Fourth of July is the celebration of the independence of the United States from the British.  Many of us recognize this holiday as a day to celebrate America.  We may have similar traditions of fireworks, cookouts, parades, and wearing red, white and blue.  What are your Fourth of July Traditions?  Do you have any unique celebrations?  In order to appreciate and understand the meaning behind this special holiday, here are 5 interesting facts about the history of the Fourth of July.

1. The independence of the United States was actually voted and approved on July 2, 1776. July Fourth was the date when Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence.
2. Massachusetts was the first state in the United States to declare the Fourth of July as an official holiday. It became a federal holiday in the year of 1870.
3. The Fourth of July festivities were adopted after celebrations of the end of the monarchy’s hold on the United States. These celebrations included parades, bonfires and ringing bells.
4. Three presidents of the United States have died on July Fourth. Two of them signed the Declaration of Independence and were the only signers to then become president.   These presidents were John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.  James Monroe was the third president of the United States to pass away on July Fourth.  Only one president of the United States has since been born on July Fourth (Calvin Coolidge).
5. The Fourth of July became an unpaid holiday in the United States in the year of 1870 and it wasn’t until 1938 that it became a paid federal holiday.

 
Facts were resourced from the following sources:  https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/july-4th and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(United_States).