On July 2, the Continental Congress approved Lee’s resolution for independence in a near-unanimous vote (the New York delegation abstained but later voted affirmatively). The following day, John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, that July 2 “will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival” and that the celebration should include “Pomp and Parade…Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other.”
On July 4, the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence, which Jefferson largely wrote. Although the vote for actual independence took place on July 2, from then on the Fourth of July became the day that was celebrated as the start of American independence.
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John Adams believed July 2 was the correct date on which to celebrate the birth of American independence and reportedly turned down invitations to appear at July 4th events in protest. Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826—the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
Early July 4th Celebrations and Traditions
Before the Revolution, colonists held annual celebrations of the king’s birthday, which traditionally included the ringing of bells, bonfires, processions and speechmaking. By contrast, during the summer of 1776, some colonists celebrated the birth of independence by holding mock funerals for King George III as a way of symbolizing the end of the monarchy’s hold on America and the triumph of liberty.
Immediately after the declaration’s adoption, colonists celebrated with concerts, bonfires, parades and the firing of cannons and muskets. These festivities were usually accompanied by the first public readings of the Declaration of Independence.
Philadelphia held the first annual commemoration of independence on July 4, 1777, while Congress was still occupied with the ongoing war. In 1778, George Washington issued double rations of rum to all his soldiers to mark the anniversary of independence, and in 1781, several months before the key American victory at the Battle of Yorktown, Massachusetts became the first state to make July 4th an official state holiday.
After the Revolutionary War, Americans continued to observe Independence Day every year. These celebrations allowed the new nation’s emerging political leaders to address citizens and create a feeling of unity. By the last decade of the 18th century, the two major political parties—the Federalist Party and Democratic-Republicans—that had arisen began holding separate Fourth of July celebrations in many large cities.