Mary Drier. This column is about the Fourth of July, and although this comes out two days after Independence Day, it is not a day late or a dollar short as the saying goes. Over the last few weeks, I watched the movie, The Patriot several times. I did that not just because I like the movie and have a crush on Mel Gibson, but because I kept falling asleep while watching the nearly threehour long fictional movie about how we bested England to become the United States of America. In the movie, Gibson portrays an unassuming man who is forced to join the American Revolution when the British kill one of his sons. Advertisement. Because it took me so long to watch "The Patriot," I had plenty of time to do some research to refresh my memory on the course of human events.. In doing that, I found several inaccuracies in our history we were taught as children. We have been taught to think of July 4, 1776, as the birth of our nation. However, in doing my research, I discovered that isn t technically correct. The Continental Congress actually declared independence on July 2, 1776, and the American Revolution started back in April 1775. And, July 4 wasn t the day Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. That was in June 1776, and the Constitution wasn t signed by everyone in the Continental Congress until Aug. 2, 1776. Also, July 4, wasn t the date the Declaration was delivered to Great Britain. That wasn t done until November 1776. Advertisement. So what happened on July 4, 1776, that made it the birth of a new nation?. The Continental Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. They had been working on it for a couple of days after the draft was submitted on July 2, and they finally agreed on all of the edits and changes. So that is why July 4, 1776, became the date that was included on the Declaration of Independence. The fancy handwritten copy that was signed in August is the copy now displayed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. According to history, July 4 is also the date that was printed on the Dunlap Broadsides, which were the original printed copies of the Declaration that were circulated throughout the new nation. So when people thought of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, was the date they remembered. We celebrate Constitution Day on Sept. 17 of each year, which is the anniversary of the date the Constitution was signed, not the anniversary of the date it was approved. Advertisement. If we followed the timeline for the Declaration of Independence, we would be celebrating Independence Day on Aug. 2 of each year, the day the Declaration of Independence was signed. After celebrating 238 birthdays, whether the celebration of our nation s birth is July 4 or Aug. 2, I guess it really doesn t matter when it comes right down to it in the course of human events. As long as we are able to celebrate many, many, many more birthdays for Our Great Nation. Mary Drier is a freelancer reporter and columnist for the Huron Daily Tribune. About. Contact. Services. Account
The Fourth of July is historically significant, although not precisely when America declared independence. The date holds importance as the final wording of the Declaration of Independence was approved on July 4, 1776, leading to celebrations. Despite discrepancies in historical dates, what truly matters is celebrating the birth of the nation.