By our hands we exacted a declaration of freedom from oppression and independence to run our own lives. These are very powerful words. No master plan or finances were in place. We, some still enslaved, understood and those free of shackles went forward, worked hard and battled and made change. We secured the pursuit of happiness, the freedom of religion, the right of all humans. We strive even today to enhance and strengthen those founding concepts in the consolidation of the United States.