FIREWORKS and the 4th of JULY

Ahhh! Tomorrow Americans will be celebrating with hot dogs and hamburgers; barbecued chicken and ribs; apple pies and ice cream sundaes; and yes, FIREWORKS! It is truly a day of fun! Baseball games, parades, decorated bicycles, and in some towns carnival rides. Patriotism reigns supreme and everybody jumps on the bandwagon. We know how to celebrate the most important day in the history of the United States. "Always have and always will"! We shout. Actually, we haven't always celebrated the 4th of July. As a matter of fact for the first 15 years or so, citizens of the United States didn't celebrate it at all. Instead, in true American fashion, we argued about the Declaration of Independence. Yes, argued. The two party system in the 1790s fought bitterly over it. The Democratic Republicans (yes, that was what they were called) loved Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration which he wrote. In contrast, the Federalists felt it was too French and way too anti-British. As a matter of fact, second President of the United States, John Adams, wrote in a letter bemoaning the fact that Americans were not interested in their history; this is after he wrote of the Declaration when it was first signed that the citizens of this new country would celebrate with fireworks! Wow! What a difference! Here in the 21st century, we enjoy the 4th of July; but, in the beginning period of the country it was controversial and ignored. Then something happened. On July 4th, 1826, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died within hours of each other. Copies of the Declaration of Independence were printed and circulated during the 1820s and 1830s. The Federalist political party fall apart and the people of this nation began to pay attention to their history. Finally, in 1870 Congress declared the 4th of July a national holiday. The parties and celebrations became more fully evolved and now it is an American standard for grilling, watermelon eating contests, and fireworks. It's a shame that John Adams didn't see this in his life time, but I have no doubt that he, Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, and the other members of the Continental Congress who voted that day to declare independence from Great Britain are celebrating with us as well and the fireworks they watch are ours as we remember the men and women of the Revolutionary War and the sacrifices they made in pursuit of the freedoms we take for granted today.