Happy Birthday, America!

“What is July 4th? What is Independence Day? Why is it a holiday?” These are all questions we may hear from our children, and it is important that we can explain America’s birthday in a simple way:

Why do we celebrate America’s birthday? In short, the original thirteen colonies in America were tired of being ruled by Great Britain. King George III was making the colonists in America pay taxes (even though the colonists were not represented in England), and the colonists were living by British rules that seemed unfair. The American colonists did not want Great Britain to be able to tell them what to do anymore.

The 13 colonies sent representatives (the Continental Congress) to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where they selected a group of people to write a formal document to Great Britain stating that the Americans wanted to govern themselves. Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft. After several days of writing the document and making revisions, the Continental Congress adopted it and declared independence from Britain on July 2, 1776. The “Declaration of Independence” was officially adopted on July 4, 1776. Thereby we have “Independence Day”!

Those who signed the Declaration of Independence had a lot of courage. They stood up for what they believed in, even though signing the document may have been considered a crime by Great Britain. They were all very brave. Because of their bravery, determination, courage, and commitment, Americans are now free! We are free to live our lives the way we think is best. We are free to have our opinions and to share them with others. We can celebrate the way we like and travel where we want to go. We have freedom of religion. For these freedoms, and more, let’s be thankful for this wonderful country and all that it stands for! Again… Happy Birthday, America!