Next Monday is when America celebrates Independence Day, our annual July 4 holiday. While most people will first be thankful that this date created the perfect three-day weekend, it’s important to understand what Independence Day is truly about. As a society, we should be curious to know more about this country’s journey from its infancy as an affiliated group of British colonies, to eventually becoming its own constitutional republic.
Despite the current state of rancor between the political parties, every citizen of this country should remind themselves that we’re all Americans first. In the spirit of this notion, FranNet of DFW & Oklahoma presents you with a few fun facts about Independence Day – a national holiday you only thought you knew about!
- 2022 will be America’s 246th birthday, which is a lot of candles. Best have a fire extinguisher handy.
- Colonists John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were both original signers of the Declaration of Independence. They were wealthy, educated, and members of high society. Both would go on to serve terms as the President of the United States. And believe it or not, they both died on the same day…just hours apart…on July 4, 1826.
- Each July 4, Americans consume 150 million hotdogs and set off more than 200 million pounds of fireworks, explaining why these two items are an iconic part of this annual holiday ritual.
- It’s a widely held myth that all of the signers of the Declaration of Independence signed their names on July 4 to the famous document, severing America’s ties with Great Britain. In fact, only two Colonists signed their names on July 4. The remaining 56 delegates added their names almost a month later on August 2!
- The Statue of Liberty, a gift from France, is depicted holding a torch and a tablet. The tablet has a date engraved upon it, July 4, 1776.
- Parades are an overwhelmingly popular pastime for July 4 celebrants, and the oldest continuous one is held each year in Bristol, Rhode Island. This year marks their 232nd straight parade!
- The key town on the Mississippi River of Vicksburg was encircled and under siege for months during the Civil War. The Confederate forces manning the front lines finally surrendered on July 4, 1863, believing that the Union Army would be more likely to give them favorable terms. It was only one day after the most pivotal battle of the war, Gettysburg, had ended. Strangely enough – or perhaps not as strange as one would think – the town of Vicksburg refused to celebrate the July 4 holiday until after World War II, proving that grudges sometimes do last a long time.
- One World Trade Center, which rises in place of the destroyed twin towers of the former World Trade Center in NYC, was constructed to be precisely 1,776 feet tall, marking the year the U.S. declared its independence from Great Britain.
Thank you for reading our FranNet of Dallas/Ft. Worth/Oklahoma blog post about Independence Day. We hope you learned a few interesting facts about the July 4 holiday. We wish you and your families a safe and enjoyable July 4 holiday (and three-day weekend!)