Our Independence Day history is quite simply a Fourth of July celebration of the day that our founding fathers committed treason against the British Empire. They put their very lives on the line to declare the United States independent of foreign overseers. And so began our War for Independence and the birth of this great nation, based on radical beliefs that free men could better govern themselves than an oppressive centralized government. Read more below and see a video.

Fourth of July Celebration

On July 4, 1776 the members of the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and adopted the final draft of the Declaration of Independence. In so doing, they committed treason against Great Britain, a crime punishable by death.

‘And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.’ ~ The Declaration of Independence

The first celebration of the anniversary of the colonies’ Declaration of Independence was celebrated with gun fire, fireworks, lighting candles and ringing bells. That declaration was only the beginning of gaining independence. The British weren’t taken with the idea of losing their American colonies, so the war and bloodshed raged on until 1783. In the end, the rag-tag American farmers defeated the most powerful Armies of the time and earned their independence. This is the heritage and the gift they passed on the every generation of Americans since.

I love our history. We are a country born out of revolution and radical ideas and philosophies. No one at the time thought this small, diverse country could last. The very document declaring our independence was radical in the extreme for the time. The notion that people have certain inalienable rights that can not be violated was unheard of.

The Declaration of Independence has since become one of the most admired and copied political documents of all time. Through the years, that document and the American Revolution have been a beacon of hope for those who love freedom.

The independent colonies did survive and created a form of government that was enlightened way beyond it’s time. Through another war and more bloodshed the individual states eventually formed the strong bond of a nation and righted a shameful wrong of its past.

Those radical ideas formed in the minds of our Founding Fathers of a nation of the people, for the people and by the people, have proven to be the foundation of the most successful form of government in the history of the world.

“I believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other…”
written by John Adams, Second President of the United States of America, in a letter to his wife, Abigail.

We have reason to be proud. We have much to celebrate.

While we celebrate the courage of our Founding Fathers, it’s important to remember the courage of those who continue to defend the liberties set forth for us on that day.

Our Independence Day history is phenomenal. It is right to enjoy our Fourth of July celebrations. Have fun, cook out, go boating, set off firecrackers and watch fireworks and remember our Soldiers who are defending our right to enjoy these things while being denied these enjoyments themselves.

It is also right to remember that the apathy that has gripped our nation is destructive to continuing the freedoms we have enjoyed. Our forefathers weren’t apathetic to threats ‘both foreign and domestic’, nor were our ancestors apathetic when a great Civil War soaked the sacred ground we live on with the blood of more Americans killed in any war in history. We have never experienced a time of such apathy and carelessness with the foundation on which our nation was built.

As we enjoy our Fourth of July celebrations and contemplate our Independence Day history, it will do us well that it is the responsibility of each generation to maintain the gift our forefathers handed to us with their blood and sacrifice.

God Bless America.