Independence for all

Cemetery Hill, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania/ Getty Images

By Courtney Luke

Generally, when we talk of the 4th of July, we are referring to the one in the year 1776 when the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence.

However, there was another 4th of July that greatly altered the direction our country was heading- this one was only 150 years ago.

On July 4, 1863, soldiers from both the Union and the Confederate armies were recuperating from a three day battle on fields near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Prior to this clash, the tide of the war had been on the side of the South. After over 46,000 American deaths, men from both the North and the South, the battle ended with General Robert E. Lee retreating with his army.

President Abraham Lincoln understood the truth of the battle and the truth of the war. In his address made months later commemorating the Battle of Gettysburg, he spoke of the concept that all were created equally. He understood that when that became the standard, then "this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom".

Freedom for all, not just the privileged, not just those of a particular race, creed or religion. Then, and only then, could the United States of America truly be considered a free nation.

Many point to the skirmishes, strife, and disagreements of today and say, "We have a long way to go!" and yes, we do, but look just how very far we've come in 150 short years.

Only four generations ago, we, as a nation couldn't even agree on the definition of a human and whether some were more human than others or whether some people were really people or merely property to be bought and sold.

That battle, the one in July of 1863, and that war, the one fought between us, fellow Americans, could be considered the point in time when our independence was actually earned- for it was because of those lives lost, those decisions, and those sacrifices, that all Americans became truly free.