Independence Day

"I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death."

                           -Patrick Henry

     Each year at this time, Americans from the Aleutians to the Keys prepare to celebrate the Fourth of July, the birthday of our great country - the United States of America.

     On July 4, 1776, we declared our Independence from England. That day saw the beginning of a journey that's brought us through struggles and adversity to become the proud and strong nation we are today. On the Fourth of July we remember who we are, where we've come from and what we've accomplished as a people.

The Declaration of Independence

The Star Spangled Banner

Firework Safety Quiz

Links to Other Sites

Did You Know???
The first American Independence Day celebration was not on the Fourth of July, but the Eighth of July, 1776.
On the Fourth, the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence telling the world that "these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states."
Four days later in Philadelphia there was a parade with cannons and the ringing of the Liberty Bell.
The next year Philadelphia celebrated again, this time on July fourth with a parade, guns, bells and fireworks. By the end of the Revolutionary War, soldiers returning home carried the idea of the celebration with them.
Since then Independence Day is celebrated each Fourth of July throughout the United States with fireworks, games and patriotic displays.