Why july 4th is important

The utilitarian and future designer of the panopticon [a type of institutional building which represented a system of control] was thoroughly unconvinced by the logic of Jefferson and his co-authors. Pure mumbo-jumbo, Bentham reckoned — not to mention a threat to government of any kind. Frederick Douglass had escaped slavery as a young man and turned himself into a leader of the abolition movement, when he was asked to speak at an Independence Day celebration in Perhaps the Fourth of July will become a moment to remember the promises left unfulfilled, as well as the achievements of American liberty.

Independence Day is celebrated in all sorts of ways across the United States — many of them involving barbeque, beer, and a healthy dose of patriotic red, white and blue. When the nation came into being on 4 July , no one had been born a citizen. The declaration was a revolutionary document: it aimed to overthrow tyranny and create a new government through the power of collective action.

For all its flaws, it can still today be an inspiration. Without them, there would have been no United States of America. The Founding Fathers, a group of predominantly wealthy plantation owners and businessmen, united 13 disparate colonies, fought for independence from Britain and penned a series of influential governing documents When armed conflict between bands of American colonists and British soldiers began in April , the Americans were ostensibly fighting only A member of a committee of five that also included John Adams of Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.

Memorial Day will occur on Monday, May Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil Labor Day will occur on Monday, September 6. Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers and is traditionally observed on the first Monday in September. It was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century and became a federal He died after a gruesome bit of self-surgery.

Veterans Day is a U. In , on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the On February 4, , electors chose George Washington to be the first president of the United States.

Previously, states had governed much like independent A vote taken that day was not unanimous, but the following day the declaration twelve of the thirteen colonies voted to ratify the Declaration of Independence New York had to abstain as their Provincial Congress had told their delegates to hold on voting until they themselves could debate it.

On July 4th the final draft received approval and was announced to the nation. Though there is some historical debate as to whether or not all the delegates signed it that day, there is no doubt that all did so by August 2nd. Regardless of that formal detail, the United States of America had become independent. On paper, at least. Over six more years of war and hardship lay between Independence Day and the signing of the Treaty of Paris on September 3rd, But in her own eyes, America was a nation on July 4th, The 4th of July is, in the simplest sense, the birthday of our country.

It was the day we, after long years of struggle and months of debate, the duly elected representatives of the original Thirteen Colonies announced to the world that they had formed a new nation. From the start, the 4th of July was widely celebrated across the US.

On its very first anniversary, in , ceremonies from Rhode Island to Virginia included gun salutes, fireworks, and plenty of red, white, and blue bunting. In , General George Washington honored the occasion by providing his men with a double ration of rum. Bristol, Rhode Island held the first official parade in Many of the traditions we associate with the 4th of July today have always been a part of the celebrations. Fireworks, family gatherings, big barbecues, and bedecking everything and everyone in the colors of the American Flag.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the night prior was also an occasion of major celebrations, typically involving massive bonfires. Many towns in New England would even compete to see which could build the biggest one.