Fourth of July
The Fourth of July is the most important national holiday and annual celebration of the Independence of the United States from Great Britain. It started with "Taxation without representation!" and on July 4th, 1776, the Continental Congress formally signed the Declaration of Independence and America's 13 colonies broke away from the Kingdom of Great Britain as an independent nation. The very first celebration was held in the nation's capital, then Philadelphia. Congress established Independence Day as a holiday in 1870, [1] and as a legal holiday in 1941.
Most American businesses are closed and the citizens enjoy the summer holiday with cookouts, get-togethers, concerts, baseball, picnics, barbecues, bon fires, parades, and at night time enjoy displays of fireworks. Some people hold re-enactments of Revolutionary War era and some people give political speeches at events across the nations cities and towns.
The Flag and symbols of it are in evidence everywhere, in this annual outpouring of patriotism. An expression of pride and hope can be found in many patriotic songs such as the national anthem The Star Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful, God Bless America, My Country 'Tis of Thee and The Stars and Stripes Forever. [2]
Patriot letters
John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail on July 3rd, it reads [3]
| “ | 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 for evermore. | ” |
In a letter written on June 24, 1826, Thomas Jefferson says,
| “ | May it be to the world, what I believe it will be ... the signal of arousing men to burst the chains ... and to assume the blessings and security of self-government. That form, which we have substituted, restores the free right to the unbounded exercise of reason and freedom of opinion. All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. ... For ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them. | ” |
In a quote from John F. Kennedy,
| “ | We dare not forget that we are the heirs of that first revolution. | ” |
See Also
References
- ↑ History of the Fourth PBS.org
- ↑ Patriotic Melodies The Library of Congress
- ↑ July 4th History Kidz101.com
