Many Americans associate July Fourth with parades, fireworks and cookouts. But did you know we might be celebrating on the wrong date? Independence Day should have been July 2, which is the day the Continental Congress actually voted for independence. John Adams even wrote that July 2 would be remembered in the annals of American history and would be marked with fireworks and celebrations.
Here are three other interesting facts about Independence Day.
- The Liberty Bell hasn’t been rung since 1846 because of concerns about cracking it. Each year the bell is tapped 13 times to signal bells across the country to start ringing.
- Americans celebrated the Fourth of July in Philadelphia as early as 1777. Congress didn’t make it an official holiday until 1870, when it was part of a bill to recognize major state holidays at a federal level.
- Only about 2.5 million people lived in the United States when the Declaration of Independence was signed. Compare that to the current Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5.6 million people.