Why do we celebrate the Fourth of July?
Sally Stocker
Most Americans use the Fourth of July as a day with family and friends, barbeques, picnics, and beaches. However, many people don't know the facts behind some of the Fourth's most significant traditions.
It turns out that the Continental Congress voted for independence on July 2, 1776, not July 4. Legend has it that John Adams would regularly turn down invitations to July 4 events throughout his life because he believed July 2 should be the day of celebration.
So why do we celebrate on July 4?
Even though the vote was July 2, the Declaration of Independence was officially adopted two days after the vote – on July 4 – and was marked by the Liberty Bell ringing at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
Other fun facts?
George Washington supposedly celebrated the Fourth of July in 1778 by giving his soldiers a double ration of rum to celebrate.
There were 56 signers to the Declaration of Independence. Among those, a committee of five (Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston) drafted the declaration. However, Thomas Jefferson is credited for most of the writing.
John Hancock was the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence, likely because he was President of Congress at the time. He made his mark in the center, and it is the most prominent signature on the document.
The Liberty Bell rings 13 times every Independence Day to honor the 13 original states.
Congress declared the Fourth of July a federal holiday in 1870, more than 100 years after signing the Declaration of Independence.
Americans typically eat 150 million hot dogs on the Fourth of July, "enough to stretch from DC to LA more than five times," according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.
The US Flag Code offers guidelines for flying the flag on July 5 and every day.
Before the World Trade Centers were destroyed on 9/11, one of the towers was 1,776 feet tall to mark the year the US declared its independence from Britain.
2.5 million people were living in the newly independent US on July 4, 1776, compared with the population of 332 million in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau.
The nation's oldest Fourth of July parade takes place in Bristol, Rhode Island. The first celebration in 1785 was a small affair with less than two attendees. (So, less than two means one attendee, right?) Today, Bristol's Fourth of July celebration begins on Flag Day in June with local events leading up to the Fourth of July parade, which stretches 2.5 miles through the town.