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When is Independence Day
Independence Day falls on 4 July each year.
This is an important date in the American calendar as it commemorates the day the United States declared independence from Britain in 1776.
What is Independence Day?
Independence Day marks the date that America declared its independence from Britain in 1776.
The War of Independence was bitterly fought across much of the Eastern side of America. The first shots were fired in anger in Concord Massachusetts.
George Washington, who became the first President of the new nation, was the Commander in Chief of the army that defeated the troops loyal to King George the Third.
To this day the President of the United States retains the title of Commander in Chief.
The Declaration of Independence declared the independence of the thirteen colonies in North America from the rule of Great Britain.
Drafted by Thomas Jefferson and signed by John Hancock on 4 July 1776, the Declaration gave justification for freedom from Great Britain and lay out the philosophical and political future for an independent United States of America.
A later more extensive version of the declaration was signed by representatives of all the thirteen colonies in August of the same year.
The Declaration signalled the start of a short war with British forces, the War of Independence, which led to the formation of the free United States of America.
Extract from the unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
Independence Day Celebrations
Independence Day is a national holiday in the United States with many celebrations being held across the US.
It's a time for family and friends to attend Fourth of July parades, picnics, barbecues, carnivals, baseball games and firework displays to celebrate American independence. Houses and streets are decorated with themes around the red, white and blue of the American flag.
Patriotic songs often accompany Independence Day firework displays. The best known of these are the national anthem ("The Star-Spangled Banner"), "God Bless America", "America the Beautiful", "My Country, "This Land Is Your Land", "Stars and Stripes Forever", as well as "Yankee Doodle" in north- eastern states and "Dixie" in southern states.