ABNER DOUBLEDAY invented baseball, and is “the father of baseball.” Walter Camp created football while James Naismith invented basketball. All are honored for their accomplishments. The Scandinavians introduced skiing to the world while Greece created the original Olympic games. Both are so honored.
Honoring “firsts” seems to be a worldwide custom as well it should be. Why is it that Joe Biden forgot this practice?
We honor George Washington as “the father of our country” because he is the first president of the United States.
So, too, with Neil Armstrong as “the first man on the moon.” The Wright Brothers, history tells us, are the first men to invent, build, and fly the first successful motorized airplane. Henry Ford is forever remembered for inventing the automobile assembly line, and thus creating millions of affordable automobiles. Let’s not forget Thomas Edison who invented early versions of the electric light bulb, phonograph, and motion picture camera. These individuals are forever honored for their unique accomplishments “bettering the world.” Where would we be without Alexander Graham Bell’s important invention of the telephone? The list goes on. We honor Jackie Robinson for the courage he demonstrated in becoming the first African-American to break the baseball color line. Tom Brady is honored as the G.O.A.T. for his accomplishments in football.
What about a group of voters of a particular state who voted in a timely manner to create a constitutional, republican government for the people of the 13 independent states? These voters, by voting when they did, allowed the creation of one, united country, namely, the “United States of America,” from the 13 separate, individual entities, or 13 “independent states” that they had become after the War for Independence from Great Britain on April 15, 1783.
According to those rules of governance (unification/agreement) that our Founders created, nine (2/3) of those independent states had to consent to join together to form one union under a new constitution (agreement) in order to dissolve the old, weak agreement known as “The Articles of Confederation.” So, nine out of 13 were needed to dissolve the old agreement, and create this new agreement of unification (the U.S. Constitution).
The independent state of New Hampshire was that ninth vote, which thus allowed creation of this new country. Due to this vote by the New Hampshire delegation, the idea of the United States of America was born!
The new country adopted the new name the United States of America. This important and timely vote occurred on Sept. 21, 1788. Under Article VII of the 1787 U.S. Constitution stated that once nine states had ratified (voted in favor of), it would become “sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution” between the 13 states so ratifying the same. “Ultimately, New Hampshire achieved the honor on June 21, 1788, putting the U.S .Constitution into effect. A new nation was born!
All Americans and both political parties should honor New Hampshire for this “first,” of ratifying this new constitution, and thus, creating a new country. Granting New Hampshire the privilege of holding the “First-in-the-Nation-Primary’”(FITN) every four years is an honor rightfully deserved!
James McKim, president of the Manchester, NH-NAACP agrees. Speaking on WMUR’s “Close Up” (Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023), he stated “…FITN shouldn’t be on race. Other factors need to be included.”
In a commendable show of bipartisanship, state Democrat leader in Concord, Donna Soucy of Manchester, supports the Granite State’s FITN position.
New Hampshire’s two U.S. Democrat senators, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, slammed President Biden’s proposal to put South Carolina ahead of the Granite State on the Democrat Party’s presidential primary calendar “misguided” and “short-sighted.” Further, Shaheen quipped, “It’s tremendously disappointing that the President failed to understand the unique role that New Hampshire plays in our candidate selection process as the first Primary state.” (New York Post, Dec. 2, 2022).
I think President Biden, due to his discernable, cognitive disabilities, has forgotten U.S. history with this ludicrous presidential proposal to end New Hampshire’s 104-year status as the state to lead off the nation’s electoral process.
In the words of Governor Chris Sununu, “But I have a message for them (DNC Primary Committee) and President Biden – you can try to come and take it – but that is never going to happen. It’s just not in our DNA to take orders from Washington. We will not be blackmailed. We will not be threatened, and we will not give up. You see the New Hampshire Primary has stood the test of time, giving everyone a fair shot.”
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Nick De Mayo lives in Sugar Hill and is Northern Grafton County Republican Committee chairman.
