Interesting Facts About Independence Day
John Adams believed that July 2nd was the correct date on which to celebrate the birth of American Independence. Adams would reportedly turn down invitations to appear at July 4th events in protest.
On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of Lee’s resolution for independence in a near-unanimous vote. On that day, Adams wrote to his wife Abigail that July 2nd “will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival” and the celebration should include “Pomp and Parade…Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other.”
📜 Why We Celebrate July 4th – The Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, solidifying it as the recognized day of celebration.
🖊 Who Signed on July 4th? – Only John Hancock and Charles Thompson signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The majority of delegates signed it on August 2, 1776, with Thomas McKean signing as late as January 1777.
👨🎓 Who Didn’t Sign the Declaration? – Notably, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams—two of its biggest champions—did not sign the Constitution, as both were serving as U.S. diplomats at the time.
🦅 Other Founding Fathers – Key figures such as George Washington, John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison are considered Founding Fathers but were not signers of the Declaration of Independence.
✍️ Who Wrote the Declaration? – Though Thomas Jefferson is credited as the primary author, the Continental Congress appointed five drafters: Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
