Although AmericAns hAve long celebrated Independence Day on July 4, technically that is not when the colonies voted to become a new nation.
That honor belongs to July 2, 1776, which was not only the day the Second Continental Congress approved a resolution declaring independence from Britain but also the day that then future President John Adams wrote would be “celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival” with “pomp and parade, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other.”
So, what happened? In a word, paperwork. According to Philip Mead, chief historian at the Museum of the American Revolution, it took two days for the Continental Congress to approve the final version of what was essentially a press release explaining…