Here’s a look at Independence Day, celebrated on the Fourth of July.
The 246th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence will be celebrated July 4, 2022.
July 4, 1776 – The Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence while meeting in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Statehouse (now Independence Hall). The Congress declares the American colonies free and independent states. (Note: John Hancock signs on July 4th. The rest sign on August 2, 1776.)
Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston comprised the committee that drafted the Declaration. Jefferson, regarded as the strongest and most eloquent writer, actually wrote most of the document. The committee and Congress as a whole made a total of 86 changes to Jefferson’s draft.
First two paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence: “When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”
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People watch fireworks burst behind the Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington on Thursday, July 4. People across the United States gathered on Thursday to celebrate Independence Day with parades, picnics and fireworks.
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Scott Webb celebrates during the finale of the Boston Pops Fourth of July Concert at the Hatch Shell in Boston.
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Fireworks light up the sky behind the Empire State Building during the 27th annual Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks show in New York.
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Meriya Merrill, 3, cranes her neck to take in the Independence Day parade in Edina, Minnesota, as her grandmother holds a flag behind her.
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A woman warms up at the Muscle Beach Independence Day bodybuilding contest in Los Angeles.
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A man displays his patriotic pride while posing for a portrait during Fourth of July celebrations in Prescott, Arizona.
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Children play on the South Lawn of the White House on the Fourth of July. President Barack Obama and the first family hosted members of the U.S. armed services and their families to celebrate the 237th anniversary of the counry’s independence from the British Empire.
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A re-enactor in colonial attire takes a photograph with his mobile phone before a public reading of the Declaration of Independence in Boston.
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An American flag casts a shadow on the ground as spectators wait for a public reading the Declaration of Independence in Boston.
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Neeley Mathes, 10, stands in front of the judges on Carr Avenue during the costume contest that follows the annual Central Gardens Fourth of July parade in Memphis, Tennessee.
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Emma Winkler, 3, points as she re-enacts George Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River while being pulled down Carr Avenue in Memphis with her 11-month-old sister, Elizabeth Winkler.
New York’s annual Independence Day hot dog eating competition yet again with a total of 69 hot dogs and buns on Thursday at Coney Island in Brooklyn.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img”/>
Photos: Photos: Celebrating the Fourth of July
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Decked out from head to toe in patriotism, 9-year-old Remi Schaber, left, and her brother Chase, 11, don spandex suits for the Independence Day parade in Cordova, Tennessee.
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People line the streets to watch a Fourth of July parade in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey.
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People participate in the Ridgefield Park parade.
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An observer waves an American flag during the parade in Ridgefield Park.
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A parade participant rides a penny farthing, or high-wheel bicycle, down the street in Ridgefield Park.
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Ed Lunderman, a member of a Living History Musket Detail, fires his weapon to represent “the shot heard around the world” during a Fourth of July ceremony at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio.
Statue of Liberty to the public in New York on July 4.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img”/>
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A child attends a ceremony to reopen the Statue of Liberty to the public in New York on July 4.
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Members of the Old Guard attend the reopening ceremony of the Statue of Liberty, marking the first day it opened to the public after being shuttered by Superstorm Sandy in October.