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On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.
But the American Revolutionary War was already in its second year. The 56 men who signed the Declaration had risked their lives. If the United States lost the war, the British could put them to death as traitors. As Benjamin Franklin may have said: “Now we must all hang together, or most assuredly we will all hang separately.” They wouldn’t know their fate until the war was over.
▲ British soldiers wore bright red jackets. So they were called Redcoats. People from all the colonies joined the Continental Army. General George Washington was its leader. These new soldiers didn’t have a lot of training or good weapons. They had to fight the large and well-trained British Army. It was hard and dangerous work.
◀ In 1777, the Continental Army was tired and outnumbered. It needed a win. The British had captured New York. They’d also pushed Washington’s army back, through New Jersey and into Pennsylvania. A new British force of 6,000 men was marching south from Canada to Albany, New York. General John Burgoyne was their leader. They were going to meet the larger British Army in New York City. But it was a long march through deep forests, and American forces attacked them from all sides. Tired and surrounded, Burgoyne’s fighters gave up near Saratoga, New York. The Battle of Saratoga was a turning point in the war. It gave Americans hope that they could beat the British.
▲ In 1781, an American army accepted the surrender of most British forces in the field. Two years later, the final peace agreement was signed. At last the colonies were free. Now the hard work of creating a new nation could begin.
◀ Are we lighting fireworks on the wrong day? On July 2, 1776, members of the Second Continental Congress voted. They declared the colonies to be independent from Britain. John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, that July 2 would become the great American holiday. He said it would be “commemorated as the Day of Deliverance” by future generations. But Congress argued for two more days. On July 4, they agreed on the actual words of the Declaration. On August 2, a final copy was brought to Congress for signing.
John Hancock was an early supporter of independence. The British offered a large reward for the capture of Hancock and other leading rebels. According to an old story, when Hancock signed the Declaration, he joked: “The British Ministry can read that name without spectacles. Let them double their reward.” Today, “John Hancock” is another word for a signature. ▶
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▲ On July 8, 1776, the Liberty Bell rang out. It was calling people to the steps of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The Declaration was read aloud in public for the first time! Readings like this took place all over the country. The Liberty Bell, created in 1751, later became a sign of freedom. People fighting slavery in the 1800s made the bell a symbol of their cause.
