Independence Day

Independence Day of the united States of America is celebrated every year on July 4th. This holiday commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 4, 1776.

At the time of the actual signing, the US consisted of 13 colonies, which were under the rule of King George III of England.

There was a growing concern in the colonies over the escalating taxes being paid to England. The colonists had no representation in the English Parliament and no say as to how their taxes were spent. This was known as "Taxation without Representation".

King George sent extra troops in order to control any rebellion over the taxes. In the year 1774, the 13 colonies had sent some delegates to Philadelphia which formed the First Continental Congress. These delegates were rather unhappy with England, but were not quite ready to declare war just yet.

When the King's troops advanced in April 1775 on Concord Massachusetts, a man by the name Paul Revere sounded the alarm - "The British are coming, the British are coming". This battle of Concord marked the unofficial start of the colonies war for Independence.

In May of 1775 the colonies once again had sent delegates to the Second Continental Congress. The congress attempted to work out the differences. No luck.

As June 1776 came around a committee was put together to compose a formal declaration of independence seeing all of their efforts were getting them no where. The head of the committee was Thomas Jefferson and it also included Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman. They chose Thomas Jefferson to write the first draft which on June 28th was presented to the congress. After some changes were made, a vote was taken on July 4th. Of the 13 colonies, nine had voted in favor of the Declaration, Pennsylvania and South Carolina voted No, Delaware was undecided and New York abstained.

To make everything official, President of the Continental Congress, John Hancock, signed the Declaration of Independence. It is told that John Hancock had signed his name "with a great flourish" so "King George can read that without spectacles". In other words, he really wanted to rub it in his face so to speak and to get a point across.

The very next day copies of the Declaration were distributed. The Pennsylvania Evening Post was the first newspaper that printed the Declaration on July 6, 1776. July 8th was when the Declaration was first publicly read in Independence Square located in Philadelphia. The Province Bell in Independence Hall was had been rung during the reading as the crowd cheered. The "Province Bell" was later renamed the "Liberty Bell".

Though the actual signing of the Declaration was not complete until August, the 4th of July was accepted as the official United States anniversary date of independence. The very first Independence Day celebration had taken place the following year on July 4, 1777. The tradition of parades, picnics, and fireworks to celebrate America's birthday was started in the early 1800s.

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