Five things everybody should know about July 4th
Declaration of Independence (U.S. Archives)
These are five things you and everybody else should know about July 4th.
I posted these a few years ago, but I like them so much I’m doing it again. Here they are, adapted from George Mason University’sHistory News Network:
1. Independence was not actually declared on the Fourth of July.
America’s independence from Great Britain was actually declared by the Continental Congress onJuly 2, 1776. That’s why John Adams thought July 2 was going to be the day future Americans celebrated.
On the night of July 2nd, the Pennsylvania Evening Post published the statement: “This day the Continental Congress declared the United Colonies Free and Independent States.”
So what happened on the Glorious Fourth?
The document justifying the act of Congress — you know it as Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence — was adopted on the Fourth, as is indicated on the document itself, which is, one supposes, the cause for all the confusion. As one scholar has observed, what has happened is that the document announcing the event has
July 4th — by the numbers
Year after year our friendly U.S. Census Bureau issues facts and figures about various holidays during the year. Here’s the July 4th, 2013, edition: The Fourth of July 2013 On this day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved … Continue reading →