EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – It’s almost time to wish the USA another happy birthday.
Tuesday is the July Fourth holiday and it marks 247 years since our rebellious, colonist ancestors declared their independence from England and King George III.
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But did you know that the Continental Congress actually voted for independence on July 2, 1776 and formally adopted the Declaration of Independence two days later on July 4?
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And most of the founding fathers didn’t actually sign the Declaration of Independence until August 1776.
Founder father John Adams, the future second president of the United States, predicted that the young nation would celebrate its freedom with celebrations every July, but on July 2.
“The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America,” Adams wrote in a letter to his wife on July 3 of that year. “I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.”
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Adams reportedly was annoyed that the nation’s birthday was celebrated on July 2, contrary to his sense of historical accuracy, and he reportedly turned down many requests to speak or make appearances during his lifetime on the nation’s July Fourth holiday.
Still… while the country celebrates its birthday on a different day than imagined by Adams, he would definitely recognize the way we celebrate today — with fireworks, games, food, music and lots of fun.
Here are some other tidbits about July Fourth.
- Two of the most famous signers of the Declaration of Independence – the aforementioned Adams and future third President Thomas Jefferson and chief author of the Declaration of Independence – would both die on July 4, 1826, on the nation’s 50th anniversary in an eerie coincidence. Adams’ last words were “Thomas Jefferson still survives,” but he was mistaken. Jefferson had died five hours earlier.
- James Monroe, the fifth president, would die on July 4, 1831.
- Zachary Taylor, the 12th president, died on July 9, 1850, but it’s generally accepted that he succumbed from complications from eating spoiled fruit and milk during the July Fourth celebration that year.
- Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president, was born on July 4, 1872.
- Other famous Americans born on July Fourth include: playwright Neil Simon (1927); actress Ava Marie Saint (1924); chef and TV personality Andrew Zimmern (1961); composer Stephen Foster (1826); singer-songwriter Bill Withers (1938); singer-songwriter and rapper Post Malone (1995); and Malia Obama (1998), daughter of former President Barack Obama.
- Founding father John Hancock was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence and his signature was the largest and most readable on the document. He reportedly wanted to make sure that King George III could read his name “without his spectacles.” From this arose, the expression “giving your John Hancock” or putting signature on something.
- According to Parents.com, the first known instance of Fourth of July fireworks was in Philadelphia in 1777 and George Washington gave his soldiers double rations of rum on July 4, 1778 to celebrate. Another nod to historic accuracy: The Revolutionary War wasn’t won until 1783.
- According to the American Pyrotechnics Association, Americans now spend more than $1 billion on fireworks each year.
- And according to the National Sausage and Hot Dog Council, Americans eat 150 million hotdogs on July Fourth. That’s enough hotdogs to stretch from Washington to Los Angeles.
- Coney Island, New York, hosts a famous, televised hotdog eating contest every year on July Fourth.
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHEN
