The Declaration was suggested by Virginia Delegate Richard Henry. The document was mostly written by Thomas Jefferson, presented to the Continental Congress members who suggested edits and approved the famous final copy. Adobe Stock photo

LINCOLN, CA (MPG) - Fireworks, parades, hot dogs, a holiday off from work! Is this the way you think about July 4th? Many of us do.  

But we all should sit back at least for five minutes read about what happened on this day. 

Let us go back to July 4, 1776. Yes, if you do the math, you keep hearing we will be celebrating our 250th birthday this year. It has been that long since we declared our independence from Great Britian.

It was the day that the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence which started with the words “We The People”. But history has it that the delegates voted on July 2 in favor of seeking independence.

The Declaration was suggested by Virginia Delegate Richard Henry. The document was mostly written by Thomas Jefferson, presented to the Continental Congress members who suggested edits and approved the famous final copy. 

Only John Hancock, President and Charles Thompson, Secretary, signed first. Later, in early August, the rest of the signees put their “John Hancock” on the document.  

Do you remember that phrase, put your “John Hancock “on this document?  Well, it came from the first signer of the Declaration of Independence. 

John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigal, that he thought that there should be a celebration which would include fireworks, bonfires, parades and games. So, I guess the tradition continues in our 250th year of independence. Maybe that is why our first thoughts are of what John Adams suggested and what we do today. 

Also remember, the Revolutionary War, which started on April 19, 1775, by the “Shot Heard Round the World” was still happening.

The war concluded on September 3, 1783.

But back to July 4th. 

History has it that George Washington celebrated the first anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by providing extra rum to the Revolutionary Soldiers.  

These days, we have to be careful of how much rum we drink so we won’t get stopped by law enforcement.

Why do we have fireworks? It dates back to 1777 during Independence Day in Boston and Philadelphia. In Philadelphia, cannons lit up the sky, firing 13 times to represent the 13 original colonies. The same night the Sons of Liberty put on a fireworks show in Boston.

The Sons of Liberty was a secret underground Patriotic network founded in 1765 in Boston. They met under the famous Liberty Tree in Hanover Square and at times gathered in the Green Dragon Tavern. While visiting Boston my wife Sue and I had the good fortune of visiting each site.

Also, a few days later our hotel room overlooked the Charles River Esplanade in Boston, and we could see the DECR Hatch Memorial Shell where the Boston Pops were going to perform.

As a tradition, the orchestra concluded their patriotic show with Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. At the finale, Howitzer cannons blast (11 times), church bells ringing and then began massive fireworks on the Charles River. A great evening to celebrate our independence.

So, the tradition of fireworks continues.

Independence Day grew in popularity after the war of 1812. It was designated a federal holiday in 1870. In 1941, July 4th was made a paid federal holiday.

All of the celebration, the fireworks, the parades, the hot dogs, and other wonderful things we do July 4th, we owe to our forefathers.

But most of all, and we must nor forget, we owe them a thank you for giving us our independence, and what we now call the United States of America. From the original 13 to 50 states.

God Bless, “We the People” of the United States of America!