FOURTH OF JULY
FUN FACTS!
1. The Declaration of Independence was actually written on July 2, 1776. The vote did not happen until July 4, 1776. It was cleaned up on July 19 and signed on August 2, 1776. Only 2 men actually signed the Declaration of Independence on the Fourth of July: John Hancock and Charles Thompson.
2. Thomas Jefferson made the change to the phrase “pursuit of property” to the “pursuit of happiness”.
3. The original Declaration was lost and the one that was actually signed was called the “engrossed document.” It was the Dunlap-Broadside document and only 200 were made. To date, only 27 are accounted for. The original also included charges against the British monarchy.
4. The first party at the White House to celebrate Independence Day was not until 1801.
5. Fourth of July did not become a Federal holiday until 1870 (along with Christmas) and a paid holiday for Federal workers until 1938.
6. It was written by a team of 5 people: Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston.
7. The Constitution was not written until 1787. It took 55 delegates from 12 of the states (Rhode Island did not come) 4 months to hammer out the details. It was presided over by George Washington and put together by James Madison.
8. Only 39 of the 55 delegates signed the Constitution. The youngest was Jonathan Dayton at 26 and the oldest was Ben Franklin at 81. He had to be carried in a special chair to the meetings.
9. The Bill of Rights was not added until 1791.
10. The Star Spangled Banner was not the National Anthem until 1931. It started as just a poem written by Frances Scott Key. It was actually set to the tune of an English drinking song.
11. The popular song “Yankee Doodle Dandy” was originally sung by British officers to mock what they considered to be “unorganized” American soldiers.
12. In 1892, Francis Bellamy wrote the Pledge to the Allegiance. He later added the phrase “to the flag of the United States” because he was afraid new immigrants would be confused about what flag they were saluting. The phrase “under God” was added in 1954.
13. Three of the first five Presidents of the USA died on the Fourth of July: Thomas Jefferson & John Adams (both in 1826) and James Monroe (1831). One past President was born on the Fourth of July: Calvin Coolidge in 1872.
14. Besides Fireworks, another tradition is that at noon on the 4th, 50 shots are fired on all military bases to represent the 50 states of the Union.
15. Over 15.5 million hotdogs are consumed on the Fourth of July. The record is 68 hotdogs in 10 minutes at the famous Nathan’s hot dog competition each Independence Day.
16. It is one of the most traveled days of the year with 38 million people traveling by car and 3 million by plane.
Have an awesome Fourth of July!