John Adams thought today would be Independence Day

John Adams attended the Second Continental Congress, which began meeting in Philadelphia on July 1, 1776. The next day, the delegates voted in favor of America’s independence.

On July 3, Adams wrote to his beloved wife, Abigail: “The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America.”

He added: “I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”

He was off by two days.

John Adams was a Harvard-educated lawyer who led our nation’s negotiations for peace with Great Britain. From 1785 to 1788, he was minister to the Court of St. James’s in London. He returned to become our nation’s first vice president and later was elected our second president.

He was one of the most brilliant and accomplished men in American history. How could he have gotten the birthday of our nation wrong?

On July 4, the delegates in Philadelphia adopted Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. History would celebrate their decision as the birthday of the new nation, even though they only formalized what they actually decided two days earlier.

(By the way, the delegates did not actually sign the Declaration for another month, but that’s another story.)

We cannot see the future in the present

The significance of the moment can seldom be seen in the moment.

When Noah began building his ark, no one outside his family believed it would be used to save humanity. When Moses demanded that the most powerful man on earth let his slaves go free, few thought it would happen.

Joseph in his dungeon, Joshua marching around Jericho, David facing Goliath, Daniel in the lions’ den,…