Why Do We Celebrate The 4th of July?

I have been reading a lot of best wishes for the 4^th of July. I know many United States celebrate the 4th of July by grilling out with family. It is also a very popular time to have family reunions as nearly all people get the weekend off from work. I have seen many flags being hung on peoples home than any other time of year. There will be man fireworks put off in celebration. However I have heard very few people talk about what the 4^th of July really is and how it began. This is an important holiday for the United States.

How would you like it if you worked hard for your pay and your employer continuously kept more and more of your money? If you are like me, this is easy to imagine as the government seems to be taking more of our income all the time but thankfully we do not have it as bad as the colonist did in the 1700‘s.

In the early years that America was colonized, Great Britain kept making more and more rules for the colonists and kept raising their taxes. The colonists began to feel the need to make their own rules and no longer wanted Great Britain to have control over them..

Congress then met together in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They appointed a committee to draw up a document stating their wishes to Great Britain. The committee ask Thomas Jefferson to draw up the first draft. He worked in secrecy from the British, for days on this document. After he had completed the document, the committee met again to look it over. They made some revisions until it stated exactly what their wishes were. This document was to declare their independence from Great Britain. The official document called “The Declaration Of Independence” was adopted on July 4, 1776. This day was to become Independence Day from that day forward for the United States. However it was not until January of the year 1777 that The Declaration of Independence was sent to all the states that were formed at that time.

The Declaration of Independence is so much more than just a document. It is a symbol of this great country's independence and their commitment to certain ideas. The colonists could look at the document and know what goals and ideas each of them felt strongly about and were working towards. Today we can look at the Declaration of Independence and immediately think of the goals we should always be working for, and about the people who have fought so hard to make these ideas possible. All those who signed the Declaration risked their lives. The British law demanded people to be hanged for treason by the leaders in Great Britain. Signing this document was considered treason by the British. They had to have integrity and bravery to sign something that would be considered a crime! The colonists put much effort and some strong ideas on how they wanted their new found country to be. They showed much courage and they stood up for what they believed in. They wanted independence from Great Britain.

The library of Congress has a copy of the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence online and you can see that copy here.

You can also read The Declaration of Independence here. This copy is easier to read than the original copy.

There is also a signed copy of the original Declaration of Independence here.

How do you celebrate the 4^th of July?

Does your children know how important this holiday is?

Do you realize the strength and determination of the early pioneers in this untamed land?