July 4, Independence Day, the birthday of the United States, celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
National Country Music Day
Sidewalk Egg Frying Day
National Barbecued Spareribs Day
Caesar Salad Day
July 4, 1803, the Louisiana Purchase was announced to the American people.
Birthday of Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1804. American novelist who wrote “The Scarlet Letter” and the “House of Seven Gables”.
Birthday of Stephen Collins Foster in 1826. American composer remembered for writing “Oh! Susanna”, “Old Folks at Home”, and “Beautiful Dreamer” along with others.
July 4, 1826: US Presidents John Adams , second President of the United States, and Thomas Jefferson , third President of the United States, died on the same day. Adams was 90 years old; Jefferson was 83.
July 4, 1831, death of James Monroe , fifth President of the United States. He died in New York City at age 73 from heart failure and tuberculosis.
“America (My Country ‘Tis of Thee)” is first sung in Boston on this day in 1832. There are eight different verses to the song.
My country, ’tis of Thee,
Sweet Land of Liberty
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims’ pride,
From every mountain side
Let Freedom ring.
The melody is the same as “God Save the Queen” or “God Save the King”, national anthem of Great Britain:
God save our gracious Queen
Long live our noble Queen
God save The Queen!
Send her victorious
Happy and glorious
Long to reign over us
God save The Queen!
Birthday of Calvin Coolidge in 1872; 30th president of the United States.
Katherine Lee Bates published “America the Beautiful” in 1895.
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
July 4, 1959- America’s new 49-star flag honoring Alaska statehood unfurled. (7 rows of 7 stars)
July 4, 1960, America’s new 50-star flag honoring Hawaiian statehood unfurled.( 5 rows of 6 stars plus 4 rows of 5 stars)
Preamble to the Constitution:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.