The 25 Best Independent Day Facts of 2021
It’s that time of year once again, long hot days and night skies filled with stars above.
Independent Day also known as 4th of July is the day where America celebrate its independence from Britain.
We know that it took time and effort of some of our forefathers in order to achieve freedom but let’s talk about the present. 2021 hasn’t always been kind to any of us. Between Pandemic, Racial Tension, and everything in between we can easily get disillusioned from the bigger picture, Unity.
Without Americans uniting in arms, there wouldn’t be the America we know today. Creators and Innovators make the world go round. Many are responsible for some of the best creations known to man. In honor of them, let’s scavenger for some facts about our founding fathers.
- John Hancock was the only person who signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
2. Three people who signed the declaration of independence -John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe — all died on July 4.
3. Adams was the only one who preferred to celebrate on the original date, July 2nd. He considered it Adams so firmly believed that July 2 was the correct day on which to celebrate American independence that he rejected any July 4th invitations as a matter of principle.
4. Jefferson is not the only author of the Declaration of Independence. It was actually written by a five-man committee made up of Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. Jefferson was not recognized as its principal author until the 1790s.
5. The Declaration of Independence begins with the preamble,
“When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”
6. In the 2nd line of the preamble, originally drafted by Thomas Jefferson, the pursuit was not of happiness, but of “Property.” As the story goes, Benjamin Franklin convinced Jefferson to make the change because “property” was too “narrow” a notion.
7. On the back, written upside-down across the bottom of the signed document: “Original Declaration of Independence dated 4th July 1776.” No one knows who exactly wrote this or when, but during those times the parchment was frequently rolled up for transport. It’s thought that the text was added as a label.
8. Mary Katharine Goddard, who was commissioned by Congress to print copies of the important document, added her name below the original signers. She was a well-known patriot and one of the first women publishers and postmasters in America.
9. The founding fathers made multiple copies but sadly of the hundreds thought to have been printed on the night of the 1st July 4, only 26 copies survive. Most are held in museum and library collections, but three are privately owned.
10. The descendants of the signees ring the. Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. 13 times every Independence Day.
11. Philadelphians marked the first anniversary of American independence with a celebration, but it wasn’t until after the War of 1812 that July 4th celebrations spread across the new nation.
12. On November 30, Richard Stockton, a lawyer from Princeton, New Jersey; one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence was captured by the British and forced to repudiate his declaration of independence and to swear his allegiance to King George. He later managed to escape captivity and once again swear his loyalty oath a year later.
13. Congress passed a law-making Independence Day a federal holiday on June 28, 1870.
14. Independence Day was formally declared on July 2, 1776, On July 4, 1776, Congress approved the final text of the Declaration. It wasn’t signed by other members until August 2, 1776.
15. There were 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence.
16. Both of the youngest signers, Edward Rutledge and Thomas Lynch Jr., both from South Carolina were 26.
17. Benjamin Franklin was the oldest signer at age 70
18. Some colonists celebrated the birth of independence by holding mock funerals for King George III as a way of symbolizing the end of the monarchy’s hold on America
19. On July 9, 1776, a copy of the Declaration of Independence had reached New York City. George Washington read it aloud in front of city hall. New Yorkers reacted rather violently by starting a riot including destroying King George III’s statue.
20. In Philly 1777, 13 cannons were fired, one round for each state of the union, bells were rung, and fireworks were set off. Marking the tradition of setting off fireworks.
21. Massachusetts became the first state to make July 4th an official state holiday in 1781.
22. The first annual commemoration of Independence Day happened on July 4, 1777, in Philadelphia.
23. In 1941, 4th of July officially becomes a paid holiday to all federal employees.
24. Thomas Jefferson was the first president to celebrate Independence Day at the White House in 1801.
25. Former President, Calvin Coolidge was the only president to have been born on Independence Day.
Well, now you can share these facts during a game of trivia at the barbecue. Now, go out there and enjoy the rest of your 4th of July!
