Before you start firing up the grill, cutting up some watermelon and finding a spot to view the fireworks display, think about what Independence Day really means.

It’s loathsome when folks call it the Fourth of July. That’s a date, nothing more.

The Declaration of Independence is something we know about. But what isn’t apparent is that it wasn’t drafted and signed from a position of strength.

The Continental Congress, by signing that document, became a group of brilliant men who gave themselves possible death sentences. They went from good-minded folks with a problem with tyranny to traitors to the crown.

They had reason for optimism in that heady summer.

George Washington’s Continental Army of untrained farmers and shopkeepers and carpenters had taken Boston in March of 1776, after Henry Knox brought heavy cannon from the captured Fort Ticonderoga and Washington’s army had mounted them on the commanding Dorchester Heights.

But Washington couldn’t bask in the glow of this triumph. He had to move his army south to New York to counter any moves against the strategic port of New York, which was one the largest cities in the 13 colonies.

On July 2, a fleet sailed into New York harbor carrying 15,000 troops, which landed on nearby Staten Island. Sails and masts filled the horizon as mighty ships of war and transports brought the might of George III’s British Empire into full view of his rebellious subjects.

On July 9, the Declaration was delivered to Washington’s army and his troops were read the document. In their hearts, they knew that there would be no going back. There would be no peace. It was either victory or enslavement.

In 1781, Washington and the French forced the surrender of Gen. Lord Cornwallis in Yorktown and effectively ended the war, which came officially two years later.

But never forget, in that hot summer of 1776, something more significant than just an excuse for barbecues and fireworks took place. It was the birth of a nation, but more importantly, it was a massive gamble that ultimately paid off.

Perhaps that’s why we celebrate the date with a loud bang and a burst of color. So, while you are looking up at the fireworks display take a moment and be thankful that a handful of men took a gamble on what would become the birth of a nation.