After Fourth of July Celebration

Speeches, military events, parades, and fireworks marked the day. In 1941, Congress declared July 4 a federal holiday.

Great Celebrations of the Fourth of July

After the Fourth

Hoping your Fourth of July was a day of prayer, celebration, fun and a time spent with your loved ones. Just a look back after the Fourth of July, and years since the Revolution leading up to that special day. Over time, various other summertime activities also came to be associated with the Fourth of July, including historical pageants, picnics, baseball games, watermelon-eating contests, and trips to the beach. Common foods include hot dogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob, apple pie, cole slaw, and sometimes clam bakes. Did your celebration include some of these things and activities? We hope you enjoyed yourself!

Colonial Attractions

While the Fourth is celebrated across the country, historic cities like Boston and Philadelphia draw huge crowds to their festivities.

In Boston, the USS John F. Kennedy often sails into the harbor, while the Boston Pops Orchestra holds a televised concert on the banks of the Charles River, featuring American music and ending with the 1812 Overture.

Philadelphia holds its celebrations at Independence Hall, where historic scenes are reenacted and the Declaration of Independence is read.

Rodeos and Candles

Other interesting parties include the American Indian rodeo and three-day pow-wow in Flagstaff, Arizona, and the Lititz, Pennsylvania, candle festival, where hundred of candles are floated in water and a “Queen of Candles” is chosen.

John Adams Urged Recognition

The second president, John Adams, would have approved. “I believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival,” he wrote his wife, Abigail. “It ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other…”

John Hancock Was First

John Hancock, the president of the Second Continental Congress, was the first to sign the Declaration. With its ornate capitals, Hancock’s sprawling signature is prominent on the document. Since then, when people are asked for their “John Hancock,” they are being asked to sign their names.

All 56 men who ultimately signed the Declaration showed great courage. Announcing independence from Great Britain was an act of treason, punishable by death.

A Marvelous Document

The Declaration of Independence itself has become one of the most admired and copied political documents of all time. It was written by Thomas Jefferson and revised by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Jefferson.

The Declaration of Independence is a justification of the American Revolution, citing grievances against King George III. It is also a landmark philosophical statement, drawing on the writings of philosophers John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau. It affirms that since all people are creatures of God, or nature, they have certain natural rights, or liberties, that cannot be violated. These are the principals in which the United States of America was founded.

The Declaration and the American Revolution have since inspired freedom-seekers the around the world. Now that we celebrated yesterday, it is a good time to look back after the Fourth of July, and give thanks to all who helped make and who are still trying to make America the country of freedom.

May your life and the lives of your family and friends be blessed with freedom and love.
Sincerely,

Hope for Children Foundation