July 4 is the time to celebrate all things America. Leada Gore | lgore@al.com.
Party like it's 1776
On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom. The Committee of Five Founding Fathers - Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston – drafted the document with Jefferson writing most of its content.
(Contributed photo/Wikipedia)
John Hancock and company
John Hancock, president of the Second Continental Congress, was the first signer of the document. Franklin, who represented Pennsylvania, was the oldest signer at age 70. Edward Rutledge, of South Carolina, was the youngest at age 26. Two future presidents, John Adams (second president) and Thomas Jefferson (third president), signed the document. Both died on the 50th anniversary of signing the Declaration (July 4, 1826.)
Haley Laurence | hlaurence@al.com
Growing country
On July 4, 1776, there were 2.5 million people living in the newly independent nation; today, America’s population is more than 323 million. Independence Day became a federal holiday in 1870.
Happy July 4th!
Today, the holiday is marked with cookouts, parades, concerts and – most importantly – fireworks. Americans will spend more than $369 this Independence Day to create their own “rockets red glare.”
As we celebrate this Independence Day, here’s a look at the best quotes, remembrances and inspiration to celebrate July 4 and America’s birthday.
(Contributed photo/NASA)
"The American, by nature, is optimistic. He is experimental, an inventor, and a builder who builds best when called upon to build greatly." - - John F. Kennedy
Frank Couch
“The United States is the only country with a known birthday. All the rest began, they know not when, and grew into power, they know not how.... There is no "Republican," no "Democrat," on the Fourth of July, — all are Americans.” - - James Gillespie Blaine
(Contributed photo/Wikipedia)
“Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” - - Abraham Lincoln
“This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” - - Elmer Davis
David Goldman
“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” - - George Orwell
Amber Sutton | asutton@al.com
“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.” - - Erma Bombeck
Shelly Haskins | shaskins@al.com
"Democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man." - - Ronald Reagan
“America is much more than a geographical fact. It is a political and moral fact — the first community in which men set out in principle to institutionalize freedom, responsible government, and human equality.” - - Adlai Stevenson
Sarah Cole
"May we think of freedom not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right." - - Peter Marshall
Frank Couch
“Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better.” - - Albert Camus
Bob Gathany
“Every good citizen makes his country's honor his own, and cherishes it not only as precious but as sacred. He is willing to risk his life in its defense and its conscious that he gains protection while he gives it." - - Andrew Jackson
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