"When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitled them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind required that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. . . ."
 
The foregoing quote is the beginning text of the Declaration of Independence adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776 proclaiming the independence of the 13 British colonies in America.  The declaration stated the grievances of the colonies and marked a culmination of a protest against restrictions by the British crown on colonial trade, manufacturing, and political liberty which had developed into a revolutionary struggle.  The Declaration was unanimously adopted by the delegates of 12 colonies on July 4th, with New York endorsing the Declaration on July 9th (after the New York Provincial Congress voted to endorse the Declaration).  After the United States was fully established, the Declaration of  Independence's list of grievances ceased to have any but historic significance.  However, the political philosophy in the Declaration had continuing influence on political developments in America and Europe for many years and it served as a source of authority for the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution.  In 1789, upon organization of the national government, the Declaration of Independence was assigned for safekeeping to the Department of State.  In 1841, it was deposited in the Patent Office, then part of the Department of State.  In 1877 it was returned to the State Department.  Because of rapid fading of the text and the deterioration of the parchment, the document was withdrawn from exhibition in 1894.  It is now enshrined in the National Archives Exhibition Hall, Washington, D.C. and is sealed in a glass and bronze case filled with inert helium gas.
 
For a complete text of the Declaration of Independence, go to www.earlyamerica.com.

 

 

Betsy Ross' life was not too different from that of an entrepreneur today, except that she lived in a different era, on a different playing field, and began her sewing business at the start of the Revolutionary War (1775-1786).  A fourth-generation American born on January 1, 1752, she was the eighth of 17 children and grew up in a strict Quaker society.  Betsy learned how to sew from her great-aunt, Sarah Griscom.  After completing Quaker public school, her father apprenticed her to a local upholsterer, where she fell in love with another apprentice, John Ross, a non-Quaker.  Because the Quaker society did not allow marriages to non-Quakers, Betsy (then 21) and John eloped on a November night in 1773, causing her expulsion from the Quaker congregation.  In 1775, Betsy and John Ross started their own sewing business in Philadelphia, a difficult decision at the time - the war had started, competition was tough, fabrics were hard to come by, business was slow and they could not rely on the Quaker community for business.  On Sunday's they attended Christ Church, many times finding George Washington, (head of the Continental Army), sitting in an adjacent pew.  Less than three years after they married, John joined the Pennsylvania militia and died on January 21, 1776 of injuries when an ammunition storehouse he was guarding exploded.
 
Betsy acquired property and kept up the sewing business, and began making flags for Pennsylvania.  She made history when, during a visit to her home in late May 1776 by a secret committee (George Washington, Robert Morris and her husband's uncle, George Ross) she was presented with a drawing of a 6-point star and asked if she could create this for the new nation's flag.  Betsy however, suggested a 5-pointed star that would be  easier to make.  She demonstrated by folding a piece of paper and, with a single snip of her scissors, produced a symmetrical five-pointed star.  This so impressed the committee that they readily accepted her suggestion and commissioned her to stitch the first American "stars and stripes" flag which had 13 stripes and 13 stars representing the original 13 colonies.  She finished the flag in early June 1776, prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in July.
 
In June 1777 she married a sea captain, Joseph Ashburn.  During the winter of 1777, their home was forcibly shared with British soldiers.  This same winter, the Continental Army was suffering its historic winter at Valley Forge.  Betsy and Joseph had two daughters (one whom died as a child).  While on a trip to the West Indies in 1781 to pick up war supplies, Captain Ashburn was captured and sent to a British prison, where he died in March 1782.  Betsy was told of her husband's death by another sailor and old friend, John Claypoole, who had been imprisoned with her husband.
 
In May 1783, John Claypoole and Betsy were married at Christ Church.  John abandoned his life at sea and joined Betsy in her business for a short time before taking a position at the U.S. Customs House in Philadelphia. Betsy and John had five daughters (one of whom died at nine months).  After 20 years of ill health, John died in 1817.  Betsy never remarried but continued working and bringing many of her family into the business.  On her retirement in 1827, she went to live with a daughter who continued to operate the business.  Betsy died on January 30, 1836, at the age of 84.  (For more information on Betsy Ross, visit www.womenshistory.about.com and www.ushistory.org)

 

 

At the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 there were approximately 2.5 million people living in the 13 colonies under the rule of England's King George III; this July 4th there will be more than 304 million people in the United States.  Americans spent more than $4.7 million on American flags in 2007, and $4.3 million worth of those flags were made in China.  America's second president, John Adams, was the first to light the fireworks' spark for Independence Day when he said the holiday ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade - and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other.  (Source:  U.S. Census Bureau)

 

 

Answer:  Mazon's fee structure is based on a combination of the following criteria:  Anticipated monthly factoring volume; customer creditworthiness, number of factored customers; number of invoices sent to customers; average invoice amount and the average days to pay an invoice.

 

 

The Texas State Comptroller routinely reminds Texas residents that it is holding unclaimed money belonging to everyone from police departments to schools, elected public officials and individuals. The Comptroller keeps a list of money owed to people, either from refunds, undelivered checks or cash left in a will.  Businesses are also on that list, and they can claim money as well.  To check to see if your money is being held, go to the Texas Comptroller's unclaimed property website and follow the easy instructions.  If you have money being held, it will take approximately 6-8 weeks for processing. Click http://tinyurl.com/7lsbe or search "Texas Comptroller's Unclaimed Property" on the internet.  The database is updated nightly. If you do have lived in other states, there is a "Links to Other Unclaimed Property Sites" on this page to find other states' unclaimed property websites.  (Note:  There is no charge to persons requesting unclaimed money from the Comptroller's official website - BEWARE of websites that claim to help you get unclaimed money and charge you a fee for their services as these may be possible scams!)

 

 

The following recent recalls were issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.  More details can be found at www.cpsc.gov.  BattEQ Battery Equalizers (Mfg: SmartSpark Energy Systems, Champaign, IL); Heat Guns (Mfg: Wagner Spray Tech, Minneapolis, MN); Campbell Hausfeld Air Compressors sold at WalMart (Imp: Campbell Hausfeld, Harrison, OH); Viking Built-In Side-by-Side Frigerator/Freezers and Refrigerators with Bottom Freezers (Mfg: Viking Range Corp, Greenwood, MS); Starbucks Barista Blade Grinders and Seattle's Best Coffee Blade Grinders (Imp: Starbucks Coffee, Seattle WA); National and Sanyo Hand-Held Hair Dryers (Imp: Vintage International, Hacienda Heights, CA); Offset Patio Umbrellas (Imp: The Home Depot, Atlanta, GA); Bunn Single Cup Pod Brewers (Mfg: Bunn-O-Matic, Springfield, IL).

 

 

 

 

Helen Keller (1880 - 1968)