07/04/2023
Happy ! 🇺🇸 On July 4 of every year, we celebrate the Founding Fathers’ adoption of the Declaration of Independence which removed the 13 original colonies from British rule.
The idea of complete independence from Great Britain was not widely adopted by the colonists until more than a year into the Revolutionary War, fueled by growing hostility against the British and the spread of radical new opinions about independence, such as those contained in Thomas Paine’s pamphlet, “Common Sense”. On June 7, 1776, the Continental Congress met at the Pennsylvania State House (now known as Independence Hall) to introduce a motion to break the colonies off from British rule. Tense arguments ensued and the Congress decided to postpone the independence vote; in the meantime, they appointed a five-man committee (Thomas Jefferson of VA, Roger Sherman of CT, Benjamin Franklin of PA, John Adams of MA and Robert R. Livingston of NY) to draft a formal document detailing their reasons for desiring independence.
Some of the Founding Fathers were adamant about celebrating our independence on July 2 instead of July 4, since the actual vote for independence took place on July 2, 1776, and ended in a near-unanimous vote; on July 4, the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence, and our nation was born.
In the years following the adoption of the Declaration, colonists celebrated with bonfires, parades, and the firing of cannons and muskets, and would also hold mock funerals for King George III to symbolize the death of the monarchy’s control over America. Philadelphia held the nation’s first annual fireworks celebration for the anniversary of Independence in 1777, and Massachusetts became the first state to make July 4 a national holiday in 1781. Congress named July 4 a federal holiday in 1870, and it became a paid holiday for federal workers in 1941.
Today, Americans continue to celebrate Independence Day much as the colonists did, with fireworks, parades, barbecues and live renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner”, our National Anthem.
Source: https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/july-4th
