Happy Birthday America!
4th of July Party Supplies
IN THE HOT SUMMER of 1776, more than fifty men were gathered at a
meeting place in Philadelphia. They were considering a document carefully written by
Thomas Jefferson. It was the Declaration of Independence, the colonies' demand for their
freedom.
The Revolutionary War had already begun. Paul Revere had made his
famous ride to warn about the approaching British soldiers. The Minutemen had fought
bravely at Concord and Lexington in Massachusetts. George Washington had been given
command of the American armies fighting against the British. And Thomas Paine had called
for independence and freedom in his famous essay, Common Sense.
The 56 men in Philadelphia represented all thirteen colonies. Such
famous patriots as Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Hancock were among them.
On July 4, 1776, the final version of the declaration was approved. The
thirteen British colonies in America became the United States of America. All ties with
England were broken. A new nation was born.
The War of Independence continued, but now there was a real cause to
fight for. The cries were liberty, freedom, independence. Finally, in 1781, after
Washington defeated Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, the British admitted defeat.
The first celebration of Independence Day was held in 1777, the year
after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. John Adams predicted that it would
be celebrated every year by all generations of Americans to follow. And he was right.
Over the years, Independence Day has been celebrated with firecrackers,
sparklers, skyrockets, and roman candles. Because fireworks are dangerous, most states in
the United States today restrict their use to outside displays that are carefully
supervised.
Parades, marching bands, and picnics are other parts of the Fourth of
July celebration. Homes display the American flag. And cities and towns are decorated with
red, white, and blue bunting.
July 4th, Independence Day, is the birthday of the United States. It is
a proud and important holiday. And it is a day on which we should be thankful for the
wonderful freedoms demanded in the Declaration of Independence, and guaranteed by the
Constitution.
The Declaration of Independence
Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, the
Declaration of Independence is at once the nation's most cherished symbol of liberty and
Jefferson's most enduring monument. Here, in exalted and unforgettable phrases, Jefferson
expressed the convictions in the minds and hearts of the American people. The political
philosophy of the Declaration was not new; its ideals of individual liberty had already
been expressed by John Locke and the Continental philosophers. What Jefferson did was to
summarize this philosophy in "self-evident truths" and set forth a list of
grievances against the King in order to justify before the world the breaking of ties
between the colonies and the mother country. We invite you to read a transcription of the complete text of the Declaration.
Be a signer!
Sign the Declaration of Independence
Choose a pen and add your name to the Declaration of Independence
alongside our Forefathers.
