AIU Blog


Little-Known Facts about Independence Day

Guest article by the AIU Military Relations Department

Celebrations of this most American of holidays have taken many and varied forms: from one of the last parades of the War of 1812 which featured Revolutionary War veterans, the staged battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac in New York (1862), the reunion of Confederate soldiers in Chattanooga (1890), a grand explosion on top of Pike's Peak (1901), the mock atomic bomb explosion before a crowd of 25,000 in Baltimore (1951), and the Oklahoma City Fourth that included the raising of the American flag back to full-staff after the bombing of the Federal Building earlier that year (1995).


- Heintze, J. R. (2000, July 4). Fourth of July Celebrations Database. Retrieved from

The Declaration of Independence, signed in 1776, was meant to justify a revolt against the British, including a list of charges against the British king. The Fourth of July commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. It was initially adopted by Congress on July 2, 1776, but then it was revised and the final version was adopted two days later. As Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration, Britain's army was on its way toward to New York Harbor. It began:


- Appelbaum, D.K. (1989) The Glorious Fourth: An American Holiday, an American History. New York: Facts on File.

The summer of 1776 was a harrowing time for the British colonies in America. Open warfare with the mother country had erupted a year earlier and the future was filled with political and military uncertainties. In this tense climate, the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia with the intention of voting for independence from England. In anticipation of this vote, the Congress selected a committee to draft a declaration of independence. The committee, composed of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman, in turn instructed Thomas Jefferson to write the declaration. Jefferson’s labors began in earnest on June 11 and he toiled in seclusion writing numerous drafts.


- Dennis, M. (2002). Red, White and Blue letter days: An American Calendar. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, died within hours of each other on July 4 1826. What happened was that when Adams was dying that day, one of the last things he said before dying was: "At least Jefferson still lives". He had no way of knowing at the time that Thomas Jefferson had actually died two hours earlier.

Since independence from Britain was declared on July 2nd 1776, lots of people 236 years ago thought that that date would be the one remembered and celebrated. It ultimately became the July 4th holiday because that was the date the written Declaration had on it and the date it was published. The Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 men representing the 13 colonies. The moment marked the beginning of all-out war against the British. The American Revolutionary War is said to have started in 1775, however. The Declaration was signed more than two years after Boston officials refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, fueling colonists to dump the tea into the harbor in what became the infamous Boston Tea Party.

- "Writing the Declaration of Independence, 1776," EyeWitness to History, (1999). Retrieved from

When we are celebrating, whether we commemorate the day with firecrackers, family and firing up the grill, perhaps in contemplation of the improbability of the success of the American experiment or in remembrance of the cost of the freedoms we now enjoy; this is a day that truly stands as a celebration of what in its age seemed an ill-advised act of treason by a small group of radicals that now is the foundation of our society.