Refresher: Why we celebrate the Fourth of July
and
How the Fourth of July Holiday Came About?
Many people think we celebrate the
Fourth of July
because it is the day we received our
Independence from England. While those people are thinking along the right track,
that is not the entire reason that we celebrate the Fourth of July, nor is it the reason
that the Fourth of July holiday came about.
Way back in the 18th century, the United States was not considered the United States.
In fact, what we now call states were actually called
colonies.
The United States was
actually an extension of England. People traveled from England aboard ships to settle
in America, but eventually differences in life, thought, and interests began to develop
which caused a rift between Britain and America.
When the colonies were first settled, they were allowed, for the most part, to develop
freely without hardly any interface from Britain, but things abruptly changed in 1763.
Britain suddenly decided that they needed to take more control over the colonies and
that the colonies needed to return revenue to the mother country. They also felt the
colonies needed to pay for the their defense, which was being provided by Britain.
But the colonies did not agree with these new rules and felt that since they were not
represented in Parliament that they shouldn’t have to pay any kinds of taxes to the
mother country--thus, the slogan,
“
no taxation without representation”.
When Britain continued to tax the colonies, they formed the
First Continental
Congress
to persuade the British government to recognize their rights. When this
didn’t work, a war was declared, called the
American Revolution.
After the First Continental Congress failed to persuade Britain to recognize the colonies’
rights, and war was declared, things began to heat up. Many people who were both
considered moderates and radicals had decided that
enough was enough,
and that any
kind of taxation without representation was considered tyranny.
People, such as John Adams, Samuel Adams, and Ben Franklin, as well as a group
called the Sons of Liberty, decided that it was time to unite all of the colonies and to
stand together against Britain.
During the course of the American Revolution, a second Continental Congress was formed.
It is this group that adopted the
final draft of the Declaration of Independence.
The Declaration of Independence was drafted by John Adams, Ben Franklin,
Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman.
After the first draft was written by Thomas Jefferson, it was revised by Ben Franklin,
John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson before it was sent to Congress for approval.
All thirteen colonies stood behind the Declaration of Independence and adopted it in
full
on
July 4, 1776
.
T
his is where the Fourth of July holiday comes in.
The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day because that is the day that the
Second Continental Congress adopted the full and formal Declaration of Independence.
Even though we had declared that we were independent, the American Revolution
was still being fought, which meant that we were still not independent.
Regardless of the ongoing war the following year, people in Philadelphia
celebrated a muted
Fourth of July.
While celebrations on July 4th during the American Revolution were modest,
after the war ended in 1783, the
Fourth of July
became a holiday in many places.
The celebrations included speeches, military events, parades, and fireworks.
To this day the Fourth of July is the most patriotic holiday celebrated in the United States.
Stay Safe, Stay Strong, and Stay Blessed,
Dr. Hattie N. Washington (Aunt Hattie)
