Why a Date in History is What It Is

We are coming up on July 4th, the day we celebrate America’s Independence Day.

But did you know that 4, 1776, was not the day that the Continental Congress decided to declare independence.

They actually did that two days before on July 2, 1776. Founder John Adams actually thought that July 2nd would become the date that we would celebrate our Independence for years to come.

But according to the history at Constitution Facts dot com, Thomas Jefferson had written the first draft of the Declaration of Independence the month before in June 1776.

And they worked on edits and changes for a couple of days after July 2nd and finally agreed on the final wording of the documents on July 4th, 1776.

And while it wasn’t officially signed until about a month later on August 2, 1776, July 4th became the date that was included on the Declaration of Independence. And the 4th of July will always be the date for the holiday.

The exact date is not as important as what Independence Day means and why we should never forget what happened this week 249 years ago.

(Photo Getty Images)