If you’re having a hard time focusing on work this week, here’s an excuse to start celebrating early: The official motion that severed the colonies from England actually occurred on July 2, not the fourth. The proclamation telling of this split, the Declaration of Independence, was approved on the fourth, but by then it was just a formality. The real business had occurred two days earlier.
There are other facts about Independence Day that don’t align with how history is told: most did not sign the Declaration until August as the document was still being revised and the Founding Fathers anticipated that July 2 would be the day of grand celebrations.
Any major change occurs over an extended period of time. There is no “one day” when the change is finished so it is left to the leaders to pick one of many options for when to celebrate and to commemorate. It’s important to pick “a date” and coalesce around it for maximum impact, but if you’d like, you can follow the lead of John Adams and celebrate today instead!
You can read more trivia about the Fourth of July here.
Thanks, Meg!
