It is this week we celebrate the extraordinary heroism — and sheer audacity — of the 13 colonies who shocked the world when they declared the United States an independent nation.

Those in the colonies — New York among them — had grown tired of the treatment from the crown, and after listing a litany of grievances from the balcony of Faneuil Hall, declared their independence.

As we look back now, it is easy to believe that the colonists’ success was foreordained, but that is far from the truth. In reality, Britain might well have won the war, had it not been for the participation of thousands upon thousands of ordinary farmers, artisans, and laborers, who willingly put themselves in the line of fire to fight for the dream of independence.

There were times when that dream seemed like a distant spark — the Battle of Lexington and Concord, or the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, when it looked to all that the Revolution might be over just a month after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. And, of course, a betrayal close to our home here, with the treason of Benedict Arnold at West Point.

But despite Britain’s superior strength, numbers, and wealth, America — with its ragtag band of colonies — fought its way to victory, and the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1783, ratified that victory and recognized the existence of the United States. Gathered at West Point, right here in Orange County, General Washington told his troops that in winning independence over the crown, they had secured America’s independence and sovereignty, and that the new nation they would build enlarged the prospects of happiness of all Americans. This was the promise of this new, emerging nation, and one that I think of now, as we celebrate the freedoms we enjoy and — more importantly — are entitled to as Americans. I am grateful for the audacity of those early colonists, and to every American who has come afterward, willing to fight in ways large and small for the cause of freedom and democracy.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

A very happy Fourth of July to everyone.

State Sen. James Skoufis

42nd State Senate District

Cornwall