July 4: The Best Birthday

Remembering why we celebrate Independence Day

The National Park Service hosts an outstanding July Fourth fireworks extravaganza every year in Washington, D.C. Courtesy of U.S. National Park Service

With July Fourth only a few weeks away, it’s time to start planning how to make this year’s Independence Day the best ever.

No other special date inspires quite the same deep emotions as Independence Day, when we celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Fun fact: The Continental Congress actually voted in favor of the Declaration on July 2, but it was revised and then completed two days later by Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston.