(This article first appeared in the July print edition of the Hendersonian.)
So, yippie, on this Fourth of July we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with hot dogs and fireworks!
But what exactly happened on July 4, 1776 that we celebrate?
Choose one:
a. The nation’s founders ratified the Constitution.
b. American patriots under Gen. George Washington defeated the British at Fort McHenry.
c. The founders signed the Declaration of Independence.
d. The Liberty Bell rang for the first time and developed its famous crack.
e. None of the above.
The answer, my fellow Americans is: e. None of the above.
What happened on July 4, 1776, is that the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. Signing didn’t take place until nearly a month later.
According to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, as the 13 colonies in America began seriously considering separating from Britain, the Congress on June 10, 1776 appointed a committee of five men to draft a statement of independence for the colonies, with the actual writing delegated to Thomas Jefferson.
On July 2, the Congress approved a resolution “that these united colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states.”
Over the next two days, Congress made revisions to Jefferson’s written statement, adopting the final Declaration of Independence on the afternoon of July 4 as a means to explain to the world why the colonies were declaring themselves independent of Britain (largely because of what they said was King George III’s tyranny).
The Declaration was printed on July 5 and copies were distributed to state assemblies, conventions, committees of safety and commanding officers of the Continental troops. Those copies bore only two printed names: that of John Hancock, president of the Congress, and Charles Thomson, its secretary.
On July 19, Congress ordered that the Declaration be handwritten onto parchment with a new title, “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,” using that capitalization, according to the National Archives.
On Aug. 2, Hancock signed that copy with a flamboyant signature, then other delegates to the Congress began signing as well.
As for those multiple-choice answers:
a. The Constitution of the United States wasn’t written until 1787 and ratified in 1788; it has been in effect since 1789.
b. Washington and the Continental Army defeated the British forces under Lt. Gov. Cornwallis at the Siege (or Battle) of Yorktown in 1781, setting the stage for victory in the American Revolution. (What happened at Fort McHenry near Baltimore was that in September 1814, American forces withstood a withering British naval assault, inspiring Baltimore attorney Francis Scott Key to write a celebratory poem, “Defence of Fort M’Henry,” that was later sung to the melody of a British drinking song, eventually becoming known as “The Star-Spangled Banner,” our National Anthem.)
c. See above.
d. It’s not certain when the Liberty Bell developed its first crack, according to the National Park Service, but it was finally rendered unringable by a large crack after ringing on George Washington’s birthday in 1846. The crack you see today was largely manmade in a failed attempt to repair the already cracking bell.
e. This is the correct answer.
