Independence Day in the USA Date in the current year: July 4, 2024

The American Revolution broke out in Massachusetts in 1765. After a series of revolts against the British authorities, which included the famous Boston Tea Party, a group of American Patriot leaders set up the First Continental Congress in 1774 to coordinate the colonies’ resistance against Britain. The delegates imposed an economic boycott on British goods and sent a petition to King George III, calling for repeal of the 1774 Intolerable Acts that had been passed after the Boston Tea Party to punish Massachusetts.

The appeal had no effect, which resulted in the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. On May 1777, the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia to act as a de facto national government of the American colonies struggling for independence.

On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress approved the Lee Resolution, also known as the Resolution of Independence. It declared the independence of the Thirteen Colonies from the British rule. The Declaration of Independence formally announced and explained this decision. Its text was drafted by the Committee of Five consisting of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston, with Thomas Jefferson as the principal after of the document.

The Congress revised the wording of the Declaration and approved it two days after the approval of the Lee Resolution, on July 4, 1776. The anniversary of this event would come to be celebrated as Independence Day in the United States.

The first celebration of July 4 occurred in 1777. However, Independence Day did not become an official holiday until 1870, when Congress made it an unpaid holiday for federal employees. In 1938, it was changed to a paid federal holiday. Since then, Independence Day has been the national day in the United States.

Independence Day is celebrated nationwide. Celebratory events and activities held on the occasion include patriotic displays, political ceremonies and speeches, parades, concerts, carnivals, fairs. Family reunions often occur on this day; many families host or attend picnics or barbecues. Since the weather is usually warm in July, a lot of people spend the holiday outdoors.

In the evening, firework displays are held in many states. They may be accompanied by patriotic songs such as the national anthem, “God Bless America”, “The Star-Spangled Banner”, and others. The largest firework displays take place in New York City, Seattle, San Diego, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco, Detroit, and Washington, D.C.

The Fourth of July is also a public holiday in some of the United States unincorporated territories, namely American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands.