Congress put off voting on Lee’s resolution because of the heated debate. Instead, they chose a five-person committee, made up of Thomas Jefferson from Virginia, John Adams from Massachusetts, Roger Sherman from Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin from Pennsylvania, and Robert R. Livingston from New York, to write a formal statement that explained why the break with Great Britain was necessary.
On July 2nd, almost everyone in the Continental Congress voted in favour of Lee’s motion for independence. The New York delegation didn’t vote at first but later did. On that day, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail that July 2nd “will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival” and that the celebration should include “pomp and parade…games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and lights from one end of this continent to the other.”
The Declaration of Independence, written mainly by Jefferson, was officially signed by the Continental Congress on July 4th. Even though the vote for freedom happened on July 2nd, the 4th has always been celebrated as the day America became free.
The Fourth of July is made a national holiday.
After the War of 1812, when the United States and Great Britain fought again, patriotic celebrations became even more common. In 1870, the U.S. Congress made July 4th a federal holiday. In 1941, the law was changed to give all federal workers a paid holiday on July 4th.
Over time, the holiday would lose political value, but it would still be a big national holiday and a sign of patriotism.
Since the late 1800s, the Fourth of July, in the middle of summer, has become a big day for fun and a popular time for families to get together, often with fireworks and outdoor barbecues. The American flag is the most common sign of the holiday, and “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the national song of the United States, is often played in the background.
