Var­i­ous­ly known as the Fourth of July and Inde­pen­dence Day, July 4th has been a fed­er­al hol­i­day in the Unit­ed States since 1941, but the tra­di­tion of Inde­pen­dence Day cel­e­bra­tions goes back to the 18th cen­tu­ry and the Amer­i­can Rev­o­lu­tion (1775–83). In June 1776, rep­re­sen­ta­tives of the 13 colonies then fight­ing in the rev­o­lu­tion­ary strug­gle weighed a res­o­lu­tion that would declare their inde­pen­dence from Great Britain. On July 2nd, the Con­ti­nen­tal Con­gress vot­ed in favor of inde­pen­dence, and two days lat­er its del­e­gates adopt­ed the Dec­la­ra­tion of Inde­pen­dence, a his­toric doc­u­ment draft­ed by Thomas Jef­fer­son. From 1776 until the present day, July 4th has been cel­e­brat­ed as the birth of Amer­i­can inde­pen­dence, with typ­i­cal fes­tiv­i­ties rang­ing from fire­works, parades and con­certs to more casu­al fam­i­ly gath­er­ings and barbecues.

We hope you take time to relax with your friends and fam­i­ly, and cel­e­brate our inde­pen­dence! Have a safe and hap­py Fourth of July!