History of the 4th of July?

Why is the 4th of July a patriotic moment in American history?

• Answer:

  New Englanders had been fighting the British since April 1775. The first motion in the Continental Congress for independence was made on June 4, 1776. Congress voted secretly for independence from Great Britain on July 2 and appointed Thomas Jefferson to write a draft. The Congress reworked the draft until a little after eleven o'clock, July 4, when twelve colonies voted for adoption (New York courteously abstained) and released a copy to the printers signed only by John Hancock, President of the Congress, and Secretary Charles Thomson. Philadelphia celebrated the Declaration with public readings and bonfires on July 8. Not until August 2 would a fair printing be signed by the members of the Congress, but even that was kept secret to protect the members from possible British reprisals. John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail on July 3, 1776: "The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It 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." Adams was off by two days. The vote on July 2 was the decisive act. But July 4 is the date that Jefferson's prose, as edited by the Congress, was officially adopted and was the first day Philadelphians heard any concrete news of independence from the Continental Congress, as opposed to rumors in the street about secret votes.