Here’s David Barton‘s screw-up of a John Adams letter:
David Barton’s “Wallbuilders” website featured John Adams’s description of July 2 — but conveniently edited out Adams’s own words, to make it appear as something else. Barton misses the history! What sort of anti-American cuts the words of John Adams when Adams defends liberty’s heritage?
Other groups make the same error as David Barton’s Wallbuilders, but without obvious cover ups, restricting their comments to “Independence Day.” Accuracy helps, always.
“The . . . day of July, 1776?” What day?
[Barton’s site changes annually, but it keeps repeating the cover-up.]
Faithful readers, and good students of history know that John Adams thought, in 1776, that July 2 would be celebrated as Independence Day. Why? July 2, 1776, was the day the 2nd Continental Congress voted to declare the colonies independent of Britain, and no longer under the rule of the Crown or Parliament.
The Declaration of Independence — the press release explaining Richard Henry Lee’s resolution for independence — sat ready to be discussed. The Congress did not adopt the Declaration until two days later, on July 4.
Our Independence Day celebration falls on the date of the adoption of the Declaration, not the date of the actual resolution declaring independence.
This is a point of great humor among historians. Even John Adams, more prescient than most soothsayers, could not predict accurately when Americans would celebrate independence. Here at Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub, we often make a post on or about July 2, noting that humorous discrepancy.
That’s interesting. It’s inspiring to know these august figures, near-gods in the American pantheon of the 21st century, got things wrong. It’s humorous. It’s good history.
What in the hell was David Barton thinking?
What evil purpose is he trying to serve by hiding real history, in such a bizarrely petty way? Why create a hoax when the words themselves support the point you’re wishing to make, that John Adams thought Americans should celebrate independence?
Screenshot of David Barton’s webpage, showing his bizarre butchery of Adams’s words.
Sheesh! He comes so close to getting something accurate, but he can’t resist monkeying with the words of the Founders. David Barton reminds me of the guy who cheated at golf so much that, one day when he hit a hole-in-one, he wrote “0!” on the scorecard. A man who will lie to us about one of the most famous letters in American history will lie about anything, for fun.
More:
- Good Question: Why Do We Celebrate The 4th Of July? (minnesota.cbslocal.com)
- John Adams on celebrating the 2nd of July (toddlohenry.com)
- Happy Fourth of July (anakalianwhims.wordpress.com)
- Quote of the moment, still: John Adams, July 2 “the most memorable Epocha in the History of America” (timpanogos.wordpress.com)
- Chris Rodda noted that an Ohio school district dodged a bullet when they decided not to poison the minds of their teachers with a David Barton “Constitution course”
‘David Barton said what?’ By the time this portrait was painted, Adams knew Americans would celebrate the 4th, and not the 2nd; he seems to be glaring right at David Barton, to tell Barton to quit jerking around with history – John Adams, ca 1816, by Samuel F.B. Morse (Brooklyn Museum) Wikipedia image
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 
Good point. Any way he cuts it, he cuts wrongly. Shoulda just left it alone.
But I suspect he’s got some fairy tale about the sacredness of the 4th of July, and understanding the “Founders” held no such sacredness is more than his brain can process.
We should probably be concerned about Barton’s inability to process reality. He has guns.
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Perhaps he read the quote in a Louis L’Amour novel?
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Dang! He is probably my relation. Since I am a Barton.
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David Barton makes it sound as if John Adams pictured the future (hypothetical) Independence Day celebrations as some sort of dull church ritual. Sure, Adams mentioned “Acts of Devotion to God Almighty” among ways the “Day of Deliverance” ought to be celebrated, but he also included quite a few other ways:
Leaving out the “Bonfires and other Illuminations” seems more significant than leaving out the date.
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