Today in Independence Day — back in 1776 the Continental Congress voted in favor of declaring independence from Great Britain.
Before the declaration, America was part of the Kingdom of Great Britain (now known as the United Kingdom.) In the 1600s, people came from Great Britain to settle in what is now North America. Between 1607 and 1732, the British founded 13 colonies — Virginia, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. As those colonies grew, the residents thought the British government treated them unfairly — e.g., they had to pay taxes on items such as tea and allow British soldiers to stay in their homes. The colonists were required to follow these laws but couldn’t do anything to change them. Finally, in 1775, the colonists rebelled — resulting in the Revolutionary War between the the colonies and Great Britain.
The colonists decided they needed to declare their independence in writing to explain their reasons and gain support from other countries. On July 4, 1776, a small group of representatives from the colonies — called the Continental Congress — adopted the Declaration of Independence.
The document was written by a committee led by Thomas Jefferson and was signed by people from all 13 colonies.
The Declaration of Independence is recognized around the world as an important message of self-governance — and — human rights. Maybe the most important sentence in the Declaration of Independence is the second…. that all people are created equally and have rights that include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That sentence was written by Thomas Jefferson.
So today, we celebrate Independence Day like we always have — with picnics, parades and fireworks. John Adams, who helped write the declaration, in a letter to his wife, predicted that the colonists’ independence would be celebrated by future generations as an annual festival with parades and bonfires. Looks like John was right. Happy Fourth!!
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