Former Governor Jay Nixon will read the Declaration of Independence at the Greene County Courthouse on Wednesday, July 8 — a nod to a role his ancestor Col. John Nixon filled many years before.
According to the National Park Service, Col. Nixon publicly read the Declaration of Independence for the first time on the steps of Independence Hall in Philadelphia at noon on July 8, 1776. He was sheriff of Philadelphia at the time, according to Nixon, and the signers wanted the document to be read by the highest-ranking public safety official.
It was 250 years ago when 13 American colonies signed the document, declaring independence from Britain.
Nixon hopes those who attend the event Wednesday will truly listen to the words he's reading.
"Listening to 250 years of history and seeing what the thoughts were as the greatest country in the history of the world was invented and seeing the challenges that they saw at that time and seeing the hostility to the king and the despotism of England, all of that stuff is very illuminating when you look at it in the context of where we are now," he said.
Nixon said the Declaration of Independence is inspiring to him, and he's awed by the "clarity and intellect of the writing."
"It's powerfully and well phrased and worded and edited...kind of like that famous edit of Benjamin Franklin's who put, who made the edit of 'We hold these truths to be self-evident' from what it was before, kind of a major part of the declaration. So, you had some of the brightest, most capable, well educated, thoughtful people doing this."
He hopes people can once again have conversations about the document and what it means.
Nixon said he chose to participate in Greene County’s 250th anniversary event because it’s bipartisan. Organizers are the America 250 Commission, the Rachel Donelson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Ozark Mountain Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution and other community organizations.
"I was inspired by the fact that both the Democrat and Republican women's clubs were involved and supportive," he said. "And I think that's the kind of message that we all need to hear and America needs to especially hear from the heartland right now."
Wednesday's Celebrating America event will start at 2 p.m. in the Greene County Courthouse Rotunda followed by an old-fashioned ice cream social.
