THE HISTORY OF
AMERICA’S
INDEPENDENCE DAY

March 22, 1765
Britain passes the Stamp Act, imposing a tax on legal documents, newspapers, even playing cards. “Taxation without representation!” was the battle cry in America’s 13 Colonies, which were forced to pay these taxes to England’s King George III despite having no representation in the British Parliament.

October 1768
As dissatisfaction grew, British troops were sent in to quell the early movement toward rebellion.

April 19, 1775
The first shots of the Revolutionary War are fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. The news of the bloodshed rockets along the eastern seaboard, and thousands of volunteers, called “Minute Men,” converge on Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

June 11, 1776
The Colonies’ Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and formed a committee whose express purpose was drafting a document that would formally sever their ties with Great Britain. 
The committee included Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston. 
Jefferson, who was considered the strongest and most eloquent writer, crafted the original draft document.
A total of 86 changes were made to his draft.

July 4, 1776
Jefferson’s final version of the document officially becomes The Declaration of Independence and is adopted by the Second Continental Congress. Following a decade of agitation over taxes and a year of war, representatives make the break with Britain. 

July 8, 1776
The first public readings of the Declaration were held in Philadelphia’s Independence Square to the ringing of bells and band music. 

January 18, 1777
Congress authorizes the printing of the Declaration with the names of the signers (first time names of signers are printed).

July 4, 1777
One year later, Philadelphia marked Independence Day by adjourning Congress and celebrating with bonfires, bells and fireworks.
The custom eventually spread to other towns, both large and small, where the day was marked with processions, oratory, picnics, contests, games, military displays and fireworks. Observations throughout the nation became even more common at the end of the War of 1812 with Great Britain.

September – October, 1781
A joint French and American force traps a large British army on Virginia’s Yorktown peninsula. Unable to evacuate or receive reinforcements. General Cornwallis is forced to surrender. Although New York City and Charleston, S.C., will remain in British hands until a peace treaty is signed two years later, the war for American independence is essentially over.

September 3, 1783
The Treaty of Paris ratifies the independence of the 13 North American states. Canada remains a British province, beginning its separate development as a U.S. neighbor. 

June 1826
Thomas Jefferson sent a letter to Roger C. Weightman, declining an invitation to come to Washington, D.C. to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It was the last letter that Jefferson, who was gravely ill, ever wrote. In it, Jefferson says of the document:

1870
Congress established Independence Day as a holiday

1938
Congress reaffirmed it as a paid holiday for federal employees. 

Today
Communities across the nation mark this major holiday with parades, firework displays, picnics and performances of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and marches by John Philip Sousa.