Happy 249th Birthday to the U.S.A.!

Enlighten everyone at your Fourth of July gathering with these fascinating facts about

our nation's beginnings

This July 4th, as we celebrate the U.S.A.’s 249th birthday, our thoughts turn to the founding people, places, and events that comprised the earliest days of the nation. Did you know:

• The Continental Congress voted in favor of independence on July 2, 1776.

• The “Committee of Five,” comprised of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas

  Jefferson, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston, drafted the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson, regarded as the strongest, most eloquent writer, wrote most of the document.

• The final draft of the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776. John Hancock, president of the Congress, was the first to sign the document. His signature in the middle of the document was the largest, giving birth to the common phrase “put your John Hancock on it”

• The Declaration was signed on July 4th by only John Hancock and Charles Thompson, the secretary of the Congress.

• The remainder of the fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence, on August 2, 1776.  

• The Pennsylvania Evening Post printed the Declaration of Independence in the July 6, 1776, edition of its newspaper after local printer John Dunlap produced copies of the Declaration's manuscript.

Committee of Five, Declaration of Independence, July 1776, detail of John Trumbull's painting (1819). By John Trumbull - US Capitol, Public Domain

All of This Happened on July 4

In the decades that followed that first Independence Day, many historically significant events took place on July 4.

• On July 4, 1778, George Washington ordered a double ration of rum for his soldiers to celebrate the holiday.

  
  

• Two Declaration of Independence signers who went on to hold the office of president of the United States, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, both died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of independence. 

  
  

• In 1870, The U.S. Congress declared Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees.

  
  

• Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president, was born on July 4th in 1872.

• The Statue of Liberty was formally presented to the United States by the people of France on July 4, 1884. 

• James Monroe, the fifth president, died on July 4th, in 1931 at the age of 73.

• In 1941, Congress declared Independence Day to be a paid federal holiday.  

• In 2026, the United States will celebrate its 250th birthday, also known as its Semiquincentennial.

  
  

Statue of Liberty

About Beth Steury

Beth is an author of young adult fiction and has written the three-book Choices Matter series. She is also active in the adoption community, where she writes and speaks about her experiences as a "foundling" who located her birth parents and is enjoying making up for lost time with her biological family. Follow the incredible search for her biological family in the blog series “A Doorstep Baby’s Search for Answers.”

Author and genealogist Beth Steury

DNA opened doors to long-held adoption secrets for Beth, and she invites readers to walk with her through the most intriguing years of her life: the good, the great, the sorrowful, the stranger-than-fiction true story, and the looking ahead to a new reality. As a genetic genealogy enthusiast and “search angel,” Beth assists adoptees and others in finding answers to decades-old questions about their genetic mysteries. She also serves on the executive board of the National Association of Adoptees and Parents.