FOURTH OF JULY

The Fourth of July was the date that our forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1776. Americans have celebrated this event for centuries on their own, but in 1941, Congress finally established the Fourth of July(Independence Day) as a legal holiday. It was John Adams who wrote his wife and said that the event should be celebrated with pomp and circumstance, parades, shows, games and other stuff. What he described is the Fourth of July celebration as we know it today. The first official 4th of July party was in 1777 in Philadelpha. Warships along the docks fired a 13-gun salute in honor of the 13 states. The soldiers who were in the area, paraded through the streets. By 1788, the 4th of July celebration also commemorated the U.S. Constitution as well, which was recently approved by 10 of the 13 states. That year was the first 4th of July parade, with horse-drawn floats, one of which was a huge eagle carrying the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. The Fourth of July today is a day most Americans stop to celebrate their freedom, appreciate their country, pay respect to those that died to protect us and fly the flag or display it's red, white and blue colors in any fashion they choose.

source: www.brownielocks.com