Independence Day
Fourth of July

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National Holiday

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

With this remarkable Declaration of Rights, the Second Continental Congress made the Declaration of Independence the "first formal pronouncement by an organized body of people of the right to government by choice" and severed colonial ties with England. Members of the Congress adopted Thomas Jefferson's declaration on July 4, 1776, and this date became the birthday of the United States of America.

Independence Day was first celebrated on July 8, 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was read to the public. By the 1880's, the Fourth of July had become the most significant patriotic occasion in the United States. Congress declared the day a federal legal holiday in 1941. The holiday is presently celebrated with parades, fireworks, picnics, sporting events, and music, including the "Star-Spangled Banner" and several marches of John Philip Sousa.

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Additional reading about the Fourth of July

Cohen, H. & Coffin, T. P. (1991). The folklore of American holidays. Detroit: Gale Research Inc.
This book contains an interesting section titled "The Fourth in Kansas, 1854-1857."

Declaring Independence: Drafting the Documents is an exhibit at the Library of Congress which includes a chronology of events surrounding the first Independence Day, a synopsis of the processes involved in drafting the declaration, and several objects, including fragments of the earliest known draft, Jefferson's "original Rough draught", a fragment and complete copy of the "Dunlap Broadside."
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