It is always a patriotic celebration on a national scale, complete with picnics, music, and, of course, fireworks. The 4th of July for Americans is Independence Day, but independence from what? What is the meaning of the fourth of July?

Originally, America was a colony, eventually a group of 13 colonies, of Great Britain, which meant that the governmental authority for the colonies was located in London, England. On a local level there were Royal Governors appointed by England to directly rule each colony. This lack of a voice in the government became a serious grievance for the colonists. At least in England the population elected the Members of Parliament to be their representatives, but there was no such privilege in America.

This lack of representation and the levying of taxes on the colonies, such as the Stamp Act and the Tea Act, led to a growing movement in favor of separation from England. It was inevitable that this separation was not going to be achieved in a peaceful manner. The beginning of the American Revolution is generally traced to the battles at Concord and Lexington in the colony of Massachusetts on April 19, 1775 where the Massachusetts militia, known as the Minutemen defeated the British Regulars who were known as the Redcoats for their bright red tunics. This battle was immortalized by Ralph Waldo Emerson as the”shot heard ‘round the world” due to its historic implications.

American flag

Eventually, the representatives of the colonies meeting in the Continental Congress were forced to consider the necessity of independence. It was not universally favored. Some colonists did not want to separate from the British Empire. Debate in the Continental Congress grew quite heated a times. Generally, the northern colonies of New England were in favor of independence and the southern colonies were not. However, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia put the resolution that America should declare its independence forth, and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia wrote the Declaration of Independence, in which the reasons for the separation were stated. Jefferson was later elected as the third President of the United States.

After much debate and compromise, Virginia’s resolution on independence was adopted on July 2nd, 1776. After further debate on the actual language of the Declaration, the final version was approved on July 4th, 1776. Contrary to popular imagery, only John Hancock and Secretary Charles Thompson signed the Declaration at this time. The additional signatures were added over the next several weeks.

So, why do we celebrate the forth of July? We celebrate it to honor our history as a nation, and to honor the courage can convictions of all of the people who were instrumental in securing our independence – Minutemen, Founding Fathers AND Mothers, politicians, and representatives.

American flas

John Adams, representative from the colony of Massachusetts to the Second Continental Congress, member of the Declaration of Independence Committee along with Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, and later the second President of the United States, in a prophetic moment suggested that this day would be celebrated with “pomp and parade” by succeeding generations of Americans.

Therefore, we do and here is how do people celebrate fourth of July

Tagged with: • • •

Filed under: 4th of July

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!