AMERICA CELEBRATES INDEPENDENCE DAY: Why July 4th Is So Important to U.S. History!

The Fourth of July is a thoroughly American holiday in its celebration: it features parades, barbecues, cold beer, and of course, fireworks. Pyrotechnics can also make this holiday dangerous, with over 10,000 people reporting to emergency rooms. Nevertheless, fireworks remain a central part of Independence Day celebrations, now observed for 249 years.

Why Is Independence Day Celebrated?

The holiday celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by Congress on July 4, 1776, a document that proclaimed the colonies’ secession from Great Britain. A year later, according to the Library of Congress, a spontaneous celebration in Philadelphia marked the anniversary of American independence.

Across the divided nation, the celebration did not become a tradition until the end of the War of 1812. The Library of Congress notes that major historical events, such as canal opening ceremonies in New York State and railroad inaugurations in Ohio and Baltimore, coincided with July 4th festivities.

How Did Fireworks Become Part of the July 4th Tradition?

Pyrotechnics became a part of Independence Day celebrations from the very beginning; one of the nation’s founding fathers, John Adams, even predicted it.

The celebration of American independence “ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more,” Adams wrote to his wife Abigail on July 3, 1776.

Fireworks existed for centuries before America became a nation. The American Pyrotechnics Association states that many historians believe the first fireworks originated in the 2nd century BCE in ancient China, by throwing bamboo stalks into a fire, creating explosions from overheating air pockets in the hollows of the reeds. By the 15th century, fireworks were used in religious festivals and public celebrations in Europe, and the first settlers brought the tradition with them to America, according to the association.

Has Any President Ever Refused to Celebrate?

All presidents from George Washington to Joe Biden have celebrated July 4th, with the sole exception being Adams. Although he wrote an inspired letter to his wife, he refused to celebrate July 4th, because for him, July 2nd was Independence Day. Why? Because on July 2, 1776, he voted for the Declaration of Independence, even though it wasn’t officially adopted for another two days.

Adams was so unwavering that he refused invitations to festivals and other events, even when he was the second president in the nation’s history. Adams and Thomas Jefferson, both authors of the Declaration of Independence, died on the 50th anniversary of the document’s official adoption, July 4, 1826.