The Second Continental Congress voted for independence July
2, 1776, before adopting the Declaration on July 4. (Formerly March 5, date of the
Boston Massacre, was the major patriotic holiday.) In a letter to his wife
Abigail, John Adams wrote:
“. . . it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as
the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of
deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty . . . [and] 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.”
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