Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

Let freedom ring, let the white dove sing
Let the whole world know that today
Is a day of reckoning.
Let the weak be strong, let the right be wrong
Roll the stone away, let the guilty pay
It's Independence Day.

~Independence Day
Martina McBride

Today marks the 239th birthday of the United States. Or does it? If you look at American history, there are any number of days that could have been marked as the birth of our country.

The tension between the American colonies and Great Britain started long before Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence. Although King George III is generally blamed for the taxes imposed on the colonies, Parliament also had an active role passing various acts that taxed goods and threatened the freedom of the colonists.  In 1764, after the end of the French and Indian War (called the Seven Years' War in Europe), Parliament passed the Sugar Act to offset the war debt brought on by the French and Indian War and to help pay for the expenses of running the colonies and newly acquired territories. This was followed by the Currency Act, which prohibited the colonists from issuing any legal tender paper money; the Stamp Act, requiring published documents to be printed on stamped parchment; the Quartering Act, which required colonists to house British troops and supply them with food; the Declaratory Act, stating that the British government had total power to legislate any laws governing the American colonies in all cases whatsoever; the Townshend Revenue Acts, imposing a new series of taxes on the colonists to offset the costs of administering and protecting the American colonies; and the Tea Act, which was the impetus for the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1775.

Even when the First Continental Congress convened on September 5, 1774, most of the states were not looking to completely break ties with the British Empire. They merely wanted Parliament and the King to quit imposing taxes on the colonies when they were not represented in Parliament. By the time the Second Continental Congress convened on May 10, 1775, the mood had changed. In the interim, the first shots of the American Revolution were fired on April 19, 1775, but even the "shot heard 'round the world," didn't signal that a new country had been born. Independence was not declared until more than a year later.

The Second Continental Congress acted as the provisional government of the 13 colonies. It appointed Gen. George Washington commander in chief of the American army on June 15, 1775. It issued and borrowed money, established a postal service, and created a navy. Although the Congress initially posited that the Americans were struggling for their rights within the British Empire, it gradually cut tie after tie with Britain until separation was complete.

On June 7, 1776, when the Continental Congress met at the Pennsylvania State House (now known as Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, the Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee introduced a motion calling for the colonies’ independence. Amid heated debate, Congress postponed the vote on Lee’s resolution, but appointed a five-man committee–including Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Robert R. Livingston of New York–to draft a formal statement justifying the break with Great Britain.

On July 2, 1776, with New York abstaining, the Congress “unanimously” resolved that “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states." According to the History Channel, John Adams believed that July 2nd was the correct date on which to celebrate the birth of American independence, and would reportedly turn down invitations to appear at July 4th events in protest. Ironically, Adams was one of three U.S. Presidents to die on July 4th.

There were also dates later in 1776 that might have been celebrated as the birth of the United States. It wasn't until July 9, 1776, that the action of Congress was officially approved by the New York Convention. On July 19, 1776, Congress was able to order that the Declaration be engrossed (written neatly on parchment) and then signed by the Congress.

Contrary to popular belief, the Declaration was not signed on July 4, 1776. It was actually signed on August 2, 1776. As President of the Congress, John Hancock was the first to sign. The other delegates arranged their signatures according to the geographic location of the states they represented. Eventually 56 delegates signed, although all were not present on August 2.  A few delegates who voted for adoption of the Declaration on July 4 never signed the document, and some who signed the document were not present to vote on July 4th.

The fight for American Independence was not won on just one day in 1776. The war would continue for more than five years. British General Cornwallis surrendered to General Washington in October 1781. The Treaty of Paris was not signed until 1783. The U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1787. George Washington became our first President in 1789. Any one of those events might have been considered the birth of the United States. However, July 4, 1776, was the day that our founders formally declared themselves to be independent, and that's why we celebrate our independence on July 4th.

July 4th Trivia

Benjamin Franklin (age 70), who represented Pennsylvania, was the oldest of the signers. 

Edward Rutledge (age 26), of South Carolina, was the youngest.

Two future U.S. Presidents signed, John Adams (second President) and Thomas Jefferson (third President). Both died on the 50th anniversary of signing the Declaration (July 4, 1826). 

Another future U.S. President, James Monroe, died on July 4, 1831, becoming the third President in a row to die on Independence Day.

U.S. President Calvin Coolidge was born on July 4, 1872.

The Fourth of July become a legal federal holiday in 1870.