Fireworks displays, such as these over theWashington Monument in 1986, take place annually across theUnited States on July 4th, known as Independence Day.
TheFounding Father delegates of the Second Continental Congress declared that theThirteen Colonies were no longer subject (and subordinate) to themonarch of Britain,King George III, and were now united, free, and independent states.[1] The Congress voted to approve independence by passing theLee Resolution on July 2 and adopted the Declaration of Independence two days later, on July 4.[1]
While Jefferson consulted extensively with the other four members of the Committee of Five, he largely wrote the Declaration of Independence in isolation over 17 days between June 11, 1776, and June 28, 1776, from the second floor he was renting in a three-story private home at 700Market Street inPhiladelphia, now known as the Declaration House, and within walking distance ofIndependence Hall.[8]
Congress debated and revised the wording of the Declaration, removing Jefferson's vigorous denunciation ofKing George III for importing theslave trade, finally approving it two days later on July 4. A day earlier,John Adams wrote to his wifeAbigail:
The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.[9]
Adams's prediction was off by two days. From the outset, Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2, the date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress.[10]
Historians have long disputed whether members of Congress signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, even though Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, andBenjamin 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 July 4 as is commonly believed.[11][12][13][14][15]
By remarkable coincidence, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, the only two signatories of the Declaration of Independence later to serve aspresidents of the United States, both died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration.[16] Although not a signatory of the Declaration of Independence,James Monroe, anotherFounding Father who was elected president, also died on July 4, 1831, making him the third President who died on the anniversary of independence.[17] The only U.S. president to have been born on Independence Day wasCalvin Coolidge, who was born on July 4, 1872.[18]
Observance
Independence Day issue ofThe Saturday Evening Post in 1924An illustration of American children celebrating noisily in a 1902Puck cartoon
In 1777, thirteengunshots were fired in salute, once at morning and once again as evening fell, on July 4 inBristol, Rhode Island. An article in the July 18, 1777, issue ofThe Virginia Gazette noted a celebration in Philadelphia in a manner a modern American would find familiar: an official dinner for the Continental Congress, toasts,13-gun salutes, speeches, prayers, music, parades, troop reviews, and fireworks. Ships in port were decked with red, white, and blue bunting.[19]
In 1783,Salem, North Carolina, held a celebration with a challenging music program assembled byJohann Friedrich Peter entitledThe Psalm of Joy. The town claims it to be the first public July 4 event, as it was carefully documented by theMoravian Church, and there are no government records of any earlier celebrations.[22]
In 1870, theU.S. Congress made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees.[23]
In 1938, Congress changed Independence Day to a paid federal holiday.[24]
Customs
An 1825 invitation to an Independence Day celebrationA 2014 Independence Day parade inWashington, D.C., the national capital
Independence Day is anational holiday marked by patriotic displays. Per5 U.S.C.§ 6103, Independence Day is a federal holiday, so all non-essential federal institutions (such as thepostal service andfederal courts) are closed on that day. While the legal holiday remains on July 4, if that date happens to be on a Saturday or Sunday, then federal government employees will instead take the day off on the adjacent Friday or Monday, respectively.[25] Other non-essential that are non-government related may also be closed that day.[26]
Families often celebrate Independence Day by hosting or attending a picnic or barbecue;[27] many take advantage of the day off and, in some years, a long weekend to gather with family members or friends. Parades are often attended in many towns and cities, some being hours-long, with many floats and participants. Parades are often held in the mid-late morning (before get-togethers), with longer spectacles sometimes extending into the early afternoon. Fireworks displays typically occur in the evening, at such places as parks, harbors, off of boats, sporting venues, fairgrounds, public shorelines, or town squares.[citation needed] Decorations (e.g., streamers, balloons, and clothing) are generally colored red, white, and blue, the colors of theAmerican flag, and many homes and businesses will decorate their properties with miniature American flags.
The night before the Fourth was once the focal point of celebrations, marked by raucous gatherings, often incorporatingbonfires as their highlight. InNew England, towns competed to build towering pyramids, assembled from barrels and casks. They were lit at nightfall to usher in the celebration. The highest ever were inSalem, Massachusetts, with pyramids composed of as many as forty tiers of barrels. These made some of the tallest bonfires ever recorded. The custom flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries and is still practiced in some New England and northeastern towns.[28]
Firework shows are held in many states,[30] and many fireworks are sold for personal use or as an alternative to a public show. Safety concerns have led some states to ban fireworks or limit the sizes and types allowed. In addition, local and regional conditions may dictate whether the sale or use of fireworks in an area will be allowed; for example, theglobal supply chain crisis following theCOVID-19 pandemic forced cancellations of shows.[31] Some local or regional firework sales are limited or prohibited because of dry weather or other specific concerns.[32] On these occasions the public may be prohibited from purchasing or discharging fireworks, but professional displays (such as those at sports events) may still take place.[citation needed]
A salute of one gun for each state in the United States, called a "salute to the union", is fired on Independence Day at noon by any capable military base.[33]
New York City has the largest fireworks display in the country sponsored byMacy's, with more than 22 tons of pyrotechnics exploded in 2009.[34] It generally holds displays in the East River. Other major displays are in Seattle onLake Union; in San Diego overMission Bay; in Boston on theCharles River; in Philadelphia over thePhiladelphia Museum of Art; in San Francisco over theSan Francisco Bay; and on theNational Mall in Washington, D.C.[35]
The first week of July is typically one of the busiest United States travel periods of the year, as many people use what is often a three-day holiday weekend for extended vacation trips.[37]
Celebration gallery
Patriotic trailer shown in theaters celebrating July 4, 1940
Fireworks over theNational Mall in Washington, D.C., every July 4 are preceded by a concert known asA Capitol Fourth, which takes place outside theU.S. Capitol and is televised on the American public television networkPBS.
New York City's fireworks display, shown above over theEast Village, is sponsored byMacy's and is the largest[34] in the country.
Towns of all sizes hold celebrations. Shown here is a fireworks display in America's most eastern town,Lubec, Maine, population 1,300. Canada is across the channel to the right.
Originally called "Yankee Doodle", this is one of several versions of a scene painted byA. M. Willard that came to be known asThe Spirit of '76. Often imitated or parodied, it is a familiar symbol of American patriotism.The 2019 Independence Day parade inWashington, D.C.
Since 1868,Seward, Nebraska, has held a celebration on the same town square. In 1979 Seward was designated "America's Official Fourth of July City-Small Town USA" by resolution of Congress. Seward has also been proclaimed "Nebraska's Official Fourth of July City" by GovernorJ. James Exon in proclamation. Seward is a town of 6,000 but swells to 40,000+ during the July 4 celebrations.[39]
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 theRebild Hills ofDenmark.[40]
Since 1959, theInternational Freedom Festival is jointly held in Detroit, Michigan, andWindsor, Ontario, during the last week of June each year as a mutual celebration of Independence Day andCanada Day (July 1). It culminates in a large fireworks display over theDetroit River.
TheBoston Pops Orchestra has hosted a music and fireworks show over theCharles River Esplanade called the "Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular" annually since 1974.[44] Cannons are traditionally fired during the1812 Overture.[2] The event was broadcast nationally from 1991 until 2002 onA&E, and since 2002 byCBS and its Boston stationWBZ-TV.WBZ/1030 and WBZ-TV broadcast the entire event locally, and from 2002 through 2012, CBS broadcast the final hour of the concert nationally in primetime. The national broadcast was put on hiatus beginning in 2013, which Pops executive producerDavid G. Mugar believed was the result of decreasing viewershipcaused by NBC's encore presentation of the Macy's fireworks.[45][46] The national broadcast was revived for 2016, and expanded to two hours.[47] In 2017,Bloomberg Television took over coverage duty, withWHDH carrying local coverage beginning in 2018.[48]
ThePhilippines celebrates July 4 as itsRepublic Day to commemorate the day in 1946 when it ceased to be aU.S. territory and the United States officially recognizedPhilippine Independence.[50]July 4 was intentionally chosen by the United States because it corresponds to its Independence Day, and this day was observed in the Philippines asIndependence Day until 1962. In 1964, the name of the July 4 holiday was changed to Republic Day.
Rebild National Park in Denmark is said to hold the largest July 4 celebrations outside of the United States.[51]
^"Federal law (5 U.S.C. 6103) establishes the public holidays . . . for Federal employees. Please note that most Federal employees work on a Monday through Friday schedule. For these employees, when a holiday falls on a nonworkday – Saturday or Sunday --the holiday usually is observed on Monday (if the holiday falls on Sunday) or Friday (if the holiday falls on Saturday).""Federal Holidays".U.S. Office of Personnel Management. RetrievedJanuary 15, 2022.
^Staff writer (July 1, 1917)."How Declaration of Independence was Drafted"(PDF).The New York Times.Archived(PDF) from the original on July 4, 2020. RetrievedNovember 20, 2009.On the following day, when the formal vote of Congress was taken, the resolutions were approved by twelve Colonies–all except New York. The original Colonies, therefore, became the United States of America on July 2, 1776.
^"Fourth of July no picnic for the nation's environment".Oak Ridge National Laboratory. July 3, 2003. RetrievedJuly 4, 2022.July 4 is by far the most popular day of the year for cookouts, according to a Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association survey that found that 76 percent of the nation's grill owners use at least one of their grills that day.
^Newman, Stacy."Freedom Festival".Encyclopedia of Detroit. Detroit Historical Society.Archived from the original on July 3, 2018. RetrievedJuly 3, 2018.
Criblez, Adam (2013).Parading Patriotism: Independence Day Celebrations in the Urban Midwest, 1826–1876. DeKalb, IL, US: Northern Illinois University Press.ISBN9780875806921.OCLC1127286749.
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![New York City's fireworks display, shown above over the East Village, is sponsored by Macy's and is the largest[34] in the country.](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aFireworks_over_the_East_Village_of_New_York_City.JPG)
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