Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a
federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the
Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the
Kingdom of Great Britain (now officially known as the United Kingdom).
Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues,
carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and
political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and
private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the
United States. Independence Day is the National Day of the United States.
During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the
Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second
Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had
been proposed in June by Richard Henry Leeof Virginia declaring the United
States independent from Great Britain. After voting for independence, Congress
turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining
this decision, which had been prepared by a Committee of Five, with Thomas
Jefferson as its principal author. Congress debated and revised the wording of
the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4. A day earlier, John Adams had
written to his wife Abigail:
The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable
epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated
by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be
commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God
Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games,
sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this
continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.
Adams's prediction was off by two days. From the outset, Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2, the date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress.
Historians have long disputed whether Congress actually
signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, even though Thomas Jefferson,
John Adams, and Benjamin Franklinall later wrote that they had signed it on
that day. Most historians have concluded that the Declaration was signed nearly
a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4 as is commonly
believed.
In a remarkable coincidence, both John Adams and Thomas
Jefferson, the only signers of the Declaration of Independence later to serve
as Presidents of the United States, died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which
was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. Although not a signer of the
Declaration of Independence, but another Founding Father who became a
President, James Monroe, died on July 4, 1831, thus becoming the third
President in a row who died on this memorable day. Calvin Coolidge, the 30th
President, was born on July 4, 1872, and, so far, is the only President to have
been born on Independence Day.
(Adapted from Wikipedia Encyclopedia)