Independence Day , also referred to as Fourth of July or July Fourth , is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 The Continental Congress declared that thirteen American colonists considered themselves a new nation, the United States, and no longer part of the British Empire. Congress actually chose to declare independence two days earlier, on July 2.
Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, exhibitions, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, as well as numerous other public and private events celebrating US history, government and traditions. Independence Day is the National Day of the United States.
Video Independence Day (United States)
​​â € <â €
During the American Revolution, the separation of the law from the Thirteen Colonies of England in 1776 actually took place on July 2, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve an independence resolution proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia declaring the United States. Countries independent of the rules of Great Britain. After electing independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, prepared by the Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as its lead author. Congress debates and revises the Declaration's words, finally approving it two days later on July 4th. The day before, John Adams had written a letter to his wife, Abigail:
The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable time in American history. I tend to believe that it will be celebrated by the next generation as a great birthday festival. It must be remembered as the day of liberation, with a solemn act of piety to the Almighty God. It should be devoted to splendor and parade, with performances, games, sports, firearms, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this moment onward.
Adams's prediction stopped two days. From the beginning, Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date indicated in the published Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2, the date of the independence resolution approved in a closed session of the Congress.
Historians have long debated whether members of Congress signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, though Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin all later wrote that they had signed it on that day. Most historians have concluded that the Declaration was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on the 4th of July as is commonly believed.
By coincidence, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the only signatories to the Declaration of Independence who later served as President of the United States, died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. Although not a signatory to the Declaration of Independence, James Monroe, the other Founder Father who was elected President, also died on July 4, 1831. He was the third President who died on the anniversary of independence. Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President, was born on July 4, 1872; so far he is the only US President born on Independence Day.
Maps Independence Day (United States)
Obedience
- In 1777, thirteen shots were fired to greet, once in the morning and again at nightfall, on July 4 in Bristol, Rhode Island. Philadelphia celebrates its first anniversary in a way that modern Americans will recognize: official dinners for Continental Congress, toasts, 13-gun salute, speeches, prayers, music, parades, troop reviews, and fireworks. The ship in the harbor is decorated with red, white, and blue bunting.
- In 1778, from his base at Ross Hall, near New Brunswick, New Jersey, General George Washington marked July 4 with a double ration of rum for his soldiers and artillery honor (feu de joie). Across the Atlantic, ambassadors John Adams and Benjamin Franklin held a dinner for fellow Americans in Paris, France.
- In 1779, the 4th of July fell on a Sunday. Holiday is celebrated on Monday, July 5th.
- In 1781, the Massachusetts General Court became the first state legislature to recognize 4 July as a state celebration.
- In 1783, Moravia in Salem, North Carolina, held a July 4th celebration with a challenging music program assembled by Johann Friedrich Peter. This work is titled The Psalm of Joy. This is recognized as the first celebration recorded and still celebrated there today.
- In 1870, the US Congress made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees.
- In 1938, Congress turned Independence Day into a paid federal holiday.
Customs
Independence Day is a national holiday marked by patriotic exhibitions. Similar to other summer-themed events, Independence Day celebrations often take place outdoors. Independence Day is a federal holiday, so all unnecessary federal agencies (such as postal services and federal courts) are closed on that day. Many politicians make a point today to appear in public events to praise the nation's heritage, law, history, society, and people.
Families often celebrate Independence Day by holding or attending a picnic or barbecue; many take advantage of holidays and, within a few years, long weekends to hang out with relatives or friends. Decorations (eg, , ribbons, balloons, and clothing) are generally red, white, and blue, the colors of American flags. Parades are often held in the morning, before family gatherings, while fireworks show takes place at night after dark in places such as parks, fairgrounds, or town squares.
The night before the Fourth was once the focal point of celebration, marked by raucous encounters often combining bonfires as their centers. In New England, cities competed to build towering pyramids, gathered from barrels and vats. They were lit up at nightfall to deliver the celebrations. The highest in Salem, Massachusetts, with a pyramid consisting of as many as forty levels of barrels. This makes the highest bonfire ever recorded. Habits flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries and are still practiced in several New England cities.
Independence Day fireworks are often accompanied by patriotic songs such as the national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner"; "God bless America"; "America the Beautiful"; "My country, 'Tis of Youre"; "This Land Is Your Land"; "Stars and Lines Forever"; and, regionally, the "Yankee Doodle" in the northeastern states and "Dixie" in the southern states. Some lyrics remember the image of the Revolutionary War or the War of 1812.
Fireworks are held in many states, and many fireworks are sold for personal use or as an alternative to public performances. Security issues have caused some countries to ban fireworks or limit the size and type allowed. In addition, local and regional weather conditions may determine whether sales or use of fireworks in an area will be permitted. Some local or regional fireworks sales are limited or prohibited due to dry weather or other special problems. On this occasion the public may be prohibited from buying or removing fireworks, but a professional display (such as those on sporting events) may still take place, if certain safety precautions have been taken.
Salut one weapon for every state in the United States, called "salute to the union," shot on Independence Day at noon by a capable military base.
In 2009, New York City had the largest fireworks show in the country, with more than 22 tonnes of fireworks exploding. It usually displays the screen on the East River. Another big show is in Chicago on Lake Michigan; in San Diego over Mission Bay; in Boston on the Charles River; in St. Croix Louis on the Mississippi River; in San Francisco over San Francisco Bay; and at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
During the annual Detroit-Detroit International Detroit Annual Detroit Festival, Detroit hosted one of the world's largest fireworks shows, over the Detroit River, to celebrate Independence Day along with Windsor, Ontario's celebration of Canada Day.
The first week of July is usually one of the busiest US travel periods of the year, as many people use what is often a three-day weekend getaway for an extended vacation trip.
Gallery celebration
Important celebration
- Held from 1785, the Bristol Fourth Parade in Bristol, Rhode Island, is the oldest celebration of Independence Day in the United States.
- Since 1868, Seward, Nebraska, has held celebrations in the same city square. In 1979 Seward was designated as the "Official US Fourth City of July-US Small Town" by the resolution of Congress. Seward has also proclaimed "Nebraska Official Fourth of July City" by Governor James Exon in the proclamation. Seward is a city with 6,000 but it swells to 40,000 during the 4th of July celebration.
- Since 1912, the Rebild Society, a Danish-American friendship organization, has held a July 4 weekend festival that serves as a homecoming for Danish-Americans in the Rebild Hills of Denmark.
- Since 1959, the International Freedom Festival has been held jointly in Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario during the last week of June each year as a celebration of Independence Day and Canada Day (July 1). It culminated in a large firework display over the Detroit River.
- The famous Macy fireworks show usually held at the East River in New York City have been broadcast nationwide on NBC since 1976. In 2009, fireworks returned to the Hudson River for the first time since 2000 to commemorate the anniversary to 400. Henry Hudson's exploration of the river.
- Boston Pops Orchestra has been performing music and fireworks on the Charles River Esplanade called "Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular" every year since 1973. The show was broadcast nationally from 1991 to 2002 at A & amp; E, and since 2002 by CBS and its WBZ-TV Boston station. WBZ/1030 and WBZ-TV broadcast the entire show locally, and from 2002 to 2012, CBS broadcasted the final hour of the national concert primetime. The national broadcast begins with a hiatus in 2013, which executive producer Pops David G. Mugar believes is the result of a decrease in viewing caused by NBC's re-presentation of fireworks Macy. The national broadcast will be revived for 2016, and expanded to two hours.
- On the Capitol page in Washington, DC, A Capitol Fourth , a live concert broadcast live by PBS, NPR and the American Forces Network, precedes fireworks and attracts more than half a million people each year.
Other countries
The Philippines celebrates July 4 as its Republican Day to commemorate the day in 1946 when it ceases to be a US territory and the United States formally recognizes the Philippine Independence. July 4 was deliberately chosen by the United States as it corresponds to Independence Day, and today is observed in the Philippines as Independence Day until 1962. In 1964, the name of July 4 holiday was changed to Republic Day. In Rwanda, July 4 is an official holiday known as the Liberation Day, commemorating the end of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide in which the US government also plays a role. Rebild National Park in Denmark is said to hold the biggest July 4 celebration outside the United States.
See also
- 1776 (music)
- Constitution Day (United States)
- Fourth of July (1898), poem
- "What should the slave be on July 4th?" - 1852 Frederick Douglass speech
References
Further reading
- Becker, Carl L. (1922). Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas . New York: Harcourt, Brace. ISBNÃ, 0-394-70060-0 . Retrieved June 28, 2009 .
- Criblez, Adam (2013). Parade of Patriotism: Independence Day Celebration in Midwest Urban, 1826-1876. DeKalb, IL: Northern Illinois University Press.
- Heintze, James R. "July Fourth Anniversary Database". American University of Washington, D.C . Retrieved February 10, 2015 .
External links
- The Fourth of July is Independence Day USA.gov, 4 July 2014
- US. Independence Day, Civil Affairs and Social Affairs of the US Department of State, June 22, 2010
- The Four Seasons of July for Negroes by Frederick Douglass
- Collection of Fourth July Oration in the Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books, Ellis Library, University of Missouri
- The Fourth of July, Back in the Day - a slideshow by Life magazine
- Fourth of July 2015 Fireworks in New York City on Youtube
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments