|
|
| Home » 4th Of July » 4th Of July Facts |
Facts about 4th of July |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The US Independence day falls on July 4th and is therefore widely known as the Fourth of July. How did it come into being? The founding forefathers suddenly did not just wake up and opted to rebel against British King George III’s power and supremacy but the facts about 4th of July reveal a lot. There had been perennial attacks on colonist and augmenting duties on colonial goods and imports from England – and automatically the American people were infuriated.
|
|
If you follow the following timelines you will get an idea as to what actually happened and what went in to gain independence for America.
|
|
John Hancock was elected as the president with the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775.
Then on May 15, the Congress lays the colonies in a state of denial.
On June 15, the Congress collectively voted for appointing George Washington as the general and commander-in-chief of the new Continental Army.
On July 26, 1775, an American Post Office was launched with Ben Franklin becoming the Postmaster General.
|
|
|
|
The American Navy was established by the Congress on November 28, 1775.
It was on December 23, 1775; that King George III issued a royal announcement which closed the American colonies for entire trade and commerce. It took effect on March 1776.
In December 1775, Congress was communicated that France might offer support during war against Britain.
On June 11, Congress nominated a committee for drafting the declaration of independence, whose committee members were Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Livingston and Roger Sherman. And the committee thereafter, selected Jefferson to devise the first draft of The Declaration of Independence.
The Continental Congress approves the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776.
Thenceforth, the 13 colonies embarked on the road of freedom and operated as an autonomous nation. The special day in the US is considered to be a public holiday and is celebrated with parades, fireworks and backyard barbecues all over the nation.
There was a major protest to being ruled by Britain, which was taxation without representation. The colonists were never given a chance to put forward their words or suggestions in the decisions of English Parliament.
In May, 1776, after almost a year of trying to adjudicate their conflicts with England, the colonies sent designates to the Second Continental Congress to solve the problem.
In June, it came into limelight that all the efforts were in vain and thus a committee was formed to draw up the formal Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson headed this committee. With other members in the committee like John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Philip Livingston and Roger Sherman, the draft was finally prepared.
First draft of the declaration was presented to the Congress on June 28, 1776.
Betsy Ross, as per old legends in America, sewed the first American flag in May or June 1776, as accredited by the Congressional Committee.
In Philadelphia, the first Independence Day was celebrated on July 8, 1776.
The Liberty Bell voiced from the tower of Independence Hall on July 8, 1776, summonsing citizens for the purpose of gathering for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence by Colonel John Nixon.
For promoting national pride and unity, the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777, 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’ is derived from the Latin patria, meaning ‘homeland’ or ‘fatherland.’
The first public event of Fourth of July was held at the White House in 1804.
Firecrackers and other celebration items happen to be the main elements of 4th July.
Independence Day in the west of the Mississippi was first celebrated at the Independence Creek and the event was organized by Lewis and Clark in 1805.
On June 24, 1826, Thomas Jefferson declined an invitation from Roger C. Weightman, to come to Washington, D.C., for celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
July 4, 1826 – the day in the history of America’s independence when Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died.
The official event of signing the declaration was held on August 2, 1776, when 50 men signed on it.
For the purpose of protecting the signers, the names of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were withheld from the public for about 6 months.
If, by chance, independence wasn’t achieved, the rebellious act of the signers, by law, would have resulted in their deaths.
In January, 1777, Thomas McKean was the last person to sign.
In 1941, Congress declared 4th of July as a federal legal holiday.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
