July 4

After the members of the Second Continental Congress approved and signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, John Adams wrote about the occasion in a letter to his wife Abigail: "I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding Generations as the great anniversary Festival." Adams went on to suggest that it should "be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty." He then added: "It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shows, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires, and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this time forward forever more."

Reading these words, you might describe Adams as prescient, except he was talking about July 2, 1776, when the document was approved and signed, and not July 4th, when it was formally adopted by the Continental Congress. For the remainder of his life, Adams considered the Second of July to be America's true Independence Day, and he was so miffed when the Fourth became the accepted holiday that he refused to participate in any celebrations on that date.