On a side note, I found it quite ironic that Good Morning America spent so much time covering Prince William and Kate and their trip to Canada today. As it was their ancestors who we declared independence from on this day in 1776. I don’t know why people are obsessed with British royalty anyway, isn’t that what we were trying to get away from?
From purpletrail.com:
On July the 4th, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress. Thereafter, the 13 colonies embarked on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. This most American of holidays is traditionally celebrated with parades, fireworks and backyard barbecues across the country.
4th of July History & Trivia -Did You Know…
The major objection to being ruled by Britain was taxation without representation. The colonists had no say in the decisions of English Parliament.
In May, 1776, after nearly a year of trying to resolve their differences with England, the colonies sent delegates to the Second Continental Congress. Finally, in June, admitting that their efforts were hopeless; a committee was formed to compose the formal Declaration of Independence.
Headed by Thomas Jefferson, the committee also included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Philip Livingston and Roger Sherman. On June 28, 1776, Thomas Jefferson presented the first draft of the declaration to Congress.
Betsy Ross, according to legend, sewed the first American flag in May or June 1776, as commissioned by the Congressional Committee.
Independence Day was first celebrated in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776.
The Liberty Bell sounded from the tower of Independence Hall on July 8, 1776, summoning citizens to gather for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence by Colonel John Nixon.
June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress, looking to promote national pride and unity, adopted the national flag. “Resolved: that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”
The word ‘patriotism’ comes from the Latin patria, which means ‘homeland’ or ‘fatherland.’
The first public Fourth of July event at the White House occurred in 1804.
Before cars ruled the roadway, the Fourth of July was traditionally the most miserable day of the year for horses, tormented by all the noise and by the boys and girls who threw firecrackers at them.
The first Independence Day celebration west of the Mississippi occurred at Independence Creek and was celebrated by Lewis and Clark in 1805.
Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on Independence Day, July 4, 1826.
The 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence did not sign at the same time, nor did they sign on July 4, 1776. The official event occurred on August 2, 1776, when 50 men signed it.
The names of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were withheld from the public for more than six months to protect the signers. If independence had not been achieved, the treasonable act of the signers would have, by law, resulted in their deaths.
Thomas McKean was the last to sign in January, 1777.
The origin of Uncle Sam probably began in 1812, when Samuel Wilson was a meat packer who provided meat to the US Army. The meat shipments were stamped with the initials, U.S. Someone joked that the initials stood for “Uncle Sam”. This joke eventually led to the idea of Uncle Sam symbolizing the United States government.
In 1941, Congress declared 4th of July a federal legal holiday. It is one of the few federal holidays that have not been moved to the nearest Friday or Monday.
Independence Day Trivia & Facts – An Inspired America:
Thirty places nationwide with “liberty” in their name. Liberty, Missouri (26,232) boasts the highest population of the 30 at 26,232. Iowa has more of these places than any other state at four: Libertyville, New Liberty, North Liberty and West Liberty.
Eleven places have “independence” in their name. The most populous of these is Independence, Missouri, with 113,288 residents.
Five places adopted the name “freedom.” Freedom, California, with 6,000 residents, has the largest population among these.
There is one place named “patriot” — Patriot, Indiana, with a population of 202.
And what could be more fitting than spending the day in a place called “America”? There are five such places in the country, with the most populous being American Fork, Utah, with 21,941 residents.
“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.”-The Declaration Of IndependenceFrom IndependenceDayfun.com:
-The Declaration of Independence 4 of July, 1776.
• The United States Declaration of Independence is an act of the Second Continental Congress.
• The United States Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776
• The United States Declaration of Independence declared that the Thirteen Colonies in North America we “free and independent states.”?
• The Declaration explained the justifications for separation from the British crown.
• It was also an expansion of Richard Henry Lee’s Resolution which had been passed on July 2.
• The Declaration of Independence is on display in the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C.
• The Declaration of Independence is considered to be the founding document of the United States of America
• Americans celebrate Independence on July 4 which was the day that the Declaration was adopted.
• John Hancock was the first and only person to sign the Declaration on July 4, 1776.
• John Hancock was the President of the Continental Congress at the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
• The remaining 54 delegates did not sign the Declaration until August 2, 1776.
• The Second Continental Congress formed a committee known today as “The Committee of Five. It consisted of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman.
• The Committee of Five was to come up with a draft for the Declaration. The Committee decided that Jefferson would write the Declaration.
• The Committee of Five first presented the document to Congress on June 28, 1776.
That’s my two cents.
Great post Tam. It was fun spending Independence Day with you.
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