America celebrates Independence Day on the Fourth of July. We think of July 4, 1776, as a day that represents the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the United States of America as an independent nation.
But July 4, 1776 wasn’t the day that the Continental Congress decided to declare independence. That happened July 2, 1776.
Nor was it the day we started the American Revolution. That occurred in 1775.
Nor was it the day Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. That was in June 1776.
Nor was it the date on which the Declaration was delivered to Great Britain. That didn’t happen until later in 1776.
Nor was it the date the Declaration was signed. That was August 2, 1776.
So, what did happen on July 4, 1776?
It was on July 4th that the Continental Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence. They’d been working on it for a couple of days after the hard-worked draft was submitted on July 2nd and finally agreed July 4th on all of the edits and changes.
July 4, 1776, became the date that was included on the Declaration of Independence, and the fancy handwritten copy now on ...
