On July 2nd, John Adams wrote to his wife, “The second day of July will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward evermore!”

The Continental Congress officially declared freedom from Britain on July 2nd, 1776 and approved Richard Henry Lee’s resolution stating that “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States…” The actual Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson and the Committee of Five (John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Ben Franklin) and it took two days for the Continental Congress to finalize edits and approve the document on July 4th! Once approved, the document included the date July 4th and was sent the printer where the date becomes immortalized!

John Adams was right about the celebrations when he wrote to his wife on July 3rd, 1776 but he did not yet know that the final draft of the Declaration of Independence would include the date we all know and celebrate as the birth of the United States of America – July 4th, 1776!