10 Things You Might Not Know About America's Independance

[Shadow]

On July Fourth, Americans eat hot dogs and apple pie, watch fireworks, and go swimming.

But what are we really celebrating?

Standard answers to this question are that we are celebrating our independence or the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Well, yes and no.

Here are 10 things you might not know about our America's Independence Day.


1.) Independence Was Not Declared on July Fourth: The second Continental Congress actually voted for independence on July 2. In fact, John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, predicting that future generations would celebrate July 2 as Independence Day, saying, "The second day of July, 1776, will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illumination, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore." July 4, 1776 is significant because that is the day that Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence document, but contrary to what many people believe it was not signed on the July 4. The official signing ceremony occurred on August 2, which is when most of the signers affixed their names to the document, but other representatives signed the document throughout the summer of 1776. Finally, there is no historical record of John Hancock saying that his signature is that big so that King George could read it. It has been suggested that Hancock's is by far the largest signature simply because he was the president of Congress.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/04...#ixzz1R9km3AD0



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/04...#ixzz1R9kfuMIs

[Kathianne]

On July Fourth, Americans eat hot dogs and apple pie, watch fireworks, and go swimming.

But what are we really celebrating?

Standard answers to this question are that we are celebrating our independence or the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Well, yes and no.

Here are 10 things you might not know about our America's Independence Day.


1.) Independence Was Not Declared on July Fourth: The second Continental Congress actually voted for independence on July 2. In fact, John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, predicting that future generations would celebrate July 2 as Independence Day, saying, "The second day of July, 1776, will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illumination, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore." July 4, 1776 is significant because that is the day that Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence document, but contrary to what many people believe it was not signed on the July 4. The official signing ceremony occurred on August 2, which is when most of the signers affixed their names to the document, but other representatives signed the document throughout the summer of 1776. Finally, there is no historical record of John Hancock saying that his signature is that big so that King George could read it. It has been suggested that Hancock's is by far the largest signature simply because he was the president of Congress.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/04...#ixzz1R9km3AD0



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/04...#ixzz1R9kfuMIs

I love these kinds of articles. I'm pleased to say that I did know all of the 10! LOL! Part from teaching, part from being a mom and taking my kids to the library and reading books on holidays.

[Kathianne]

Just came upon this, I didn't know 3 out of the 5. Both of Ben's of course, we all know:

http://blogs.forbes.com/alexknapp/20...nding-fathers/

The Five Best Inventions of the Founding Fathers
Jul. 3 2011 - 12:21 pm | 8,419 views | 0 recommendations | 2 comments
By ALEX KNAPP

As we prepare for celebrating America’s Independence tomorrow, it’s worth taking a few minutes to think about the men and women who helped fight for American Independence and to build this nation. In that spirit, I think its worthwhile to point out that among their other talents, many of the Founding Fathers’ turned their prodigous intelligence to the science and engineering problems of the day. In other words, they loved their gadgets then as much as we do today. So here’s a rundown of what I consider to be the five best inventions of the Founding Fathers.

5. George Washington’s Threshing Barn

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