Sometimes we celebrate things without knowing all the particulars. Here are few interesting tidbits I discovered about our National holiday…
1. The Declaration of Independence wasn’t actually signed on July 4, 1776. The Continental Congress voted on it on July 2nd and the formal signing didn’t occur until August 2nd. Think about it. It took a little time for the congressional caligrapher to make it pretty on parchment.
2. John Adams was a bit psychic! He predicted that the day “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.” Of course, he was referring to July 2nd, but he was eerily close otherwise!
3. There are 26 copies of the Declaration of Independence still in existence! Two are in the hands of our British cousins. Well, they would have kept that cheeky document, wouldn’t they?
4. Three US presidents have died on July 4th–Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Monroe.
5. Thomas Jefferson is widely held to be the author of the Declaration of Independence, but in fact, he had a committee behind him. (Of course, he did. We are talking about the government, after all!) John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman of Connecticut and Robert R Livingston of NY all had a finger in the pie.
6. There have been 28 versions of the US flag over the years, the design altering as new states were added to the Union. The current design was part of a 17 year old Robert Heft’s school project. His teacher gave him a B-. When it was adopted as the national flag, his grade was altered to an A. Bet that teacher felt a little sheepish.
7. The Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 men who must have laughed grimly when Ben Franklin said, “We must hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” When they pledged “their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor” they weren’t just trying for a catchy soundbite. The signers were committing treason against the Crown. If the war was lost, they would swing.
8. “Yankee Doodle” was originally sung by British soldiers who were making fun of the ragtag Americans whose sense of style was somewhat lacking by European standards. Contrarians that we are, we adopted the song as our own!
9. July 4th has only been a recognized federal holiday since 1941, though it has been informally celebrated since the initial day of the Declaration’s announcement.
10. The 4th of July is my father’s birthday! He weighed twelve pounds and was almost a month overdue, but he made his entry into the world to the accompaniment of flashbangs and fireworks! To this day, he claims he always celebrated his birthday with burned fingers! Happy Birthday, Dad!
Hope you all have a wonderful 4th! What are your celebration plans?
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Interesting stuff, as a Brit I was never sure why 4th July was celebrated by the Americans, only our family celebrating mum and dads anniversary (58 yrs today).
My American boss tells me it was when the Americans kicked our arses our of your country, and I couldnt disagree. So I googled it earlier today.
Thanks again, always read with interest.
Happy Birthday your dad.
Congrats to your parents, Julie! 58 years, now that’s a love story!
Actually the fighting for the American Revolution had already begun in 1775, before the Declaration of Independence was written. It took till 1782 for the colonials to force Cornwallis to surrender.
Then we Americans went without a formal federal government for another 7 years. The US Constitution wasn’t adopted till 1789.
Despite our bloody history together, there is so much more that unites our people, Julie. Our language, our system of laws, not to mention our love of rock and roll (Thanks for the Beatles, BTW. The Fab Four live forever!) We owe the Brits quite a bit, which is why I referred to you as our “cousins.” You’re probably our country’s best friend in the world.
Mia, I knew most everything that you wrote about Independence Day, but I loved your added comments.
Happy Birthday to your dad.
Well of course you did, Sandy! You’re so well informed.
Unfortunately, I can’t be with my dad today, but I’ve talked to him already and he and my mom are planning a cookout around the pool with the family members who live in the same town. It’ll be a good birthday.
Happy 4th, Mia! As a history buff, I knew some of the things about the signing of the Declaration, but #6 was a surprise. That cracked me up. And #10–oh, my, your grandmother had a tough summer. But what a great way to celebrate a new baby. Happy birthday to your dad!
My sweet little grandma had 4 big babies (the smallest was just over 9 pounds) but Dad was the largest. She was a hearty woman. I was blessed to have her for a long time. She was from the deep end of the gene pool and lived well into her 90′s.
Great blog, Mia – really interesting stuff. I love history!
Thanks, Dani. I’m sort of a history junkie. If I can turn up something out of the ordinary, it tickles me pink.
Well as a New Zealander I learned a lot from your post, Mia. Thanks.
Thanks, Bronwen. And I learned a lot about New Zealand from your post on my blog as well! You’re a spectacular blog guest.
My son (and first child) Griffin was born on July 4th. Monday was his second birthday. So far . . . not a fan of fireworks
Jenny
Happy Bday, Griffin! BTW, Griffin is the name of my hero in Touch of a Scoundrel which will be out next summer in time for July 4th!
Mia,
A late Happy Birthday to your Dad! My younger sons was born on July 3rd but for years thought that the 4th of July fireworks were to celebrate his birthday.
We live in a small town and the local fireworks technician had previously contracted to another town to do their fireworks on July 4th. (You can blame our town council for not acting in a “timely” fashion. Since this was back in the early 1970′s you can see that some things never change.) So every year after cake and ice cream the family would join up with friends and their children and meet down at our local park. To this day people start arriving a little after noontime and stay the day. There are baseball games, music, and people basically sitting around watching the kids play and catching up on old times.
This year we once again traveled to that little park and although our son and his family live in S. Carolina now he was one our thoughts. It was great when some of his boyhood friends stopped by our blanket to “introduce” their newest family members and to see how much the other little ones have grown.
Just wanted to let you know that in New England there are still small towns that celebrate the same as in days gone by.
Sounds like a lovely time, Jeanne. Thanks for sharing!