Grandpa explains the Fourth of July
“I’m confused, Grandpa. I thought July 4 was the day our country declared independence from King George III of Great Britain.”
“Actually, according to ConstitutionFacts.com, that's not so, Junior. The Continental Congress declared independence from Great Britain on July 2, 1776.”
“Then why do we celebrate our independence on the Fourth every year? Is that when we started the American Revolution?”
“Well, Junior, that is a common misunderstanding, as well. The American Revolution began in April 1775, more than a year earlier.”
“I'm stumped, Grandpa. Was the Fourth the day Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence?”
“Nope. Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft in June 1776. Also, Jefferson didn't write the Declaration alone.”
“He didn't? I always thought he was the sole author.”
“That’s a common misconception, Junior. In fact, the Continental Congress appointed a five-person committee to write the Declaration. It included Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert R. Livingston and Roger Sherman.”
“There’s so much I don’t know about our history, Grandpa.”
“Junior, Jefferson wrote the first draft, but it was changed dozens of times by other members of the committee and the Continental Congress.”
“Interesting, but what the heck happened on July 4?”
“That was the day that the Continental Congress, after two days of discussion and debate, agreed on the final wording of the Declaration of Independence.”
“Grandpa, was that also the day members of the Continental Congress signed the document and sent it off to King George?”
“Actually, they didn't sign the Declaration until Aug. 2, 1776. Nonetheless, July 4, 1776, became the date that was included on the final handwritten copy, and that is the date people associate most with our independence.”
“OK, Grandpa, but when did the Fourth of July become a national holiday?”
“Well, Junior, for the first few decades after the Declaration was signed, our young nation didn't celebrate its independence on any date. Believe it or not, by the 1790s, the Declaration would become controversial, and some had no desire to celebrate it.”
“Two decades after it was signed, it became controversial?”
“That’s right, Junior. Bitter partisan conflicts existed then, as they do now. ConstitutionFacts.com says that the Democratic-Republicans, who admired Jefferson and the Declaration, clashed with the other party, the Federalists, who thought the Declaration was too pro-French and too anti-British.”
“Our politicians haven't changed much, have they, Grandpa?”
“Nope. In 1817, John Adams expressed frustration that many Americans seemed uninterested in their revolutionary history. By the 1820s and 1830s, however, new parties rose to power that ‘considered themselves inheritors of Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans,' says ConstitutionFacts.com. They circulated copies of the Declaration, which featured July 4, 1776, as the day it was finalized.”
“That's some interesting history, Grandpa!”
“In any event, over the years, we began celebrating America's independence on the Fourth. Finally, in 1870, almost 100 years after the Declaration was written, Congress declared July 4 to be a national holiday.”
“And this year we celebrate the 250th anniversary of American Independence. We sure have had a good run, Grandpa.”
“We sure have, Junior. But as Ben Franklin warned at the close of the Constitutional Convention, we will only have the flourishing republic we enjoy if we can keep it.”
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Copyright 2026 Tom Purcell, distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.
See Tom Purcell’s syndicated column, humor books and funny videos featuring his dog, Thurber, at TomPurcell.com. Email him at Tom@TomPurcell.com.
Copyright 2026 Tom Purcell, All Rights Reserved. Credit: Cagle.com
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