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Independence Day 2008
| Fourth of July fireworks
burst above the Lincoln
Memorial, Washington
Monument, and U.S. Capitol
in Washington. (© AP Images) |
Americans celebrate July 4, 1776,
Adoption of Declaration of IndependenceBy Michael Jay Friedman
Staff Writer
June 30, 2008Washington -- The United States celebrates its Independence Day on July 4, a day of patriotic celebration and family events throughout the country. In the words of Founding Father John Adams, the holiday would be “the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance. … It ought to be 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.” The Fourth of July holiday is a major civic occasion, with roots deep in the Anglo-American tradition of political freedom...more
>> An American Fourth of July in Pictures |  | The Fourth of July, America’s Independence Day holiday, is a time of parades, family gatherings and patriotic celebration for most Americans. Although photos do not capture the smells of picnic cookouts, the stirring music or the explosive din and whizzing of fireworks, they bring to life the spirit of the holiday far better than words. |
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 |  |  |  | An American Fourth of July means getting on Dad’s shoulders to watch the parade ... (Anchorage, Alaska) | ... showing off your horse and cat in the parade ... (Palm Valley, Texas) | ... riding in the parade on your bicycle ... (Fredericksburg, Virginia) | ... and marching and beating your drum. (Anchorage, Alaska) | 
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| … or the bathtub race ... (Lisbon, Iowa) | …or the balloon toss ... (Topeka, Kansas) | …or the pie-eating contest. (Grand Island, Nebraska) | An American Fourth of July means competing in the fishing derby ... (Enid, Oklahoma) | 
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| ... making the best of things far from home, like these soldiers in Afghanistan ... | ... celebrating on the beach ... (Atlantic City, New Jersey) | ... taking in a free concert by the Boston Pops ... (Boston) | ... setting sparklers alight ... (Middleton, Connecticut) | 
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| | An American Fourth of July means celebrating patriots like Major John D. Harrill III and his father, retired Lieutenant Colonel John D. Harrill Jr. Major Harrill was awarded the Bronze Star with Valor for his combat service in Iraq, while his father received the Silver Star during his combat service in Vietnam. (Decatur, Alabama) | An American Fourth of July means taking the oath of citizenship, like Nuria Mohamed from Ethiopia ... (Seattle, Washington) | ... and watching the fireworks at a baseball game in Denver, Colorado. | |
>> Publications (by the U.S. Department of State)♦ Outline of U.S. History  A chronological look at how the United States took shape -- from its origins as an obscure set of colonies on the Atlantic coast a little more than 200 years ago into what one political analyst today calls "the first universal nation." This fully illustrated edition has been completely revised and updated by Alonzo L. Hamby, Distinguished Professor of History at Ohio University. View Korean
Chapter 3: The Road to Independence ♦ U.S. History in Brief  An illustrated summary of U.S. History, beginning with the Early Americans to the 21st century.
♦ Historians on America  Historians on America is a series of individual essays that selects specific moments, decisions, and intellectual or legislative or legal developments and explains
how they altered the course of U.S. history.
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