In honor of Independence Day, and our founding fathers, here's the exact wording of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

Do you ever think how fortunate we in the United States are? At our nation's most crucial time — when we were struggling for independence — we had a group of brilliant men all come together for a singular cause?

They were brave: Would you have signed your name to the Declaration of Independence? Would our top politicians be so bold today?

They were clairvoyant: The declaration and the Constitution hold up so well more than 200 years later.

They were united behind the dream of founding a new nation.

And they were here — in Boston, in Philadelphia, in Washington and New York.

We printed the Declaration of Independence as our editorial Wednesday. You
can read it here: In Congress, July 4,1776