Daily Dose of Common Sense

Most Americans believe that July 4th is the day independence from Britain was declared. Only it wasn’t. Independence was actually declared on July 2nd.

On July 2nd, the Second Continental Congress approved a resolution declaring independence. In fact, John Adams himself believed July 2nd would be the day Americans would commemorate the anniversary.

On July 3rd, 1776, John Adams predicted in a letter to his wife that “the Second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.”

So, why do we celebrate on the 4th? First, that was the date Jefferson wrote at the top of the Declaration of Independence. Also, that was the day the final draft of the document was voted on and approved. It should be noted that this vote was not unanimous. New York did not agree to the declaration until July 19th.

The signing of the document did not take place on the 4th, as many believe. Some men did, in fact, sign that day. But most signatures were penned at the official signing ceremony on August 2nd, with a few more coming even later. The final signature was added in 1781.

So, celebrate with gusto today. But, next year, remember July 2nd, too.

[Source: One-Night Stands with American History: Odd, Amusing, and Little-Known Incidents by Richard Shenkman & Kurt Reiger]

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 4th, 2009 at 12:11 pm and is filed under debunking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.