and Germantown, to the glorious day when Burgoyne's powerful army capitulated at Saratoga on October 17, 1777, the Americans, ill-clad, ill-equipped, ill-trained, carried on the brave fight unflinchingly. In winter camps at Valley Forge and Morristown, half-starving troops endured the deep snows and bitter frost of abnormally cold winters, giving Americans of future generations an inspiring example of fortitude in the face of hardship. Burgoyne's defeat assured the alliance with France and thus enabled the Americans to achieve their independence by giving them the money, supplies, and military and naval reinforcements without which the decisive triumph—the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown—could not have been won.

Saratoga, Morristown, Kings Mountain, Yorktown—the stirring deeds of courage and valor associated with these place names are known and respected throughout the world. There are historical units of the National Park System which commemorate each of these as well as other military highlights of that glorious struggle—Cowpens, for example. Moores Creek. Dorchester Heights. We could visit these places and, standing on the hallowed ground that won our liberty, suffer again the incredible hardships of our gallant troops, share with them the taste of final victory.

But for the purpose of our brief journey let us go instead to a quiet and stately place, not directly associated with the clash of arms, but which nevertheless is perhaps the most cherished, the most meaningful of all the hallowed places in our land.

We are in Philadelphia, at Independence National Historical Park. Here around us are the structures where a nation was born and its Constitution written. There is Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776, where the Continental Congresses met, where the Constitution of 1787 was drafted. The Hall and associated structures on Independence Square—Congress Hall and the old City Hall—formed the second Federal Capital from 1790 to 1800. Nearby is Carpenters' Hall, where the First Continental Congress met in 1774.

We look up at Independence Hall and remember Carl Van Doren's moving words: "On account of the Declaration of Independence, it is a shrine honored wherever the rights of men are honored. On account of the Constitution, it is a shrine cherished wherever the principles of self-government on a federal scale are cherished."

We enter and there, immediately ahead, beneath the ancient tower of the Hall, stands the Liberty Bell. This is the bell whose deep tones pealed out the brave and joyous tidings that 13 struggling colonies had thrown off their ties with the Old World to become a free nation. Its voice is silenced now—forever. Yet, silent, its message is far more eloquent than the clamor of a thousand other bells. We move forward with the others drawn there—young and old, rich and poor—and touch it momentarily, reverently, with our hands—and in so doing experience a quiet thrill of pride in being a part of the nation born here. By this simple action we feel somehow very close to each member of that brave little group that signed the Declaration of American Independence. We can seem to feel them, standing close beside us.

So a new nation had been born. But how long could it live?