Independence Day is the celebration of the signing of the

Declaration of Independence   on July 4, 1776

The American Revolution started on April 19, 1775 in Lexington, Massachusetts

The thirteen American Colonies revolted against Great Britain for a number of reasons. They believed they were being unjustly taxed, taxation without representation. They resented these taxes bitterly, as they were levied by the English Parliament to raise revenue for Great Britain. The colonies had been created through charters granted by the king and it was to the king they felt allegiance. The king had granted them the rights of life, liberty and property. The Americans believed in the rights of the individual and in self rule. They grew concerned these rights and their participation in government were threatened.

Commerce was another leading factor in their revolt. They were denied the right to manufacture any product or good which was manufactured in England and compelled to purchase goods from English suppliers. This interference with trade created a surplus of agricultural goods and hence, a plummeting of their value. Denied the ability to compete, their economy was poor. Colonists were being forced to seek credit from British suppliers as their cost for British goods was greater then what the Colonists goods could yield.

When Great Britain allowed the East India Company of Great Britain to sell their tea in the colonies free of the usual import duties, they could sell their tea much cheaper than the local merchants who had to pay such duties. Fear spread among merchants that other goods duty free would follow. In anger, some colonists dressed as Indians, boarded the East India Tea Companies boats and dumped their tea overboard. This became known as the Boston Tea Party.

Naturally, Great Britain responded to the this by imposing the following:

1. The port of Boston was closed to trade until The East India company was reimbursed for their loss.
2. The Massachusetts charter of 1691 was modified taking away a majority of the Colonies rights of self rule.
3. British troops were quartered throughout the city.
4. British officials would not be tried in the Colony they would be tried in England for any crimes they might commit.

5. The boundary of Quebec was extended to the Ohio River and Roman Catholics were given liberty and the dual protection of both French and English law.

Bostonians considered these to be "The Intolerable Acts."

On April 18, 1775 Paul Revere and William Dawes rode through the countryside warning their countrymen that the British were coming. The British troops intended to seize John Hancock and John Adams and capture the Patriots war supplies. Farmers and colonists calling themselves the Minutemen assembled on the road to Lexington and British regulars fired on them thus, beginning the American Revolution on April 19, 1775. The war would drag on for six years ending October 19, 1781 when General Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington at Yorktown.

Independence Day, July 4th, is celebrated throughout the United States with parades, fireworks, concerts, special events, picnics, barbeques, and re-enactments of historical occurrences. These activities often begin on the day of the third and continue through the fourth of July.


Activities:

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