United States America Celebrates 239th Independence Day Saturday July 04,2015

 

The United States of America celebrate its 239th independence day on Saturday July 04,2015

People watch the annual Fourth of July fireworks on the National Mall in Washington to mark the 239th Independence Day

Fireworks explode over the National Mall during Fourth of July celebrations in Washington

firework display across the East River lit up the New York sky on Saturday night for Independence Day

Aerial shots captured the magnificent light patterns that towered over Brooklyn and east Manhattan

The day marks the birth of the United States as an independent nation and the Declaration of Independence of the country from Great Britain on July  04, 1776

How did the first Independence Day come about?

In 1776, Richard Henry Lee, who was born in Virginia but schooled in England, proposed that the 13 American colonies should declare their independence from Britain.

A committee of five men, including Thomas Jefferson, was appointed to build a case for severing ties with Britain and draft the Declaration of Independence.  The U.S Congress voted in favour of independence on 2 July and it was formally issued two days later, on 4 July 1776.

The Declaration of Independence was first read out to cheering crowds on 8 July, and by 15 July all 13 American colonies had approved it (New York previously abstained from voting). 

What does the declaration say and how is it significant today?

The Declaration set out new guidelines for basic rights, values and ideals for American citizens.

Why is Independence Day celebrated on 4 July?

John Adams, one of the "Founding Fathers" who signed the declaration, believed that Independence Day should be celebrated on 2 July – the date on which the vote for independence took place. He wrote to his wife Abigail that 2 July "will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival", according to American history.

John Hancock, the President of the Continental Congress at the time, was the first and only person to sign the Declaration on July 4, 1776 (he signed it in the presence of just one man, Charles Thomson, the secretary of Congress). According to legend, the founding father signed his name bigger than everyone else’s because he wanted to make sure “fat old King George” could read it without his spectacles. But the truth is that Hancock had a large blank space and didn’t realize the other men would write their names smaller. Today, the term “John Hancock” has become synonymous with a person’s signature.
The 56 signers of the Declaration did not sign on July 4, 1776, nor were they in the same room at the same time on the original Independence Day. The official signing event took place on August 2, 1776 when 50 men signed the document. Several months passed before all 56 signatures were in place. The last man to sign, Thomas McKean, did so in January of 1777, seven months after the document was approved by Congress. Robert R. Livingston, one of the five original drafters, never signed it at all since he believed it was too soon to declare independence