SERVICE ABOVE SELF


AUGUST 2017: ISSUE 101


"What you might not know about the 4th of July" was the title o f memb e r Wi l l A i t k e n ' s enter taining talk about US Independence Day on the day of the celebration itself. He gave a brief outline of


the


history of the United States with the initial 13 east coast colonies and their rebellion against British rule and the imposition of tea/ tobacco taxes. Following the Boston Tea Party affair in 1773, the war of independence was declared in 1776. The conflict ended in 1783 and the formal US Constitution followed. Will said that the constitution, written by Thomas Jefferson and five other statesmen, was in fact not legally binding and also revealed that the final version contained several changes from Jefferson's draft, most notably deleting all mention of slavery. He also told of some Scottish influence, with some historians saying the constitution was based on the 1320


Declaration of Arbroath. Notable Scots at the time included the Rev John Witherspoon and also James Wilson from St Andrews, who helped write some of the legal points. Will's presentation also included 25 things you didn't know about America. Will started his talk by producing some delicious home-made decorated cup cakes for fellow members to taste and it ended with a rendition of the national anthem The Star-Spangled Banner. Simon Baldwin proposed the vote of thanks.


Submitted by Jim Allison


• The current 50-star American flag was designed by a 17-year-old as a school project in 1958. He got a B-.


• There is enough water in Lake Superior to cover the entire landmass of North and South America in one foot of liquid.


• In USA they sell enough pizza every day to cover 100 acres.


• The largest air force in the world is the US Air Force. The world’s second-largest air force is the US Navy and Marine Corps combined.


• Three of the world’s five oldest rivers flow there: The New, the Susquehanna, and the French Broad Rivers are each hundreds of millions of years old.


• Statistically, the deadliest job in America is … President. Of the 45


5


men who’ve held the post, four have been assassinated in office.


• The day Congress voted US free from British rule was July 2, 1776. July 4 was when John Hancock put t h e f i r s t s i g n a t u r e o n t h e Declaration of Independence to spread the word.


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