Five curious things about American Independence Day
Fireworks aren't the only sparks of intrigue on July 4th! Dive into five lesser-known facts about Independence Day and uncover why America's founding fathers actually had a beef with... cherries.
Fireworks aren't the only sparks of intrigue on July 4th! Dive into five lesser-known facts about Independence Day and uncover why America's founding fathers actually had a beef with... cherries.
What if you discovered that the day you've been celebrating as your birthday was actually not the day of your birth, but two days later? Say hello to the reality of American Independence Day! The Second Continental Congress actually voted for independence from British colonial rule on July 2, 1776. Our great icon of freedom, John Adams, even wrote to his wife saying that July 2 would be remembered in the annals of American history and would be marked with pomp, parades, shows, games, sports, bonfires, and illuminations. However, the formal Declaration of Independence was not adopted until July 4, thus becoming the official day of celebration.
Hmmm… has anyone wondered if the day America was set free from British rule and became independent should indeed be marked by the date the independence was declared? Technically, the American Revolutionary War did not end until 1783, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. Thus, America did not become truly independent until then. But, hey, why keep a good party waiting for seven years! So let's pledge to the tradition and keep the fireworks booming on July 4.
Magically, every July 4th, at exactly 2pm, bells across America chime 13 times to honour the 13 original colonies. This bell-ringing ceremony was established by an act of Congress during John F. Kennedy's presidency. The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia is one of the most iconic symbols of American independence. But, ironically, due to a fear of the historic bell cracking further, it hasn’t been rung since 1846. Instead, it’s gently tapped 13 times.
While social media and the internet ensure that we receive our news almost instantly today, back in 1776, it was a totally different ball game. The Declaration of the Independence was first published in newspapers nearly eight days after it was adopted. The Pennsylvania Evening Post was the first newspaper to print it on July 6, 1776. Even the king's reaction to the American rebellion took a month to reach across 'the pond'. That’s a pretty long buffering time, huh?
How would you feel about gobbling turkey on the Fourth of July instead of Fourth of November Thanksgiving? In a parallel universe, this could've been possible. Benjamin Franklin, the quintessential Renaissance man, had initially proposed the turkey as the national bird. He felt the turkey, being native to America, was a “much more respectable Bird" than the scavenger bald eagle. But alas, the bald eagle proved more popular, and Turkey lived to see another day, only to fall prey to Thanksgiving traditions.
The Fourth of July is a nationwide celebration today, but it took a while for all states to get on board. The holiday wasn’t made official until almost a century later, in 1870, when it became a federal holiday. Even then, some states were tardy to the party. Notably, it took Massachusetts until 1890 to recognize Independence Day as a holiday. So, hats off to the late bloomers, late, but never absent to celebrate!
Five US presidents were lucky enough to share their birthday month with the birth month of the nation—Calvin Coolidge (July 4), Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Herbert Hoover, and George W. Bush. However, here’s the bizarre part—a macabre twist of fate saw both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, two of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence and former presidents, dying on the same day— July 4, 1826, 50 years to the day after that fateful declaration. Their final moments are now affectionately reflected upon as the day when two founding fathers rejoined the big Independence Day party in the sky.
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