Today is
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July. This holiday commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, which declared the United States' independence from Great Britain.
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| A Fourth of July fireworks display at the Washington Monument |
The Americans began observing the Fourth of July in 1777, when the first-ever Independence Day celebration in Philadelphia included a parade, a thirteen-shot cannon salute and fireworks, but
The 4th of July Parade in Bristol, Rhode Island, is the oldest continuous Independence Day celebration in the US. The town has thrown the celebration every year since 1785.
Congress didn't make it official until 1870, when it made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees. In 1938, Congress changed the legislation to make it a paid federal holiday.
Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President, was born on July 4, 1872, and, so far, is the only US President to have been born on Independence Day.
According to the official census, 2.5 million people celebrated the first Independence Day, compared to over three hundred million people today.