Isn't life so strange
in that some people seem to receive a lot of
attention and recognition for their deeds and
actions, while others doing equally great deeds
seem to receive little or no attention or
recognition at all. Such is the case of one man
- Caesar Rodney - perhaps one of the most
overlooked characters in our American history,
because without his part, our Declaration may
have turned out so very differently.
You see, in that July of 1776 after the
Declaration was written but had not passed, the
delegates had to meet and talk and sometimes
argue about just what to do. What many do not
know is that a number of the delegates were in
favor of there being no break from England -
they insisted that the colonies continue
dialogue with the British Parliament, keep
working for a peaceful solution. Because of
their unwillingness to vote for independence,
the vote for passage of the Declaration was
falling far short of passing.
So, how did it pass? In steps one character - a
man most Americans have never even heard of -
his name, Caesar Rodney. Who was Caesar Rodney?
He was one of the delegates from the colony of
Delaware to be sent to the Continental Congress
meeting there in July, 1776, but he could not
get there because he was very sick.
On the first vote for Independence, the vote was
short - only ten colonies voted "yes", and one
of the dissenting colonies was his colony,
Delaware. Its vote was split and only he could
cast the vote to break the deadlock. And on that
next day at 1pm, a final vote for Independence
was to be taken - literally everything was on
the line.
So, a dispatch was sent to Caesar Rodney's home.
By the time the rider arrived at Rodney's home,
it was 2am. He explained to Rodney the
circumstance. Rodney was suffering from a severe
case of asthma and had been advised that he
should not travel. But despite his serious
illness, Rodney prepared to make the trip by
horseback of almost eighty miles to Philadelphia
- he had only a few hours to get there or the
vote for Independence could very well be lost.
Caesar Rodney rode literally all night long
through a terrible storm and the next morning
through a severe summer heat wave to arrive at
the meeting hall just in time for the 1 o'clock
vote.
Because he was sick and exhausted, he had to be
literally carried into the meeting hall. As the
other delegates watched on, Caesar Rodney
dramatically placed his tie breaking vote, and
his selfless act of dedication to the cause of
freedom was so moving that all remaining
dissenters changed their votes. Yes, that's
right. The vote for Independence passed because
of a man almost unknown in our nation's history
- Caesar Rodney.
The moral to the story? Do what is right
regardless of the recognition you may or may not
receive. And remember - actions do have results.
What are you being called to do?
Ever notice on our U.S. currency the phrase "e pluribus unum"? What
does that mean and why is it put there?
On all of our currency is the phrase "e pluribus unum." You say, "It
all sounds Greek to me." Actually it's Latin and what it says is
"Many becoming one." What does that mean? Simply and powerfully
this. We are a diverse people, 300 million people, but together we
make up one nation- America. But there's something quite disturbing
going on today- there's more talk about "globalism" than
"nationalism." That we as a nation need to be more like everyone else
- just another nation.
But, know this, when nationalism dies in America, so will the
greatness of America. Think about it.
