July 4th Celebration Beginning

After the members of the Second Continental Congress approved and signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, John Adams wrote about the occasion in a letter to his wife Abigail: "I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding Generations as the great anniversary Festival." He suggested that it should "be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty." and "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 was talking about July 2, 1776, when the document was approved and signed, and not July 4th, when it was formally adopted by the Continental Congress. For the remainder of his life, Adams considered July 2 to be America's true Independence Day, and he was so upset when the Fourth became the accepted holiday that he refused to participate in any celebrations on that date.

July 4th

Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States, died the same day in 1826 as John Adams, second president of the United States, on the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. A few years later, fellow founding father, and fifth President of the United States, James Monroe passed away on July 4th, 1831. Interesting that three of the first five American presidents died on the 4th of July.

Incidentally, The people of France offered the Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World to the people of the United States on July 4th, 1884.

Happy July 4th

Tomorrow is July 4, and is Independence Day in the US. It is commonly known as the Fourth of July or July Fourth and is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from Great Britain (but we are still friends).