HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY USA!!! (2013)

to all the

Americans!!!

Independence Day is annually celebrated on July 4th in the United States Of America & is often known as "the Fourth of July". It is the anniversary of the publication of the declaration of independence from Great Britain in 1776. In 1775...people in New England began fighting the British for their independence.

On July 2, 1776...the Congress secretly voted for independence from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence was first published two days later on July 4, 1776. The first public reading of the Declaration of Independence was on July 8, 1776. Delegates began to sign the Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776. In 1870, Independence Day was made an unpaid holiday for federal employees. In 1941...it became a paid holiday for them.

The first description of how Independence Day would be celebrated was in a letter from John Adams to his wife Abigail on July 3, 1776. He described "pomp & parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations" throughout the United States. However...the term "Independence Day" was not used until 1791.

Thomas Jefferson & John Adams...both signers of the Declaration of Independence & presidents of the United States...died on July 4, 1826 - exactly 50 years after the adoption of the declaration. It is also important to note that Native Americans lived in the country & each tribe had its own nation & government prior to the European settlers.